December 21, 2024

Saints

St. Padre Pio’s 3 Simple Weapons for Spiritual Warfare

Mother & Refuge16 mins

In the life of a devout Catholic, the concept of spiritual warfare is ever-present. We are constantly reminded of the battle between good and evil, light and darkness, and the need for steadfastness in our faith. St. Padre Pio, a revered saint and mystic, provides profound insights into this struggle. Known for his piety, miracles, and deep spiritual wisdom, St. Padre Pio emphasized three simple yet powerful weapons in the battle against the forces of evil: prayer, the sacraments, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. 1. Prayer: The Foundation of Spiritual Life Prayer is the cornerstone of any spiritual life, serving as our direct line of communication with God. St. Padre Pio was a man of deep prayer, often found in fervent conversation with the Divine. He understood prayer not just as a ritual, but as a vital, living relationship with God. Padre Pio once said, “Prayer is the best weapon we possess. It is the key to God’s heart.” Through prayer, we draw closer to God, seeking His guidance, strength, and protection. It is in moments of prayer that we fortify our spirits, gain clarity, and find peace amidst the chaos of life. St. Padre Pio encouraged both personal and communal prayer, emphasizing the importance of the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and other devotions. 2. The Sacraments: Channels of Grace The sacraments are visible signs of God’s invisible grace, instituted by Christ Himself. For St. Padre Pio, the sacraments were essential in maintaining spiritual health and fortitude. He particularly emphasized the importance of the Eucharist and Confession. The Eucharist, the source and summit of Christian life, provides spiritual nourishment and unites us intimately with Christ. Padre Pio’s devotion to the Mass was profound; he often experienced mystical phenomena during the celebration of the Eucharist. He taught that receiving the Body and Blood of Christ strengthens us against the temptations and trials we face. Confession, or the Sacrament of Reconciliation, was another cornerstone of Padre Pio’s ministry. He spent countless hours hearing confessions, offering guidance, and absolving sins. He believed that frequent confession cleanses the soul, restores grace, and empowers the faithful to resist the snares of the devil. 3. The Blessed Virgin Mary: Our Heavenly Advocate St. Padre Pio had an immense devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom he saw as a powerful advocate and protector in the spiritual battle. He often urged the faithful to turn to Mary in times of need, trusting in her intercession and maternal care. Mary, the Mother of God, is the model of perfect discipleship and obedience to God’s will. Her “yes” to God brought forth our Savior, and her continued intercession aids us in our journey towards holiness. Padre Pio frequently recommended the Rosary as a powerful weapon against evil, referring to it as “the weapon” for our times. By meditating on the mysteries of Christ’s life through the Rosary, we deepen our understanding of His love and sacrifice, and we invite Mary’s protection and guidance into our lives. Conclusion In the midst of spiritual warfare, St. Padre Pio’s simple yet profound counsel reminds us of the tools we have at our disposal. Through steadfast prayer, frequent reception of the sacraments, and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, we arm ourselves with the grace and strength needed to resist evil and grow in holiness. As we navigate the trials of life, let us remember Padre Pio’s wisdom and seek to incorporate these spiritual weapons into our daily lives. Through them, we draw closer to God and stand firm in our faith, ever ready to combat the forces that seek to draw us away from His love.

Read More

Padre Pio vs. the Devils: Unseen Battles

Mother & Refuge08 mins

St. Padre Pio, one of the most beloved and mystic saints of the 20th century, was known for his profound spiritual experiences and battles with demonic forces. His life and struggles have been documented in numerous books, providing a detailed account of his encounters with the supernatural. The Reality of Demonic Attacks In his biography, “Padre Pio: The True Story” by C. Bernard Ruffin, it is detailed how Padre Pio experienced frequent attacks from demonic entities. These assaults were both physical and spiritual, manifesting as sounds, visions, and physical harm. Ruffin recounts how Padre Pio would often be found bruised and battered, evidence of the nightly battles he endured. Personal Accounts Padre Pio himself spoke of these experiences, as documented in “The Agony of Jesus” by Padre Pio. He described the devils as relentless, stating, “These devils don’t stop striking me.” He detailed how they would disturb his sleep, appearing as hideous creatures and causing him great physical pain. In “Secrets of a Soul: Padre Pio’s Letters to His Spiritual Directors,” his letters reveal a personal glimpse into these spiritual battles. He wrote to his spiritual directors about the intense struggles, asking for their prayers and support as he faced these supernatural trials. Witness Testimonies In “Padre Pio: Man of Hope” by Renzo Allegri, testimonies from those close to Padre Pio provide additional insight into his battles. Friars and laypeople who lived alongside him recounted hearing strange noises coming from his cell, sounds of struggles, and seeing inexplicable injuries on his body. These witnesses affirmed the reality of the demonic attacks he described. Spiritual Resilience Despite the ferocity of these attacks, Padre Pio’s faith remained unshaken. In “Padre Pio: The Stigmatist” by Rev. Charles Mortimer Carty, it is highlighted how his deep prayer life and unwavering trust in God’s protection served as his main defense. Padre Pio’s reliance on the Eucharist and the intercession of the Virgin Mary were crucial elements in his spiritual arsenal against these dark forces. A Legacy of Strength Padre Pio’s enduring faith and resilience in the face of demonic onslaughts are further chronicled in “Saint Padre Pio: In the Footsteps of Saint Francis” by G. A. Caridi. His legacy is one of immense spiritual strength, offering inspiration to those who face their own spiritual battles. Caridi emphasizes how Padre Pio’s life demonstrates the power of prayer, the sacraments, and unwavering faith in overcoming the forces of evil. The accounts from these books paint a vivid picture of St. Padre Pio’s unseen battles with demonic forces. His experiences and the testimonies of those around him underscore the profound truth that through steadfast faith and spiritual resilience, even the most formidable adversities can be overcome.   According to Fr. Gabriele Amorth, a leading Vatican exorcist, “Padre Pio’s real enemies were the demons who besieged him. […] The great and constant struggle of Padre Pio’s life was with those enemies of God and human souls, the devils who tried to capture his soul.” Even in his youth, St. Padre Pio would enjoy incredible celestial visions, but also suffer demonic attacks. Fr. Amorth explains: “The devil would appear to him as an ugly black cat, or in the shape of a truly repugnant animal. The obvious intent was to fill him with terror. Other times demons came as young girls, nude and provocative, performing obscene dances, to test the young priest’s chastity. But Padre Pio sensed his greatest danger when the devil tried to deceive him by taking on the form of one of his superiors (his provincial superior or his spiritual director) or in a sacred form (the Lord, the Virgin, or St. Francis).” This last tactic – of the devil appearing as someone good and holy – was a particular problem. Here’s how St. Padre Pio would discern a vision: “He noticed a certain timidity when the Virgin or the Lord first appeared, followed by a sense of peace when the vision departed. On the other hand, a devil in sacred form provoked an immediate feeling of joy and attraction, replaced afterwards by remorse and sadness.” Satan would even sometimes attack St. Padre Pio physically. He describes this in one letter he wrote to a priest confidant: “These devils don’t stop striking me, even making me fall down from the bed. They even tear off my shirt to beat me! But now they do not frighten me anymore. Jesus loves me, He often lifts me and places me back on the bed.” Indeed, if we are close to the Lord, we should have no fear of demons.

Read More

The Holy Hero Who Halted the Lava!

Mother & Refuge04 mins

St. Francis Xavier Bianchi, Apostle of Naples, miraculously stopped a lava flow after the eruption of Vesuvius, and predicted the fall of Napoleon. Armed with God-given power, the miracle-working hand of St. Francis Xavier Bianchi (1743-1815) of the Barnabite order triumphed over the destructive power of Vesuvius. In 1804, the volcano awoke with a fury like a hungry beast. From May to August, huge clouds of smoke rose from it. Then, at sunset on November 22, an earthquake shook the earth with long, dark rumblings. Streams of lava covered the hills around the town of Torre del Greco. Stopping lava in God’s name Fr. Francis Bianchi was in Torre del Greco as a guest of the retreat house. When the danger was at its greatest, the saint prayed. He was surprised to see the residents running around trying to save what they could. So, he came out of his room, serenely asked everyone to remain calm, and ordered them to place the image of Sr. Mary Francis of the Five Wounds on the roof. He climbed to the terrace at the top of the house with all the other people, and joined his hands in prayer. Then, he raised his right hand and, in the name of God, ordered the lava to stop flowing. Everyone was amazed to see the lava stop immediately: Torre del Greco was safe! He worked an identical miracle on two other occasions in 1805. Again at Torre del Greco, the saint asked to be led to the place where the lava was flowing. He prayed with all the people, raised his hand in blessing, and the flow stopped and the lava turned into hard stone.   Then, there was another eruption, and people came to Portici to beg the saint for help. St. Francis Xavier didn’t waver. He took the image of Sr. Mary Francis of the Five Wounds and ordered the people to place it in front of the oncoming flow. They did so, and the lava—which had already reached the house—stopped in front of the image, which was hanging on a tree. To commemorate this miracle, Cardinal Guglielmo Sanfelice had a chapel built on the site and dedicated it to the saint. Read More with Aleteia   

Read More

Will Akash Bashir become Pakistan’s 1st saint?

Mother & Refuge04 mins

By Aleteia A thanksgiving Mass was celebrated in the cathedral of Lahore (Pakistan) to close the diocesan phase of the cause for beatification of young Akash Bashir. “Iwill die, but I will not let you go in.” These were Akash Bashir’s last words as he offered his life in sacrifice, preventing a terrorist attack on March 15, 2015, in St. John’s Church in Lahore, Pakistan. By giving his life, he saved hundreds of people. The diocesan phase of the cause of beatification began in January 2022, and ended with a solemn Mass presided over by the Archbishop of Lahore, Sebastian Shaw, on March 15, 2024, in Lahore Cathedral. A speedy start to the process According to the rules established by the Church, at least five years must pass after a person’s death before a process can be opened. It only took seven years for Archbishop Sebastian Shaw to announce in January 2022, after Vatican approval, that the 20-year-old Pakistani had been declared a “servant of God,” launching the start of the diocesan investigation. This was a swift beginning. Compare it, say, with that of American Fr. Stanley Rother, murdered in Guatemala in 1981, whose process began almost 26 years after his death, in 2007. This “five-year” rule is mandatory unless the pope gives a special dispensation, as in the case of Fr. Jacques Hamel, where it took only a few months after his murder to open his beatification process.  The Church of Pakistan hopes he will be proclaimed a martyr in 2024 During the Mass of thanksgiving, Archbishop Shaw recalled Akash Bashir’s inspiring courage. He then handed over to the pope’s representative in Pakistan, Archbishop Germano Penemote, the dossier of the diocesan investigation for the recognition of Akash Bashir’s martyrdom. The documents have now been entrusted to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints, which is in turn studying them with theologians and historians. After the touching ceremony, Fr. Noble Lal, a priest present at the Mass, told the Fides news agency, “Akash’s story and faith-inspired choice are very important for our Church. Akash is a powerful source of inspiration for our young people!” He emphasized the immense joy of the Pakistani Christian people and hopes that the young man “can be proclaimed a martyr by 2024 or for the jubilee year of 2025.” Akash Bashir is the first person in Pakistani history to embark on the path to sainthood: welcome news in a country where the faithful are persecuted in the name of their faith.  Read more…

Read More

50 Messages of the Little Mexican Girl! The Servant of the Sacred Hearts

Mother & Refuge0105 mins

Powered By EmbedPress 1- 10 2016 1) The way the lord is going to speak to us on the day of the warninggiven on July 29, 2016 at 8:30 pm.The Lord is going to speak to us through the light of heaven.Referring to lightning in the sky when it rains,when the sky lights up He is going to tell us our sinsthe little girl said, this is the way it has to be so that we realize how much He loves us2) How we should prepare ourselves in our actionsSunday August 14, 2016 three o’clock in the afternoonwe have to live in the truth, and leave the lies behind to obtain the love of God invite mother Mary to praise Jesus, that way we can activate true love3) What it is to live in the divine will?saturday, september 3, 2016 at a catholic retreat in the northern side of mexicoWho wants to live the divine will?on earth as it is in heaven? it is the our father say it this way our father who art in heaven the little girl prayed it with much love and at the end she said take refuge in the heart of Jesus.4) The deception of the enemy to prevent us from preparing for the warning given on Thursday, September 8, 2016 during Holy Mass at 6 o’clock pmThe little one says… I am angry with the serpent because it is a liar.A liar. It says that Jesus is not coming. We have to step on it’s head, like mama Mary because we are her children. The light is coming, there we will see our sins, in our mind and we have togo and confess them, in order to have God’s forgiveness.5) How to be filled with divine Love given on Wednesday, September 14, 2016 at 11:00 pm while praying the Holy RosaryAt night praying the Holy Rosary the girl said… you must let Jesus touch your heart, that wayHe will come in, He will come in and resurrect in you, so that you can have the love of God.6) Those who will believe and those who will not believe in the warningOctober 6th, 2016the little girl says… The time is almost here, when we will see the light of heaven. We will ALL see our sins, we will see it in our hearts but not all will believe, many will make fun of Jesus on the cross and others will believe and love Jesus even more, and we will be able to go toheaven. Jesus told me so and mother Mary7) How to save familiesgiven on Thursday, October 13, 2016The girl affirms that many fathers and mothers are going to die with their children.We must pray the Holy Rosary with our families for the forgiveness of sins.This causes me much pain8) What will happen after the warninggiven on tuesday, november 8th, 2016 at 2:30 in the afternoonThe little girl said… I drew the planet. There are the good guys and there are bad guys.The bad ones are going to make fun of us and tell us that we have no sins.Because of the Virgin everyone will humble themselves9) The angels who will guide the soulsgiven to the little girl on Tuesday, November 15, 2016she said not to be afraid of the guardian angels when they come10) Jesus speaks in heaven received on Thursday, December 22, 2016 at six o’clock in the evening the little girl is looking up to heaven and says…Little by little the crown of Jesus is forming. When you are able to see Him, He will have his crown of thorns and His Mother Mary will be right next to HimJesus speaks to me in heaven 11- 24 2017message number 11 what is going to happen when the planet comesgiven on the first of January, 2017 at 3 in the afternoonThe girl says “The time is getting closer, the planet will come, there will be a time when we won’t be able to go outside, we will just have to stay inside. We are going to see the sins, our sins.It was raining, the Water falls, it was like holy water from God,, the time is approaching.message number 12– Jesus will arrive as king of kings, He will take away our sins given on Sunday, March 26, 2017 God created life on earth so that we would always be united, and this, what God has given us isforever. God is always with us. He will arrive as king of kings, that is why it is necessary that we see our sins. There are sooo many sins. Sons and daughters who hit their mothers and mothers who hit their children and dads who beat the moms and moms who beat the dads… brothers against brothers The priests fight with each other, But even so, they continue confessing because Jesus is there in them. Babies are not born, men kill the babies in the moms tummies, babies that were goingto be born. What a grave sin! Jesus and mother Mary cry for them, for those who do not have God in their heart. Man’s sin is that he allows himself to be deceived by the enemymessage number 13-This is how the cities will lookThursday, March 30, 2017The girl says “Jesus came and took me to a city where there was no one. It was like a big desert, the houses were messy, destroyed,He told me, my little girl, don’t be afraid,And then He said I will take you to Heaven where Mother Mary is at, together with all the saints I cried with joy when I saw her, I hugged her and I was no longer afraid, I did not want to come back home, I wanted to stay there because it is very beautiful, there is so much peace and lots of lovemessage number 14-God knows the timeGiven on Sunday April second, 2017 God knows the time, there is one, two, three, four, five, six, seven eight, left the lord knows…

Read More

The Last Prayer Written by St. John Paul II

Mother & Refuge02 mins

By Philip Kosloski Many are familiar with the last words of St. John Paul II, which he mumbled in Polish, “Let me go to the house of the Father.“ However, he also penned a final prayer that would have been recited at the Regina Caeli address on Sunday, April 3, 2005. His address was directed to Divine Mercy Sunday, a feast that he dearly loved and instituted based on the private revelations of St. Faustina. St. John Paul II included a short prayer, which was likely the last prayer that he ever wrote: Lord, who reveal the Father’s love by your death and Resurrection, we believe in you and confidently repeat to you today: Jesus, I trust in you, have mercy upon us and upon the whole world.   He also ended his address with an Easter exclamation, “Alleluia!“ It is fitting that he ended his pontificate praying “Jesus, I trust in you,” reciting the prayer that was revealed to St. Faustina. St. John Paul II firmly trusted in God and strove to highlight God’s mercy and love to the whole world. We can learn from his example and pray the same words every day, saying, “Jesus, I trust in you!”  

Read More

St. Bernadette’s Last Words

Mother & Refuge05 mins

The final hours of St. Bernadette’s life on earth were agonizing, as she united her suffering with that of Christ and prayed to the Virgin Mary for strength. As the miraculous waters at Lourdes became widely known, St. Bernadette chose to live a life of prayer and solitude. She joined the Sisters of Charity and spent the rest of her life in the convent at Nevers, France. For many years she suffered various ailments and eventually died at the young age of 35. She died on April 16, 1879, which was Easter Wednesday, the Wednesday during the Octave of Easter. French writer Paul Joseph Henri Lasserre de Monzie wrote about the final day of her death in his pious biography, Bernadette.   He begins the chapter on her death recalling the words the priest would have said at Mass on that day: On the Wednesday in Easter Week, the sun rose brightly as befitted a festival and all the priests of the Christian world, as they mounted the steps of the altar, began in these divine words the Introit of the Mass: “Come ye blessed of My Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!“ It was a fitting day for St. Bernadette as those words summarized what God was calling St. Bernadette to enjoy. Her most tortuous hours were between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. These corresponded with Jesus’ last agony as well: [S]he appeared to be seized by intolerable sufferings and being doubtless aware that the last thread of life was about to break, she wished to unite herself by indissoluble love to the divine agony of Him who died for us all. With her failing hand she took the crucifix which lay upon her heart and raising it to her lips, kissed twice over tenderly and slowly the Five most Sacred Wounds of our Savior Jesus. After the 3:00 hour, she entered into her final agony: The Mother of Sorrows present on Golgotha was present also although invisibly at the agony of this child, whom she loved and to whom she had promised happiness, not in this world but in the world to come. And Bernadette spoke to her. In a clear voice she repeated with emphasis, Holy Mary, Mother of God pray for me, a poor sinner. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me a poor sinner. Shortly after this, “All was not yet over. With an expressive gesture, for her breath was so far gone that her voice could no longer be heard, she said, ‘I am athirst‘…She drank a few drops, they wiped her lips and then bending her head, she breathed forth her soul to God.” Read more…

Read More