June 16, 1978

A SORROWFUL PASSION AND RESPLENDENT RESURRECTION

Write, my son; I am Padre Pio.

My voice could not be lacking, united to those of the blessed of Paradise who spoke to you. Even when I was upon earth, most dear son, I saw with clarity and by the divine Goodness, the future development of the life of the Church. I saw its trials, its fatigues and its afflictions; I saw its ascent to Calvary - now taking place -; I also saw the darkness in which it is enveloped and in-to which it is sinking more and more -, I saw its Judases and the consequences of their betrayal; I saw the martyrs; I saw those condemned to death; I saw blood flowing abundantly upon earth, and I also saw the sprouts, filled with vital humors. From the Church, I saw the dawn of its springtime; I saw its sorrowful passion and also its resplendent resurrection, and among all this I also saw you, my son, Octavio; yes, I saw you with your cross, following the Lamb upon the way to Calvary; with the weight of your tribulations upon your back, while you announced the central problem of pastoral practice to the Church, which has been put to one side and forgotten by large numbers of pastors and an even greater number of priests, who in the name of I know not what reform or council, have tried to change everything, to re-structure everything: the Bible, the Gospel, tradition placing Christ to one side, true God and true man, and now even more openly, they accept only his humanity, and practically reject and deny his divinity. To try to re-structure God, to attempt to re-structure doctrine and morals, means that they have reached the highest level of presumption and of pride that man can attain.

My son, it is true that in the past there existed men of the character of so many presumptuous theologians of this century, but those men appeared upon the scenario of the Church in successive ages; such a great number never appeared in just one century, and they never put under discussion all of revelation and the entire Law, and this is the cause, as was said to you yesterday, of their having lost the awareness of good and of evil, of the licit and of the illicit.

The enemy will not prevail

How much time, my son, did Satan need to prepare his immense and complex plan of materializing the Church and the world? Millenniums! But in these last two centuries, in the name of progress, and making use of this very progress, he has accelerated the times with the means that the progress of "things" has placed at the disposition of humanity, and therefore, at the disposition of the Church. He has accelerated his death dealing plan of demolition of the Church, which he always hated; he even hated it before the Savior placed it as a sacrament of salvation in the midst of humanity. The enemy's aim and purpose of demolishing the work of God is almost attained, but he will not be permitted to go beyond the determined limit; that is, he will not prevail, but the damage caused to souls is certainly incalculable; it is beyond that which the human mind is capable of comprehending.

For now it is useless, my son, to give an answer to the reason for all this, for it was already given you before, and repeated many times.

My son Octavio, you have been chosen as an instrument of divine Providence to propose again the true problem of pastoral practice, because it should be at the very base of all ecclesial activity, for no renewal or regeneration is possible, without its being founded upon solid principles of faith and of morals, that never pass away.

The winds of purification are already blowing

My son Octavio, the millenniums before him are less than an instant that passes, and the present situation in the Church is like that of a cloudy morning in autumn: a heavy and immobile atmosphere, no visibility, many incidents and great malaise; then, a wind arises that blows away the cold and the dense, dark fog, and the sun once again begins to shine and to inspire confidence in the tired and dejected souls. The winds of purification are already blowing, and they are filling the sky with increasingly black clouds; then, the storm, the tempest, that will overturn and sweep away everything, and that will terminate the foolish and insensate hopes of the enemy; afterwards, the sun will illumine the earth with a new light, a light never before seen or known. The heat of this sun will make the earth fruitful, as it never was before.

My son, the divine Goodness has reserved for you the privilege of contemplating everything, and of being able to see the glorious victory, after the harsh battle you predicted. Then, you also will ascend to the House of the Father, to sing eternally with us the praises of God, to proclaim his power, his glory, and his honor, for the eternal ages.

My son, he beholds you with love. Love him; love him, son; follow him to the summit. May he bless you, and all of you, and protect you always from the assaults of your and his enemies.

Padre Pio