[powerpress]

Msgr. Esseff reflects on the life and teachings of St. Padre Pio.  He shares personal stories from his relationship with St. Pio.

Gospel      LK 8:16-18

Saint Padre Pio or St. Pio of Pietrelcina (25 May 1887 – 23 September 1968) was a Capuchin priest from Italy and is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. He was popularly known as Padre Pio after his ordination to the priesthood. He became famous after receiving the “Stigmata“. On 16 June 2002, he was canonized a saint by Pope John Paul II. Padre Pio is the Patron saint of Confessors, Catholic Adolescents and Civil Defense Volunteers.

[powerpress]  offered by Msgr. John Esseff

Prayer for Healing

Beloved Padre Pio,
Today I come to add my prayer to the thousands of prayers offered to thee every day by those who love and venerate thee. They ask for cures and healings, earthly and spiritual blessings, and peace for body and mind. And because of thy friendship with the Lord, He heals those thou doth ask to be healed, and forgives those thou forgiveth.

Through thy visible wounds of the Cross, which thou didst bear for fifty years, thou wert chosen in our time to glorify the crucified Jesus. Because the Cross has been replaced by other symbols, please help us to bring it back in our midst, for we acknowledge it is the only true sign of salvation. As we lovingly recall the wounds that pierced thy hands, feet and side, we not only remember the blood thou didst shed in pain, but thy smile, and the invisible halo of sweet-smelling flowers that surrounded thee, the perfume of sanctity.

In thy kindness, please help me with my own special request:

[mention here your petition, making the Sign of the Cross]

Bless me and my loved ones. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Prayer to Saint Pio

  O God, Thou didst give Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, Capuchin priest, the great privilege of participating in a unique way in the Passion of Thy Son, grant me through his intercession the grace of . .  .  [name your request] which I ardently desire; and above all grant me the grace of living in conformity with the death of Jesus, to arrive at the glory of the resurrection.

Glory be to the Father . . . [three times].

Stay With Me, Lord Prayer
 by Padre Pio

Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have Thee present so that I do not forget Thee. Thou knowest how easily I abandon Thee.

Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak, and I need Thy strength that I may not fall so often.

Stay with me, Lord, for Thou art my light, and without Thee I am in darkness.

Stay with me, Lord, to show me Thy will.

Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Thy voice and follow Thee.

Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love Thee very much and to be in Thy company always.

Stay with me, Lord, if Thou wisheth me to be faithful to Thee.

Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is I want it to be a place of consolation for Thee, a nest of love.

Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late and the day is coming to a close, and life passes; death, judgment, eternity approaches. It is necessary to renew my strength, so that I will not stop along the way and for that, I need Thee. It is getting late and death approaches, I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows. O how I need Thee, my Jesus, in this night of exile!

Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all it’s dangers. I need Thee.

Let me recognize Thee as Thy disciples did at the breaking of the bread, so that the Eucharistic Communion be the Light which disperses the darkness, the force which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.

Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death, I want to remain united to Thee, if not by communion, at least by grace and love.

Stay with me, Jesus, I do not ask for Divine consolation, because I do not merit it, but the gift of Thy Presence, oh yes, I ask this of Thee!

Stay with me, Lord, for it is Thou alone I look for, Thy Love, Thy Grace, Thy Will, Thy Heart, Thy Spirit because I love Thee and ask no other reward but to love Thee more and more.

With a firm love, I will love Thee with all my heart while on earth and continue to love Thee perfectly during all eternity. Amen

Chaplet of St. Padre Pio
(contains medal, Crucifix, and 3 sets of 3 brown beads)]

Oh Jesus, full of grace and charity, victim for sinners, so impelled by Thy love of us that Thou didst will to die on the Cross, I humbly entreat Thee to glorify in Heaven and on earth, the servant of God, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, who generously participated in Thy sufferings, who loved Thee so much and laboured so faithfully for the glory of Thy heavently Father and for the good of souls.  With confidence, I beseech Thee to grant me, through his intercession, the grace of (mention your intentions) which I ardently desire.

Say 3 Our Father’s, 3 Hail Mary’s and 3 Glorias.

Prayer for St. Padre Pio’s Intercession

Show 2 ” Building a Kingdom of Love” – “The Good Shepherd“

Audio Prayer for the intercession of St.Padre Pio[powerpress]

“Pray, pray to the Lord with me, because the whole world needs prayer. And every day, when your heart especially feels the loneliness of life, pray. Pray to the Lord, because even God needs our prayers.”

[powerpress]Msgr. Esseff describes his first encounter with Padre Pio at Mary Pyle’s house in San Giovanni Rotondo in 1959 and bearing witness to the saint’s charism of bilocation. He talks of becoming one of Padre Pio’s spiritual children and directee. Msgr. then discusses the experience of being present at one of St. Pio’s masses.

visit Msgr. Esseff’s website:   “Building a Kingdom of Love”

This was filmed at Our Lady of Grace Capuchin Friary which is located in the Gargano Mountains at San Giovanni Rotondo. At times there is an atmosphere of playfulness redolent of the Fioretti of St Francis. At the end, they are obviously teasing him about the camera and he hits the cameraman with his cincture. We see him in the refectory and in the Church, and there are scenes of his brothers dealing with the massive postbag which he generated. Starting at 4’23” there is some footage of Padre Pio as celebrant at Tridentine Latin Mass.