A Saint Consoles A Future Saint

During our pilgrimage to Rome for the canonisation of St John Paul, our group of pilgrims spent a few days in San Giovanni Rotondo in the company of St Pio. They were wonderful days of prayer and reflection even if the weather was not great. While there I was able to browse through some of the Italian books on St Pio among them volume four of his Letters which has yet to be published in English. This volume is a gathering of letters he wrote to various people. 

The first in the volume was the letter he wrote to the Venerable Pope Paul VI expressing his obedience and support upon the promulgation of Humanae Vitae: the letter which brought great consolation to the Pontiff. St Pio was very fond of Pope Paul, and Pope Paul held the Capuchin friar in great esteem. Following St Pio's death, just a couple weeks after he wrote his letter to the Pontiff, Paul spoke in glowing terms of the priest. Indeed it was Paul who lifted the restrictions which St John XXIII had imposed on Pio. With the Venerable Pope Pius XII, Pope Paul believed that God was working in a dramatic and dynamic way in the stigmatised friar.

I thought I'd share with you this letter St Pio wrote to Pope Paul for your meditation, and as a consolation for all those who devote their lives to the pro-life cause. We have powerful friends in heaven.

San Giovanni Rotondo, 12th September, 1968.

Your Holiness:

Availing myself of Your Holiness' meeting with the Capitular Fathers, I unite myself in spirit with my Brothers, and in a spirit of faith, love and obedience to the greatness of Him whom you represent on earth, offer my respectful homage to Your August Person, humbly kneeling at Your feet.

The Capuchin Order has always been among the first in their love, fidelity and reverence for the Holy See. I pray the Lord that its members remain ever thus, continuing their tradition of seriousness and religious asceticism evangelical poverty, faithful observance of the Rule and Constitutions, renewing themselves in vigorous living and deep interior spirit—always ready, at the least gesture from Your Holiness, to go forward at once to assist the Church in her needs.

I know that Your heart suffers much these days on account of the happenings in the Church: for peace in the world, for the great needs of its peoples; but above all, for the lack of obedience of some, even Catholics, to the lofty teachings which You, assisted by the Holy Spirit and in the name of God, have given us. I offer Your Holiness my daily prayers and sufferings, the insignificant but sincere offering of the least of your sons, asking the Lord to comfort you with His grace to continue along the direct yet often burdensome way—in defense of those eternal truths which can never change with the times.

In the name of my spiritual sons and of the "Praying Groups" I thank Your Holiness for the clear and decisive words You have spoken in the recent encyclical, "Humanae Vitae", and I reaffirm my own faith and my unconditional obedience to Your inspired directives.

May God grant truth to triumph, and, may peace be given to His Church, tranquility to the people of the earth, and health and prosperity to Your Holiness, so that when these disturbing clouds pass over, the Reign of God may triumph in all hearts, through the Apostolic Works of the Supreme Shepherd of all Christians.

Prostrate at Your feet, I beg you to bless me, my Brothers in religion, my spiritual sons, the "Praying Groups", all the sick—that we may faithfully fulfill the good works done in the Name of Jesus and under your protection.

Your Holiness' most humble servant,
PADRE PIO, Capuchin

The Prophet Of Life: Our New Intercessor

In Ireland we have a saying: you wait for ages for a bus to come and then three come together. Well, it seems that in the Church we have such an experience now as, following the canonisation of Sts John Paul II and John XXIII, the beatification of the Venerable Paul VI has been announced. The Cause of the Venerable Pius XII is also at an advanced stage as a miracle is now being examined. Some are critical of these glorifications, I even hear talk of "canonising Vatican II" - I will refrain from commenting on that particular slant. It needs only to be said that God has spoken in the case of St John Paul and the Venerable Paul VI in the language of miracles. Pope Francis decided to use his prerogative and canonise St John XXIII without need for a miracle, but God had spoken of his will with regard to Pope John in the miracle for his beatification.

The response to Paul's beatification has been mixed, as one would expect. Many welcome it, many more traditionally minded are not so keen, and there are some who know nothing about him. If you are a regular reader of my blog you will know that I welcome the announcement and, God willing, I may even get over the Rome for the ceremony. Paul is a controversial figure, his papacy was a difficult one both for him and for the Church. With the closing of the Second Vatican Council and the promulgation of Humanae Vitae Paul faced incredible challenges, some of which seemed to overwhelm him. Though some might dispute it, it was in his suffering, I believe, that Paul was sanctified. A man who sought to persuade rather than coerce, he found that he could not convince many in the Church, both liberal and traditionalist, left and right, to see things as he saw them. As traditionalists rose up against the Council, liberals rose up against his reaffirmation of orthodox Church teaching on life: Paul stood in the middle trying to reconcile, suffering and facing a heavier cross as his papacy developed. His death in 1978 was a blessed release for him coming suddenly after the brutal murder of one of his closest friends. 

I won't get into the controversies here, but I would recommend you read Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith's brief but comprehensive article on Paul's papacy, he sums it up very well. Paul's beatification is most timely. It will conclude the Synod on the Family which may well be a difficult and contentious affair, perhaps bringing the Church into another Humanae Vitae moment. Pope Francis may well have need of the example and intercession of Blessed Paul. It is timely for other reasons, among them the various challenges we face as Christians in an ever increasing secular world. The Pro-Life movement must surely welcome the beatification, for Paul is a prophet of life; he suffered for the cause of life, and I hope he will indeed be numbered among the patrons for the cause of life. I would urge those involved in the pro-life cause around the world to come to Rome for the beatification. Our presence at the glorification of the prophet of life would not only send a statement around the world, but also be a moment of encouragement for all of us.

Pope Paul died on the feast of the Transfiguration, a feast which celebrates that mysterious event in which Jesus prepared three of his apostles for the scandal of the cross with a glimpse of his divinity. Paul was sustained by his faith in the Risen Christ, he carried his cross with his heart set on the heart of Christ. We can say now, surely, that on that day when he closed his eyes, Paul opened them to gaze upon his transfigured Lord for ever. His own cross passing away to the joy of eternal life in the house of the Father. From that house I pray that he will look down upon us in these difficult times and intercede for us: that we may carry our cross with faith and seek to be authentic witnesses to Christ even if it means suffering. 

Prophet Of Life Moves Closer To Beatification

In the past few days it has been announced that a miracle has been approved by the theologians in the Congregation for the Causes of Saints for the Venerable Paul VI.  The documentation now passes to the Prefect and members of the Congregation and then to the Pope, but as the medical experts and now the theologians have passed it, the final steps should be a formality.  We could see Pope Paul beatified by the end of the year.  If there is a possibility of a repeat of the Humanae Vitae crisis following the synod in October, that beatification would be timely and providential.

Many people have difficulties with Pope Paul, particularly those who disagreed with his decisions with regard to the liturgy.  As I have said before it was a crazy time, not every decision made was a good one, not every reform was implemented faithfully and Pope Paul did make mistakes, as does every Pope.  We do have to remember, however, that though he was a complex person, highly sensitive, perhaps overly optimistic and maybe at times a little naive, when it came to the crunch with regard to the issue of life, not only was Paul not found wanting, but he was heroic and nothing less than a prophet. Humanae Vitae is one of the most prophetic documents of the contemporary Church in which we see that Pope Paul could join the dots when even some of the great theologians failed to, and he could foresee serious pastoral and human problems down the road when even the most pastoral and astute bishops could not.  He had good people around him to support him - Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, whose influence on Humanae Vitae can be easily discerned, and the English language editor of Osservatore Romano, Fr Lambert Greenan, OP, an Irish Dominican.

I remember spending a whole afternoon with Fr Lambert when over in Irondale, AL, having finished recording a series of Forgotten Heritage.  He was living with a congregation of sisters helping them write their constitutions.  He spoke of those turbulent years and his own struggle to defend the Pope's teaching on life.  Many English speaking bishops rejected Humanae Vitae and their statements in response to the encyclical were less than faithful to the successor of Peter.  Fr Lambert refused to publish many of these statements, raising the ire of these bishops.  He told of one encounter in which a bishop stood in the office of Osservatore Romano tearing strips off the friar, and threatening him.  It was like water off a duck's back to Fr Lambert - he told the bishop that as long as he rebelled against the Pope no statement or article from that bishop's pen would ever be considered for publication.  Fr Lambert stood by the Pope, and Paul was grateful for such fidelity.  In that conversation Fr Lambert shared his observations, revealing the extent of the Pope's suffering, his lonely journey to Calvary, and they certainly deepened my appreciation of the pontiff.

Of course though some faithful souls supported him, it did not diminish the weight of the cross Paul had to carry, and if Fr Lambert was being regularly abused by unfaithful bishops we can imagine what Paul was getting.  That suffering would eventually kill him, the last straw was the murder of his friend Aldo Moro, now Servant of God himself.  Virtue is perfected in suffering and the diamond which emerges from the furnace of suffering is holiness: this is the legacy Pope Paul leaves us.  

With the benefit of hindsight we see the prophetic truth in Humanae Vitae, though many still continue to deny it as the fruits of the culture of death diminishes the value of human life, promiscuity is destroying more and more lives and the bodies of millions of dead children pile up in abortion clinics all over the world.  With all that still to manifest itself clearly, and with, it seemed, the whole world against him, sensitive, poetic, gentle Paul, must have been tempted many times just to give in to ease the burden: but he didn't. He knew what was right and if he had to let them crucify him in order to witness to what was right, then so be it. 

I see Paul as the suffering pontiff of the 20th century, that is where his greatness lies.  I have no doubt that his beatification will raise the ire of many in and outside the Church, but for the faithful, those committed to the Gospel of Life, his elevation to the altars will a sign from God that one day those working and suffering for the cause of life will be victorious.  May the Venerable Paul VI pray for us all and may his beatification strengthen us and fill us with joy: God will have indeed raised up a Prophet for Life in our midst.

A worn out Venerable Paul VI at the funeral of his murdered friend Aldo Moro on 13th May 1978, a few months before the Pope's own death.

Declared Venerable: The Prophetic Pontiff

When darkness falls, God always sends a shaft of light to ease the gloom which has descended on the hearts of his faithful.  As we in Ireland struggle to protect the lives of children now endangered by an abortion regime, a sign of hope has been given to us: or at least that is how I see the elevation of the Servant of God, Pope Paul VI to the status of Venerable.  Yes, yesterday the Holy Father signed the Decree of Heroic Virtue thus granting the late Pontiff the title Venerable and bringing him closer to beatification.  A miracle is making its way through the Congregation of Causes of Saints and seems it may be approved by the Pope in the coming months and Pope Paul will probably be beatified during the Year of Faith.

I know some people have issues and problems with this: they may ask - why is there a rush to beatify recent popes?  Well, I come from a position of an openness to the will of God and leaving the glorification of his servants up to him.  In accordance with the process established, the will of God is made known by verifiable miracles.   In faith I accept that when God grants a miracle through the intercession of a Servant of God or Blessed, then that is the time that God wants the beatification or canonisation to take place.  Sometimes that may take a long time - as in the case of St Martin de Porres whose Cause took a number of centuries; and sometimes it happens quickly, as in the Cause of Blessed John Paul II, where miracles were occurring soon after his death.  The administration work on a Cause should be done as efficiently as possible, however long it takes, but if that work is done and a miracle is granted, then why delay?  If God has seen fit to grant the miracle quickly, then why say, "Well, we'll leave that for a few hundred years so as not to rush it": is that not, in some way saying, "Well, maybe God is rushing this, we'll have to slow Him down"?  Or is it a case of "We didn't like him, we should leave off beatification as long as possible and hopefully he'll fall between the cracks and be forgotten"?

I believe the beatification of the Venerable Paul VI will be timely - this is the kairos.   Yes, as I said in a previous post, there are issues in his life and pontificate which present many people with difficulties and problems.  But there are other issues which reveal a truly heroic and holy man who emerged, even as a broken and sensitive man, as a prophet for our times: a prophet for the cause of life.  In the midst of the culture of death, God has raised up a suffering servant to challenge the distorted thinking of many today: a thinking that is convinced that the murder of innocent children is permissible, good and necessary; a distorted thinking that sees the killing of the unborn as somehow creating a "culture of life". 

This is what we must draw from his glorification, and I see in this God's saying to us who work for the cause of life that he is with us; that he blesses our efforts; that he will grant us the graces we need, and he will do what he can to turn the hearts of those who seek to enshrine the culture of death in our countries.  I see in this God giving us a new patron for the cause of life - the Pope of Humanae Vitae, the Prophet of the cause of life, a Champion of human life, who, from heaven, will support our efforts with his prayers and be present with us in our struggle.  What hope that gives me today!  How providential that this should happen in these days. 

Let us pray that the Venerable Paul's beatification will be celebrated very soon, and then, soon after, his canonisation.  In the meantime I commend the pro-life movement in Ireland to his care and intercession, may he watch over us, guide us and help us.   Let us call on him now:

O Venerable Pope Paul, help us in Ireland to win the battle against abortion.  Obtain from the Lord the graces we need to help turn the hearts of our politicians to the cause of life, that the Holy Spirit may guide our actions and our words, to restrain our passions and increase our charity.  Help us to endure whatever suffering may come in our struggle so it may be offered in the cause of life and, united with the sufferings of Christ, be of service for the salvation of souls.

Venerable Pope Paul VI, pray for us.

UPDATE:  It seems there is a lot of negative reaction to the Holy Father's declaring Pope Paul Venerable - to be expected, I suppose.  More information though.  It seems the miracle being considered for his beatification was one performed for an unborn child sixteen years ago in the US.  The baby had serious problems and mother was advised to have an abortion.  She refused and they prayed to Pope Paul.  Despite all the medical evidence of the problem, the baby was born perfectly healthy, and now at fifteen, the child is in perfect health, showing no signs of any impairment.  How appropriate is that!  It seems there is also a second miracle for the Venerable Pope Paul - a nun who is said to have been miraculously healed of a tumour.    Andrea Tornelli has some details.