A few nights ago my family gathered for our 1st ever "Catholic Family Movie Night." I have wished for this for years...to gather with my husband, my boys, and perhaps another Catholic family, to watch a movie that will point our hearts towards heaven. It finally happened. For my birthday I ordered $100-worth of great movies about the saints and some old Catholic classics. Then I invited some of our favorite friends to come over, but sadly, their kiddos were sick so they had to take a raincheck...which will certainly happen because we plan to do this once a month!
The first movie we chose to watch was "Padre Pio: Miracle Man." I highly recommend it. There were parts, however, that were dark and heavy and even hard for me to understand. But, all in all, it certainly inspired our faith and gave us a deeper awe for God (not to mention a more intense fear of the devil!). One theme that really struck me and gave me some consolation was the fact that Padre Pio often felt frustrated in his faith and didn't fully grasp God's will--even though he was obviously a very holy man, a man so close to Christ that he shared the wounds from the crucifixion (a miracle called the Stigmata). He also was given the gift of reading people's souls to help them make a worthy confession and had the rare ability to bi-locate (to be in two places at the same time) if the Lord felt it necessary to accomplish His will. How could a man with these miraculous gifts be so down-hearted at times and unsure of God's plan in his life??? I don't know the answer, but I do know that it somehow consoled me because I often feel like the more I mature in my faith, the more confused I am by God's ways, and the closer I get to Christ, the more lonely I feel. It reassured me to know that even the saints felt this way too. Perhaps I'm on the right track after all!
St. Pio, please pray for me to stay on the path that leads to heaven and to trust in God's will even when I don't understand it.
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