Padre
Pio on Christian Perfection
PADRE
PIO TEACHES ON CHRISTIAN PERFECTION Taken from Letters II, Oct. 23, 1914
Padre
Pio told his spiritual daughter, Raffaelina Cerase, to pray to her Guardian Angel and to
the saint whose name she bore for grace and wisdom. This heavenly light is the finest
grace one could ask for. It cannot be acquired by prolonged study or through human
teaching, but is directly infused by God.
 We
must ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten us to three great truths: 1) our Christian vocation,
2) greater knowledge of our eternal inheritance, 3) to penetrate more deeply the mystery
of how wretched sinners such as ourselves have been led to salvation.
A
person who desires perfection needs to undertake both internal and external action. In
striving toward internal perfection, we must first practice the virtue of charity. When a
person loves money, honors and good health, he does not always possess what he loves,
whereas he who loves God possesses Him at once. Also, the soul needs patience. The virtue
of patience maintains order in one's interior life. Love, joy and peace are virtues which
perfect the soul with regard to what it possesses, while patience perfects it with regard
to what it endures.
Padre
Pio encourages his spiritual children to practice externally the virtue of kindliness, to
be agreeable and courteous. Polite manners draw others to imitate him in the devout life.
If others do not respond to kindness, we need the virtue of forbearance. Never desist from
one's effort to help others, even if they are not deriving benefit of our help.
Strive
for meekness, which makes us stifle our anger when we see our efforts repaid with
ingratitude, insults or offenses. Add faithfulness, by which the soul gains confidence.
Virtues
which perfect the devout person with regard to control of his own senses are modesty,
continence and chastity: modesty, governing all exterior acts; continence, restraint over
senses of sight, touch, taste, smell and hearing; chastity, which ennobles our nature and
makes it similar to the angels.
Happy
the one who possesses these fine virtues, all of them fruits of the Holy Spirit who dwells
within him. Such a soul has nothing to fear and will shine in the world as the sun in the
heavens. Padre Pio. |
