103 posts 9/30/2007 3:48 am
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Padre Pios Mass... Eucharistic liturgy and conclusive rites
II. Eucharistic liturgy and conclusive rites
(LAST PART)
And bowing His head He gave up the ghost, writes John on the death of Jesus. It couldn’t be any different for the crucified priest of Gargano at the altar.
~Do you also die in the Holy Mass?
Mystically in Holy Communion.
~Is it out of ardent love or sorrow that you suffer death?
Both one and the other: but more out of love.
~During the Communion you suffer death: in that case you are no longer at the altar.
Why? Wasn’t Jesus dead on the Calvary?
~You have said, Padre, that in Communion the victim dies. Do they place you in the arms of the Holy Virgin?
Of St. Francis.
A compassionate heart dared to hope that the sweet Lord had finally found a soul amongst his creatures where He could rest at ease. The most humble of St. Francis was not of the same opinion.
~Padre, does Jesus detach his arms from the cross in order to rest in you?
It is I who rest in Him!
~how much do you love Jesus?
The desire to love Him is infinite, but practically alas! I would be tempted to say my love was null and I am ashamed of it.
At the end of the Holy Mass Padre Pio would recite the Prologue of St. John with deep emotion and with burning face.
~Why do you weep every time you read the last gospel of the Mass?
And does it mean so little to you for god to talk with His creatures? The escatological vision of the Eucharistic was not absent in the Seraph of Gargano either.
~Why do you weep ‒ sobs and tears were abundant ‒ when you come to the last phrase of the Gospel according to St. John:
“And we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth”?
and does it seem little to you? If the apostles with human eyes were able to see so much glory, what will the glory we shall see in the of God be, when He will make himself manifest to us in Heaven?
~What kind of union shall we have with Jesus in Heaven?
Ah!… We can get an idea from the Eucharist.
This was the Mass of Padre Pio. And there were others present besides.
~Does the Most Holy Virgin attend the Mass?
And do you suppose the Mother to have no interest in the ?
~Do the Angels attend your Mass?
In multitudes.
~What do they do?
They adore and love.
~Padre, who is nearest your altar?
All Paradise.
The Mass would come to an end, but in the heart of the Stigmatist of Gargano there was still the desire to remain crucified at the altar.
~Do wish you could celebrate more than one mass a day?
If it were in my power I would never come down from the altar.
Since he could not remain forever nailed to the altar, the most exceptional Liturgist would make an altar of himself with the intension of rendering the Passion of Jesus visible at all times.
~You have told me you carry the altar with you.
Yes, making the saying of the apostle come true: “carrying in me the mortification of Jesus”; “I am nailed to the cross”;  punish my body and render it servant”.
~I am right then in saying that Jesus crucified walks in the midst of us! You are forever suffering all the Passion of Jesus!
Yes… out of his goodness and kindness, as far as is possible for a human being.
~And how can you work with such pain?
I find my repose on the cross.
Make me an altar for the Cross, the Padre had asked the Lord. The prayer was fully granted, because never before had it been made, perhaps, with so much sincerity of heart. The altar which divine Artist came out with was really very beautiful, indeed: in two millenniums of Christianity was never seen anything similar. It was by far the best.
Jesus was really impressed, because it was the first perfect reproduction of his own.
In his transport, the Stignatist of Calvary would not raise His own Cross on that altar: he delighted in placing to his likeness the crucified Padre Pio.
And now for a word to ourselves.
A Mass! Ask any angel ‒ declares Padre Pio ‒ what a Mass really is and would answer you in truth. I know what it is and why it is done, but as for its worth however, I cannot comprehend it. An angel, a thousand angels, all in heaven, know this and this is how they think. And you, you who have been given the benefit, won’t you reflect on it?
In attending Holy Mass ‒ it is still Padre Pio speaking ‒ concentrate your whole self on the tremendous mystery that is taking place before your eyes: “The Redemption of your soul and the reconcillation with God”.
~Padre, does the Lord love the sacrifice?
Yes, because with it He regenerated the world.
~How much glory does the Holy Mass give God?
Infinite glory.
~What should we do during the Holy Mass?
Commiserate and love.
~Padre, in what manner should we hear Holy Mass?
In the manner the Most Holy Virgin and the pious women attended it. In the way St. John took part in the sacrifice of the Eucharist and the Sacrifice of blood of the Cross.
~What do we gain by hearing Mass?
The benefit cannot reckoned. You will see them in Heaven.
CONCLUSION
In the new heaven and on the earth that John foretells at the end of times, so will the Holy city of Jerusalem be new, coming down from heaven as a radiant bride for its spouse. It is the new tabernacle of God among men. God will live in the midst of his people.
The new Jerusalem ‒ says the exiled of Patmos besides ‒ does not need the sun or the moon, because it is illuminated by the glory of God: the elect shall walk about in that light with name of the Lamb impressed on their forehead.
~Padre, will we contemplate you crucified in Paradise?
For your greater glory.
In heaven, the Seraph of Pietrelcina will be also contemplated by his in Jesus eternally crucified, for the glory of the Father.
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Philippine Center for St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Inc.
188 E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave. Bagumbayan Q.C.
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