Padre Pio was an Italian priest born May 25th, 1887. He is known for his charity, love of people, holiness, and joy in the midst of suffering. He had the wounds of Christ. This is called the "stigmata." His hands and feet bled, as did his side and his shoulder. This went on for 50 years. Constantly bleeding, constantly in pain, but he never complained. The stigmata could not be explained by doctors or cured. It was a miracle. And it was one way Padre Pio prayed for us.
Padre Pio famously said, "Pray, hope, and don't worry." To learn more about St. Padre Pio, here are two videos, one for the kids and one for the grown-ups (or older kids):
For the kids:
For the grown-ups:
Padre Pio promoted five spiritual disciplines:
1. Weekly Confession
“Confession is the soul’s bath. You must go at least once a week. I do not want souls to stay away from confession more than a week. Even a clean and unoccupied room gathers dust; return after a week and you will see that it needs dusting again!” (Padre Pio)
2. Daily Communion
3. Examination of Conscience Every Evening
4. Daily Spiritual Reading
5. Mental Prayer Twice Daily
“Confession is the soul’s bath. You must go at least once a week. I do not want souls to stay away from confession more than a week. Even a clean and unoccupied room gathers dust; return after a week and you will see that it needs dusting again!” (Padre Pio)
How to celebrate Padre Pio's Feast with your family
Cook and feast together! Because St. Pio was Italian today would be a great day to cook up some pasta with your family! Catholic Cuisine recommends Italian Sausage and Pasta. Although he led a very austere life with much fasting, he had a custom of a daily glass of beer at 5:30PM. This is sometimes explained that the water in his village was sometimes unsafe to drink, therefore beer was safer. (source) If you like beer, you could have a glass of beer and toast Padre Pio at 5:30PM! Your kids could have some root beer, ginger ale, or kombucha.
Do an Examination of Conscience at night. The Church recommends you do this nightly. If this is not your family's habit, you may want to try it for a week. You can teach this to your children. Here is an examination for children from The National Catholic Register:
Did I pay attention at Mass? Have I fooled around in Church? Did I say my prayers every day? Did I say mean things to my mom or dad? Did I always say "Thank You" to people? Am I hard to get along with (during school, at Grandma´s, at home?)? Did I do what my mom and dad told me to do? My teacher? Was I lazy around the house? Did I do my chores? Did I hurt others people´s feelings by calling them bad names? Have I started fights with my brothers and sisters at home? Have I blamed other people for things I do? Did I get other people into trouble? Do I hit people when I get mad? Have I forgiven people? Or am I holding a grudge? Have I cheated or been unfair in games? Did I refuse to play with someone for no good reason? Was I was lazy about my schoolwork? Did I fail to do my homework? Did I cheat in school? How many times did I lie to my parents? My teachers? My friends? Did I take anything that didn't belong to me? Did I avoid medicine? Did I refuse to eat food I didn't like?
After you think through these questions, pray a simple Act of Contrition before bed. Here's one you can use (or pray in your own words):
Oh my God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong And failing to do good, I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things. I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin. Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. In His name, my God, have mercy. Amen.
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