September 23, 2008

Featured Saint of the Day: St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

Today Deacon Rick and Jenny spoke about many different facets to our Catholic Faith. One of which was to commemorate this the feast of St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina. St. Padre Pio was an Italian friar who bore the wounds of Christ, known as the Stigmata. He first received the gift of the Stigmata while praying before a Crucifix in the choir loft of his monastery in San Giovanni Rotondo. The Crucifix came to life in a horrifyingly real vision of the Crucified Christ. When Christ departed an angel pierced St. Pio with the wounds of Christ. St. Pio was a humble man and was known to tell those who would come in droves to see him that he only wished to be a Catholic Friar who prayed all day. St. Pio was given many gifts from God during his ministry where he touched thousands in his small monastery. The wounds of Christ that St. Pio bore, though painful, were said to smell of roses, another gift was St. Pio's gift to read consciences in the confessional. A more extraordinary gift was that St. Pio was known to bilocate on different occasions. He is also credited with miraculous healings for those who pray to him. St. Pio was born in 1897 and died on September 23, 1968: he was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2002. In March of 2008 he was exhumed from his tomb and found to be incorrupt. Above is a picture that was taken of St. Pio after this discovery.

Also today Deacon Rick lead us through several minutes of reflection with Steven Curtis Chapman through his music. We listened to "The Journey" and then to "Be Still and Know." It was a calming way to center yourself on God for the coming day.

Also discussed was the success of Catholics Come Home who have produced radio and television ads to encourage Catholics to come home and embrace their faith. You can go to their website to view some of the commercials or listen here on KWKY to hear them throughout the day. www.catholicscomehome.org

Deacon Rick then spoke to us about some of his homily from the weekend. Saying that not only are we to seek Christ in our daily life, but as Christians we know that Christ also seeks us. Christ seeks us in the Gospel, in the Sacraments, and through the Magisterium of the Church. This lead him to talk about Bishop Pate's request that all priests and deacons preach this coming weekend on "Catholic Citizenship." More importantly on how to form your conscience as a Catholic in terms of voting. The document that was issued was formed by all the committees of bishops in America. They then voted on the document and it was overwhelmingly supported. The document focuses on the importance of the life issues when discerning how to vote.

Jenny wanted to encourage anyone who is interested to participate in the Alzheimer's Memory Walk that is taking place this Saturday, September 27. It begins at 9am. Jenny invites anyone interested to join her team on the walk, "Helen's Angels." You can e-mail her at riseandshine@kwky.com