If St. Padre Pio gave you advice, would you take it?

If you were smart, you would! Padre Pio was an exceptionally holy man. A Capuchin friar in Italy during the 20th-century, Padre Pio had the stigmata (the wounds of Jesus), was known for bilocation (appearing in two places at once), and sometimes ‘read’ people’s souls in confession, telling them their sins.

But the devotion that he kept daily? The Sacred Heart.

St. Padre Pio must have received an incredible amount of prayer requests! People were constantly giving him their prayer intentions and sharing their needs. His solution? He prayed the “Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus” every day for all those who requested his prayers.

Padre Pio even told his spiritual director, Fr. Agostino Gemelli, about a mystical experience he had with the Sacred Heart one day while praying after Mass:

“After Mass, I stayed with Jesus to give thanks. Oh, how sweet was the conversation I had with Heaven this morning! […] The heart of Jesus and mine, if I may use the expression, merged. They were no longer two hearts beating, but one.

My heart had disappeared, like a drop of water that is lost in a sea. Jesus was its Paradise, its King. The joy in me was so intense and so deep, that I could not contain it; the most delicious tears flooded my face.”  (Letter 74, 18 April 1912; Epistolario I, 273)

Can you imagine that? Your heart merging with Jesus’ Sacred Heart! Yet that intimacy is precisely what God is calling each of us to. And – if we follow Padre Pio’s example – we can begin our journey towards that today!

PRAY WITH US AT 7 PM CT

Tune in tonight for the Family Rosary Across America at 7pm CT and join us in offering our hearts to Jesus!

And now, you can also join our Family Rosary Across America text group by texting “PRAY” to 914914 for updates and reminders to pray with us during this novena.

See you at the Rosary!