Padre Pio On The Blessed Mother And The Rosary

Padre Pio’s devotion to the Virgin Mary was rooted in the truth that Jesus specifically wills such devotion. Jesus chose to come to earth through Mary. Similarly, Jesus chooses that we come to Him through her; for her soul magnifies the Lord. As Scripture teaches: “And Mary said: My soul magnifies the Lord: And my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior Because he has regarded the humility of His handmaid: for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For He that is mighty has done great things to me.” {Luke 1:46-49) Scripture gives us a clear prophecy about the devotion which “all generations” of Christians (Catholics) will give to the Mother of God. It even uses the very word used in the Hail Mary, which Catholics pray: “Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.” Padre Pio understood all of this. Padre Pio said many times: “I wish 1 had a voice loud enough to tell all the sinners of the world to love Mary. She is the ocean across which one must travel in order to reach Jesus. ” Above Padre Pio’s door were the words: “Mary is the reason of all my hope.” Padre Pio on the Rosary as “the weapon” Padre Pio instructed: “Recite the Rosary and recite it always and as much as you can.” One person said: “We always saw him with his rosary in his hand – in the friary, in the halls, on the stairs, in the sacristy, in the Church, even in the brief interval when going to and coming from the confessional.” Another person added, “When at the end he did not talk to us anymore, we told him our thoughts. We asked for help. And all he did was to show us the rosary, always, always.” Speaking of Our Lady, Padre Pio said: “Each grace passes through her hands. ” Padre Pio instructed his spiritual children: “In all the free time you have, once you have finished your duties of state, you should kneel down and pray the Rosary. Pray the Rosary before the Blessed Sacrament or before a crucifix.” Concerning the Rosary, Our Lady herself said to Padre Pio: “With this weapon you will conquer.” Convinced of the power of the Rosary, Padre Pio always held the Rosary in his hands. When his death was approaching, he recommended the Rosary to his spiritual children by saying: “Love Our Lady and make her loved. Always recite the Rosary.” As Padre Pio was getting into bed (a few days before he died), he said to the friars who were in his room, “Give me my weapon!” And the friars, surprised and curious, asked him: “Where is the weapon? We cannot see anything!” Padre Pio replied: “It is in my habit, which you have just hung up!” After having gone through the pockets of his religious habit, the friars said to him: “Padre, there is no weapon in your habit! …we can only find your rosary beads there!” Padre Pio immediately said: “And is this not a weapon? …the true weapon?!”i85 Padre Pio wore the Rosary around his arm at night.