Obedient

“Where there is no obedience there is no virtue, where there is no virtue there is no good, where there is no good there is no love, where there is no love, there is no God, and where there is no God there is no Paradise.” (Saint Padra Pio).

Saint Maria Francesca of Jesus Rubatto

I love Saint Padre Pio.

I once heard a priest say that he believed that God had not ended the world during the great Wars and persecutions of the Twentieth Century because of the sacrifices of Saint Padre Pio.  And though this was the opinion of one man and certainly not an official teaching of the Church, I certainly remember it and have reflected on this very often since.

Saint Padre Pio was an extraordinary Saint.  He endured terrible suffering through the Stigmata, which are the wounds of Christ that appeared in his flesh.  He also experienced terrible temptation by the Evil One.  And there was terrible persecution by people within the Church itself, who thought that he was a sinner who was faking his holiness for attention.

Saint Padre Pio was able to see into the soul of another and see Angels and devils.  He was able to understand what sins were missing in a Confession and spent many hours each day in the Confessional (when his superiors allowed him to – for there were periods of his life where he was not allowed to administer the sacraments) hearing the confessions of people and helping them to make a true reconciliation to God.

Saint Padra Pio said, “Where there is no obedience there is no virtue, where there is no virtue there is no good, where there is no good there is no love, where there is no love, there is no God, and where there is no God there is no Paradise.”

In the late nineteenth century, in Italy, Saint Maria Francesca of Jesus Rubatto took a vow of virginity in her teenage years.  Following the death of her mother, when she was just nineteen years old, the Saint moved to Turin, working for a noblewoman teaching the woman’s children catechism (and also teaching the catechism to other children I the city).  There were nuns in the city who noticed the Saint’s good deeds with others and asked her to join their community.  Eventually Saint Maria became the Mother Superior of a new community of Capuchin Franciscan sisters. Saint Maria travelled seven times to America founding Catholic missions in Uruguay and Argentina.

And I have been reflecting on these two Saints because they lived lives obediently to the Holy Will of God.  They followed the intuition of their faith and it was only through the great and heroic practice of Charity that they were able to allow the Holy Spirit into their lives.

And I compare this against my own life today and all the various quirks and problems within it and it seems to me that I am quite overcome by all the various excuses that I have for failing to be obedient, when all my Beloved is asking of me is that I listen to what He has to say, and be obedient to His Holy Will…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.