Vigils Reading

A Letter from PADRE PIO to his Spiritual Child5

May the divine Spirit come down into your heart and fill it entirely with heavenly charisms. How good our God is who lavished so many graces upon us and loves us so dearly although we do not deserve it. May He be for ever blessed by all creatures.

At the opening of the sacred novena in honour of the holy Child Jesus I felt my soul being born, as it were, to a new life. My heart felt too small to contain the heavenly favours and my soul seemed to disintegrate in the presence of this God who took human flesh for our sake. How can we help loving Him more and more ardently? Oh, let us draw near to the Child Jesus with hearts free from sin, that we may discover how sweet and delightful it is to love Him.

Do not fail to send up your supplications…especially during these days when heaven is open more than ever to send down divine graces upon us.

Pray, then, and do sweet violence to the little heart of this tender Infant who is filled with deep affection for us.

Take care, moreover, not to lose the presence of God by any action whatsoever. Never undertake any work or any action without first raising your mind to God and directing to Him with a pure intention the action you are about to perform. You should do likewise at the end of every action. Examine yourself as to whether you have done everything with the right intention you had at the beginning and if you find you have been at fault, then ask pardon of the Lord with humility while making a firm resolution to correct your faulty conduct.

You must not be discouraged or let yourself become dejected if your actions have not succeeded as perfectly as you intended. What do you expect? We are made of clay and not every soil yields the fruits expected by the one who tills it. But let us always humble ourselves and acknowledge that we are nothing if we lack the divine assistance.

To be worried because something we have done has not turned out in accordance with our pure intention shows a lack of humility. This is a clear sign that the person concerned has not entrusted the success of his action to the divine assistance but has depended too much on his own strength.

May the ever-present grace of the Lord invariably prevent you from being a prey to this evil spirit even to the slightest extent. It is never a small matter when a soul espoused to the Son of God succumbs to the wiles of this dreadful monster even in little things.

Never lie down to sleep without having first examined your conscience on the way you have spent the day and without first turning your thoughts to God. Then offer and consecrate your whole person and that of every Christian, especially my wretched self, to God, just as I do for you