Homily for the Second Sunday In Ordinary Time Cycle C On the Occasion on the Announcement of the First Padre Pio Festival at St. Bede Parish January 16 - 17, 2016

Today, my dear parishioners, in fact, this whole weekend, I have chosen as an opportunity to explain to you an upcoming event this June, which you will be hearing more and more about in the coming months: Our first ever parish festival in honor of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, more commonly known as Padre Pio.

What's it all about? Why Padre Pio? And why is it so important that I dedicate a homily at every Mass to it? Let me start out with today's Gospel, because I really believe that Gospel sets the stage for what I am about to say.

In today's Gospel, we hear an amazing story. It is the first recorded miracle of Jesus and it took place at an event most of us are familiar with - a wedding celebration. While the miracle in itself is fascinating, the fact that the wine ran out and Jesus turned water into wine, saving that poor couple from embarrassment. Still more fascinating, is that when you read the account it sounds like that miracle was not the one Jesus intended for His first. Remember what He said when Mary, his mother, came to Him and she said: "Son, they have no more wine." He replied: "Mother, how does this affect Me." "My hour has not yet come."

You see, Jesus could have worked His miraculous healings all by Himself. After all, He was, He is, God and man, human and Divine. What this Gospel does is, it opens up a window, if you will, to see how Jesus will conduct His ministry throughout the three years of His public life, with other people assisting Him. Allowing them to be the bridge between the needs of others and His compassionate heart.

The first person to do that was His mother Mary. Soon after would be His apostles bringing Him the crippled, the blind, the outcast, the public sinners. Carrying them to Him, encouraging them to trust Jesus' power and His love and to simply follow Mary's instructions and do whatever He tells you.

But it didn't stop there. No, down through the ages of Christianity, Jesus has used His faithful disciples, as He used His mother, and His apostles to carry the needs of His people to Him with their prayers, their words and their words of supplication, similar to Mary's: "Jesus, they have no eye sight, no hearing, no hope." This human bridge between God and His people, we call "Saints". In fact, in her wisdom, Holy Mother, the Church, in order to determine whether to officially declare one of her son's and daughter's among the list of Saints in heaven, has looked for some miracle beyond any scientific explanation that can be attributed to that Saint's intercession with God, for the final stamp of approval.

If there is one modern day Saint who fits that description, perhaps more than any other, it would have to be the simple, holy beloved Italian man, whose deep and close relationship through His priesthood, changed the lives of countless people, during his life and now even after his death, from His place in Heaven. That man's name is Francesco Forgione. More commonly known as Padre Pio. Up to the time of his death in 1968, Padre Pio had been receiving an astounding 5,000 letters a month and thousands of visitors each year to his monastery in San Giovanni Rotondo, in southern Italy. Some were asking for physical ills to be cured. Some were seeking spiritual healing. And some were just plain curious.

But one thing they all had in common: They all believed in the intense spirituality of this holy man who perhaps, only once ever traveled beyond the 20 mile radius of his monastery. Two Popes, countless Bishops, Priests, world leaders and hundreds of thousands of just simple people, came to him and still do.

His intense spirituality was exemplified in two powerful ways among many. First, it was the stigmata and secondly his effectiveness as a confessor. For many years of his priesthood, Padre Pio received a gift that very few humans, with the exception of the founding father of his order, St. Francis, receive and that was that Padre Pio had the wounds that Jesus experienced at His crucifixion on his body. Padre Pio's hands and side would bleed when he said Mass. A fact that was scientifically and medically unexplainable and proven not to be a hoax. One of the fascinating things about the stigmata was that at the moment of Padre Pio's death these wounds disappeared.

The other example of this saintly priesthood was exhibited in the many hours a day he would spend in the confessional hearing the confessions of hundreds of people who waited in line so patiently. It was re-counted many times that Padre Pio often knew the sins of a person before they even confessed them. Referring not just to general categories of sin but to specific acts that this priest could have never just guessed even through a true knowledge of human nature. He led people through a deeper conversion, in the confessional, saying you forget this sin or that sin using specific circumstances. He rebuilt the bridge between God and his people. Padre Pio helped many people reconcile with their enemies, to find room in their hearts to forgive, and to be convinced, that God had room in His heart to forgive them.

And that, perhaps is the key phrase for why I think encouragement of devotion to Padre Pio, and the establishment of a religious festival in his honor here at St. Bede is so important. This is a Jubilee Year of Mercy and our Holy Father Pope Francis, knows how many people feel distance from their families, from their fellow men and woman and from the Catholic Church. The merciful heart of our Savior has to be made real for people again. And I believe among the many ways we can do that, devotion to Padre Pio is a powerful way.

Through the years of my being here at St. Bede, and especially over the past couple of months, people have been sharing their stories of miracles, about personal miracles, attributed to Padre Pio's intercession on their behalf. These stories have to be shared. They build up our faith.They remind us that Jesus is still at work in this world. And He is still using His Saints, and we are His earthly Saints, to get the job done. So what will happen here at St. Bede? In preparation for the festival we will soon be announcing a parish movie night where a full length movie, professionally done about his life, will be shown. Sometime in April I will be inviting Father Keith Chalenski, a priest of our Archdiocese who teaches at St. Charles Seminary and who is very devoted to Padre Pio, to share his reflections with us at all Masses on a weekend.

But the climax will be a weekend festival on Saturday, Sunday, June 25th, 26th of this year. The Sunday celebration will include a special Mass at 12:30 celebrated by Father Pio Mondoto, a priest who lives here in the United States, and whose family is related to Padre Pio. After the Mass a street procession, with the statue of the Saint, will go through the surrounding streets giving us an opportunity for an unusual public manifestation of our faith. The Mass will be followed by a healing and prayer service during which the relics, including the glove of Padre Pio, worn during Mass to absorb the blood, will be applied to those who have special prayer intentions.

Because this event will be widely publicized, the expectation is that hundreds of pilgrims will come from all over and join us that day. We have the grounds and the facilities and the people to conduct and stage an event of this proportion. I thank our Knights of Columbus Council for taking the lead on this. A committee has been formed and we are already beginning the work of securing food vendors and entertainment, etc. to provide a festival like setting so that people can enjoy their time with us that weekend.

Obviously many people will be needed to help out and at the same time take advantage of this prayerful opportunity for themselves. So consider coming to our next meeting which will be on Wednesday, January 27th and find out how you can help. Follow our special website for updates. Set your calendar to be here. Invite family and friends to join us.

I would like to conclude with a personal story of a miracle attributed to Padre Pio which I witnessed firsthand. Many of his miracles are the healing of both spiritual and physical of young people, especially young adults and this story involves an 18 year old boy. His name was Paul Walsh and he lived in Ridley Park. I was stationed in that area at St. Rose of Lima Parish in 1982. His parents came to me, as they did to many priests, and asked me to go to the hospital and visit him at Crozer, in Chester.

Paul had been involved in a serious car accident. He hit a telephone pole and had brain injuries that, if he survived, would have left him likely in a vegetative state. The doctors gave him little hope. It would take a miracle to bring him back.

His dear parents had never ceased praying for him and encouraged everyone to pray to Padre Pio. I went to visit him many times and the situation certainly looked hopeless. In fact, eventually his parents told all of the priests to make one final visit because the doctors insisted they were going to remove all life support because there was no further hope. However, his parents had the glove of Padre Pio applied to Paul along with prayers, and a lot of faith and hope.

The day after Paul woke up and began to speak to the doctors and nurses. They removed the machinery from him and nurses mentioned that during the night, a priest in a brown robe and a beard came and said he was going to pray over Paul. They were not surprised since many priests did come to pray over him. The roommate in the room was awakened by the sight of a priest in a robe during the night. Both Paul and his roommate concurred that the priest smiled and looked at him and said: "You are looking well."

About three days later a knock came to the rectory door. I did not know what had happened at the hospital. When I opened the door it was Mr. and Mrs. Walsh and behind them was Paul. I nearly collapsed in my chair in the office and was speechless and said: "I can't believe it." But I was wrong - I believed. Paul Walsh is alive and well, fully recovered.

My dear people, Mary said in today's Gospel - "Do whatever He tells you." I believe that Jesus is telling me, and all of us as a parish, to lead others to experience His power through the special intercession of Padre Pio. I believe it will be the spiritual benefit to all of us, to our parish and to those who will make their pilgrimage to this site, and to our annual festival. But as always I need your help, your support and your prayers. Thank you for listening and God bless you.