BORN OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

SAINT PIUS OF PIETRELCINA (PADRE PIO)

Ezra 6:7-8,12,14-20; Ps 122:1-5; Lk 8:19-21

The Reign of the Spirit of God

Through David’s desire to build a temple for God in Jerusalem, God revealed his intention to have a temple in Jerusalem, where he would dwell with his people in a covenantal peace. We attribute the inspiration to David because he was the first to receive, own, and reveal it to the prophet Nathan. But in an actual sense, the inspiration is from God’s Spirit residing in him, to whom David listens and obeys in everything. Whoever receives the word of God and keeps it equally receives the same Spirit. Thus, to live with the Spirit and receive inspiration from him is to have the fire of God within us. Without the Spirit within us to enlighten and guide us in all things, we can hardly find our path to God or fulfill the divine will. The Spirit of God rouses anyone to understand the will of God and to work in harmony with it. As Cyrus, the king of Persia, was moved by the Spirit to plan and order the rebuilding of the Temple of God in Jerusalem, Darius, the king, was equally inspired by the same Spirit after Cyrus to continue and complete the reconstruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. “King Darius wrote to the satrap of Trans-Euphrates and his colleagues: ‘Leave the high commissioner of Judah and the elders of the Jews to work on this Temple of God; they are to rebuild this Temple of God on its ancient site. This, I decree, is how you must assist the elders of the Jews in the reconstruction of this Temple of God.”

The high commissioner and the elders, who were also filled with the same Spirit of God, worked under his inspiration to reconstruct and rededicate the Temple in Jerusalem. Everything worked in their favour because they were following the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. “The elders of the Jews prospered with their building, inspired by Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished the building in accordance with the order of the God of Israel and the order of Cyrus and of Darius. This Temple was finished on the twenty-third day of the month of Adar; it was the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.” When we obey the word of God, we work under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and everything goes in our favour. When we live and work in harmony with God’s will, we represent him in our situation and environment. What a wonderful time that was, when God ordered, and the Persian kings, Cyrus, and Darius after him, worked in harmony with the high commissioner, the prophet, and the Jewish elders to build the Temple of God in Jerusalem. Through the kings, everybody in the empire contributed to the building of the Temple of Jerusalem. The rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem was a blessing to the Jews and to the people in the whole empire. “The exiles celebrated the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. The Levites, as one man, had purified themselves; all were pure, so they sacrificed the Passover for all the exiles, for their brothers the priests and for themselves.” God demonstrated his infinite power over creation by making even pagan kings obey his words given by his holy prophets.

Reading of these wonderful events in history ought to strengthen our faith in God’s word and his promises in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through obedience to the will of God, the Persian kings and the people under them enjoyed the favour of God. They contributed to the building of the Temple of God as his people. Obedience to the word of God is what endears us to him as his people. Jesus teaches this important lesson in the Gospel. “The mother and the brothers of Jesus came looking for him, but they could not get to him because of the crowd. He was told, ‘Your mother and brothers are standing outside and want to see you.’ But he said in answer, ‘My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice.” When we hear and keep the word of God in our hearts, the Spirit therein inspires us to love and do the will of the Father. The love and doing of the will of the Father makes us mothers and brothers of Jesus, for we conceive him and bring him to others. Saint Pius, Padre Pio, was so enamoured of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ that he bore his wounds and made him present to many people through his life. He was born in the small village of Pietrelcina in southern Italy. He joined the Capuchin friars at the age of 16. He was ordained a priest at 23 and spent fifty years at the monastery of San Giovanni Rotondo, where people flocked to see and seek his spiritual counsel on many matters bothering them. He was the spiritual director, confessor, and intercessor for many. He worked many miracles. He died a few days after the fiftieth anniversary of his receiving the stigmata.

Let us pray: Almighty ever-living God, who, by a singular grace, gave the Priest Saint Pius a share in the Cross of your Son and, by means of his ministry, renewed the wonders of your mercy, grant that through his intercession we may be united constantly to the sufferings of Christ, and so brought happily to the glory of the resurrection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.