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Today is the feast day for St. Padre Pio. As I was growing up, I can remember my grandfather talking about this great man. He predicted, accurately, that Padre Pio would one day be named a saint. When my grandfather passed, I inherited some of his book collection. In it were several books on Padre Pio which I have spent some time studying. Padre Pio believed that the love of God was inseparable from suffering and that suffering all things for the sake of God was the way for the soul to reach God. Many say that he embraced this concept so well, he was blessed with the stigmata. He felt that his soul was lost in a chaotic maze, plunged into total desolation, as if he were in the deepest pit of hell. During his period of spiritual suffering, his followers believe that Padre Pio was attacked by the Devil, both physically and spiritually. He sincerely thought of himself as useless, unworthy of God's gifts, full of weakness and infirmity, and at the same time blessed with divine favors. Amid so much admiration around him, he would say, “I only want to be a poor friar who prays." He died on September 23, 1968. So many people struggle with the concept of Saints often citing the fact that many lived so long ago. Padre Pio is a man of our time and therefore very relevant to us. I would encourage to spend some time getting to know him better by visiting his official website here: St. Padre Pio

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