Padre Pio: The Years are Passing
Do things in such a way that the current year will be more fruitful in good works than the last.
Padre Pio is asking Antonietta to seek out creative possibilities for the coming year and reminds her that Jesus has pledged his presence forever.
January 2, 1918
Antonietta,
I heartily recommend that you take concern to have your heart be more pleasing to our Master day by day. Do things in such a way that the current year will be more fruitful in good works than the last. The years are passing by, and we are approaching eternity, so we need to redouble our courage and lift our souls up to God, serving him with more diligence in everything that our Christian vocation or profession requires of us.
This alone can make us pleasing to God. It can free us from the world that is not of him and from all our other enemies. Only this can enable us to arrive at the gate of eternal salvation.
Let us then face the present trials to which Divine Providence subjects us, but let us not lose heart or be discouraged. Let us fight hard, and we will carry off the prize that God has stored up for strong souls.
Remember, my daughter, the words of the Divine Master to his apostles, which he directs to us today: "Let not your hearts be troubled (Jhn 14:1).” Yes, little daughter, do not let your heart be in turmoil in the hour of trial, because Jesus has promised his assistance to whoever follows him.1
Padre Pio2
Pasquale, Gianluigi. Padre Pio's Spiritual Direction for Every Day. United States: Franciscan Media, 2011.
Padre Pio was an Italian Catholic priest who was born in 1887 and died in 1968. He was canonized a saint in 2002. Padre Pio is known for his incredible spirituality, his healing powers and his charity work. He experienced visions, levitation, and even the stigmata, where he would get the same wounds as Jesus did when he was crucified. He founded a religious order called the Friars of the Sacrament and opened many care homes and hospitals in Italy. He is remembered today as a holy figure and is a beloved saint.