Why do the wicked prosper and we who are kind, suffer?

I receive many messages and prayer requests through social media asking for intercession for special intentions. They are all heartfelt and sincere and many are urgent. Some people are suffering huge challenges in their lives, and they worry about loved ones, and local, national, and international crises.

Do you ever feel like you are at the end of your tether and that you wish that the difficulties and challenges would stop?

I met two people recently who came to me for blessings, and they are praying that the onslaught of difficulties, complications, and painful challenges will end. For them it seemed to be going on and on. Just when we heal there’s a set-back and it takes a monumental effort to begin again.

A woman asked me on a social media message “Is it selfish for me needing a break, I’m worn out with a difficult family situation.” The simple answer is no, it is not selfish at all, and it may well be exactly what she needs. Another, in tears with challenges in work who sees others being rewarded for bad behaviour while she feels she is punished and ridiculed for her adherence to best practice and honesty. “When will this ever end?”

Read the Book of Job in the Old Testament and see how it seems Job, a faithful servant of God, suffering terribly, has reached his limit and calls out to God in his suffering, exasperation, and exhaustion. He asks; “why do the wicked often go unpunished?” Why who do bad people prosper and those who are righteous suffer? It is a question for the ages.

‘Why do the wicked live on, reach old age, and grow mighty in power? Their children are established in their presence, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, and no rod of God is upon them. Their bulls breed without fail, and their cow claves and never miscarries…’

(Job 21: 7-10)

But things change for the better. Gold is tested in fire. The pruned plant bears the best fruit.

We’ve got to trust that things are about to change, and that God will make all things new for us. Jesus suffered misunderstanding, abuse, lies, and violence, and he was mocked, scourged, and crucified. He understands the heartfelt need for justice.

Trust me, your luck will change. Night is darkest just before the dawn. ‘Don’t give up, one minute before the miracle happens.’ Believe.

 

Encounter with a holy spirit

I met an extraordinary woman the other day. I received a phone call asking me about a blessing with the Padre Pio Glove. “Would you be able to come to my home, I am unable to come to you?” I said that would be fine, and since she lived in Dublin it was very convenient.

I called to her house the other evening in an area I know fairly well, and I parked the car around the corner from the house. She came to the door, and I was met with a cheerful smile and a real ceád míle fáilte. We went into the back room, the kitchen and she sat, and we chatted. I was struck by her welcome and by the fact that she was really delighted and grateful I called. It was very evident that here was someone who had a hope and a real joy deep down. As we chatted, she mentioned that while she wasn’t native to Dublin, she had lived and worked here for a few years.

She told me that she had been battling cancer and was now receiving palliative care at home. She said “They tell me that the tumors have metastasized, and they are unable to do anymore. They tell me I have about two to three weeks left.” She said this without the least bit of fear or sadness. At the same time, she added that she hopes that she might get longer and is not for throwing in the towel. She told me she has a great faith in God, in prayer, and in St. Pio.

As we talked, she asked me when my birthday was, and I said October 17^th and she mentioned that I was a Libra. It turns out that we were around the same age, but she was a few months younger than me and that we would have similar knowledge of the times, the music, and the culture of our generation.  I was moved to hear her story and how positive she is despite the grim outcome. She is not one bit afraid and indeed accepts the fact that these may be her last months on this earth.

I told her of a conversation I had with a friar some years ago about the signs of the grace of a happy death. He said we do not get the grace of a happy death until we are dying. I believe she is experiencing this grace in abundance, and it certainly showed to me the other evening. And this grace is to be shared and it spills over to all who encounter her, it is for her but it also benefits others. The grace of a happy death for someone can strengthen our faith and the faith of all who know them and love them. I bet she strengthens all who are assisting her in the hospice home care team. I told her how much I appreciated the time I spent in her company and that this encounter would fortify me and my own faith. I told her that I would ask people to pray for her and with a smile and with the light from her bright eyes, she said thank you.

On this feast of the Most Blessed Trinity, I give thanks for this meeting with a sister who may soon stand before God, yet I pray she will get some more time and I pray that her hope and joy will invite many more people to faith. God is family, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are all invited to enter into this love. We pray for this sister and for her lively faith and thank God that she shares it with all of us, even through the pain and struggle.

The Padre Pio Mitten. What happens when it doesn't work out?

There is no doubt about it but the level of devotion to the relics of St. Pio is very high. Relics are a way to tangibly connect with the saint which helps us to focus in on the fact that they were real, they lived a human life, and they are accessible. From the sacred to the secular, many people are interested in being proximate to someone famous or holy through a relic or a something they owned. I remember some years ago on the Late Late Show, they brought one of Elvis Presley’s Rhinestone Jump suits into the studio in a type of glass tank. The presenter was only allowed to touch it provided he donned two red velvet gloves, and it was so precious that it didn’t stay long as the studio lights were deemed too strong for it to be exposed under them but the interest among the audience was huge.

Padre Pio was someone who drew millions over the years because he had a direct line to God. It is well known that he possessed exceptional gifts like the ability to be in two places at once, the power to read souls, the ability to be able to see things before they happened, and he saw the supernatural and regularly met with the Guardian Angels. However, he couldn’t just turn this off and on. Sometimes he could see nothing as unless it was revealed to him, it wasn’t going to happen. But it was the stigmata, the bleeding wounds of Christ crucified on his hands, feet, and side that intrigued people the most. He disliked this ‘gift’ as it was these wounds that made him an object of curiosity and they had people crowding around him day after day. To protect the bleeding, he wore bandages and fingerless brown mittens on each hand. The friars changed the mittens each day and Padre Pio was given a fresh pair each morning and they kept the many worn ones as relics which we have today.

Of all the relics of Padre Pio, the mitten is the one that attracts people the most. For others, especially those who dislike this kind of devotion, it completely puts them off and they see it as a kind of madness perhaps.

Over the years, I have heard of many instances where people have received favours, healings, and consolation from praying with or a blessing via the Padre Pio mitten. I am busy each day answering emails, messages on social media, text messages, and phone calls asking for me to bring the mitten to hospitals or the homes of someone sick or in difficulty. There is tremendous faith in the prayers of Padre Pio. Brother Laurence Speight who died in 1998 and who promoted the cause of Padre  Pio used to get fulsome thanks for his ministry with the mitten of Padre Pio but he would always say; “It’s not me, it’s their faith.”

But what happens if it doesn’t work out? I am also aware that for some the healing wasn’t to be. There are no guarantees unfortunately and Padre Pio always said that sometimes there may be no healing or solution on this earth. He would always call people to pray. “Pray, pray, pray.” We are continually called to faith. It is faith that opens the door to healing and it strengthens us. And of course Padre Pio is only the conduit if you like. Jesus is the healer, and it is to Him that Padre Pio always points.