Dear Parish Family,
 
St Padre Pio said, “Prayer is the oxygen of the soul.” Think about this – what a powerful statement!  If you are not familiar with St Padre Pio, he was born in Pietralcina, Italy in 1887 and decided at the age of five to dedicate his life to God. Francesco Forigone entered the Capuchin order of Franciscan Friars at 15.  This is an order that follow extreme poverty, strictness, and simplicity.  St Padre Pio was ill throughout most of his life and for over fifty years he suffered with a painful stigma. This did not go away until shortly before his death. Throughout his life a pleasant aroma exuded from him. He felt this was a gift from God, not as a benefit to himself, but as a way to draw souls to God. Even today people often feel his presence through this captivating scent.  Saint John Paul II called the aroma of St Padre Pio “the aroma of sanctity.  When you smell – you know he is with you.”
 
He is known for the adoration of charity and love of the people around him.  In one of his more well know quotes he states, “I will wait outside of the gates of Heaven, until all of my spiritual children are inside.” 
 
St Padre Pio is a saint we pray to for the relief of stress. With everything that we are experiencing at this time, prayers filled with oxygen must be recited even more. He reminded us that “worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear our prayer”.
 
 
Let us pray -
 
Loving God, I pray that you will comfort me in my suffering and lend skill to the hands of my healers, and the means used for my cure.  Give me such confidence in the power of your grace, that even when I am afraid, I may put my whole trust in you.
 
Mary Jo