On
17 May 1603, the Capuchins were given a place
in which to build a monastery and the following
day they "planted the cross" and laid
the first stone. Apart from some brief intervals,
the monastery has always been home to novitiates
and on 6 January 1903, the feast of the Epiphany.
Francesco
knocked on the door and asked to become a novice
under the name of Brother Pio. "Stay very
close to the crib of this gracious child, especially
during the holy days commemorating His birth.
If you love riches, here you will find the gold
left by kinds; if you love honours, here you will
find the smell of incense, if you love the finer
points of the senses, you will smell the perfume
of myrrh, which spreads through all of this holy
place. Enrich yourself with love for this Heavenly
Child …" (Epist. III - p. 346)..
Padre Pio's Spirituality
Spiritual
school
"Let
us always trust in God, and may our lively faith and the comfort of Christian
hope assist us in this. We must pray continually, moreover, that peace may soon
smile on the nations. We should turn our thoughts to heaven, our true homeland,
of which our earthly country is but a dim image, and make every effort with the
divine assistance to preserve at all times, amidst happy or sad events, the cheerful
calm that becomes the true followers of the fair Nazarene" (Epist. I,
p. 596)
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