Ave Maria!— August’s Theme: Spiritual Aridity

1- “The aridity of spirit in which you are immersed and lost in is a most painful trial, but most sweet for the fruit that comes to the soul from it [the aridity]. It is ordained by God to extinguish in you that casualness of devotion, which does not sanctify the soul but could prove to be damaging to it. It is also ordained by God to make the soul acquire true devotion, which consists in a prompt will to do that which pertains to the service of God, without any personal satisfaction whatsoever. In short: to do the good because it is good in itself and gives glory and pleasure to God.”

2- “The soul placed in spiritual aridity must not at all lose courage; it must not omit anything it is accustomed to practice during the time of spiritual consolations. Rather, it must try to multiply its practices of devotion, to be always more vigilant over oneself.”

3- “Do not fear about your soul because it is not at all true that you have lost the way. The way that you trod will lead you straight to heaven; and this all the more sure in as much as it is God Himself Who leads you by the hand. Do not be disturbed by the aridity and spiritual desolations; rather, console yourself in the upper part of your soul, and remember that which Our Lord has said: ‘blessed are the poor in spirit; blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice sake’”.

The post Aug 1,2,3 – St. Pio Daily – Spiritual Aridity first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Ave Maria!— August’s Theme: Spiritual Aridity

4- “Be assured that your actual aridity is not imposed by God as a punishment, but as a purification of your soul, with the aim of rendering it worthy of higher communications. […] your state is not at all pitiful, but it is highly enviable. Let this Divine Physician work freely and be sure that everything will turn out for the glory of God and for your sanctification.”

5- “Have patience still a little longer in supporting the state of spiritual desolation; have patience in submitting yourself to the loving trials to which Jesus, in order to render you similar to Him, is subjecting you with admirable providence. Do not be bewildered if the night within you is becoming thicker and [gloomier]. Do not be frightened if you do not see with your physical eyes the serene heaven which envelopes your soul, but look upward, rising up above yourself, and you will see a light shine that participates in the light of the eternal sun.”

The post Aug 4,5 – St. Pio Daily – Purification is Not Punishment first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Ave Maria!— August’s Theme: Spiritual Aridity

“Live tranquilly and do not be bewildered by the deep night which your soul is experiencing. Be patient and resigned in waiting for the return of the Divine Sun that will come to illumine, not for long, the forest of your soul.”

The post Aug 6 – St. Pio Daily – Live Tranquilly first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Ave Maria!— August’s Theme: Spiritual Aridity

“During aridity and desolation of spirit, do not be agitated so as to not serve God according to your pleasure, while adapting yourself to His desires you serve Him according to His [will], which is much better than yours. To us it must not worry us or upset us that we belong to God in one way rather than another. In truth, as long as we do not seek anything other than Him, we will not find Him any less when we are walking on arid land and by deserts than when we are walking on the waters of sensible consolations. Therefore, you must be content with one walk or the other.”

The post Aug 7 – St. Pio Daily – Holy Indifference Regarding ‘Feelings’ first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Ave Maria!— August’s Theme: Spiritual Aridity

“You will greatly encounter the pleasure of God, and mine as well, by not omitting your spiritual exercises on account of the aridity and interior languor that often returns to you; because not wanting to serve God and love Him save for His pleasure and love alone, and being more pleasing to Him, the service that we render Him amidst the pains of aridity, rather than those we render Him amidst the sweetness, we must likewise receive them [these pains of aridity] willingly, at least with our upper will. And even though, according to our pleasure and our self love, the gentleness and tenderness seems sweeter to us, aridity, according to the pleasure of God, is more useful, as dry food is more useful for those with dropsy, rather than moist food, even though the latter always tastes better than the former.”

The post Aug 8 – St. Pio Daily – Dry Food’s Better than the Rest first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Ave Maria!— August’s Theme: Spiritual Aridity

“The darkness that encircles the heaven of your souls are light, and you do well to say that you do not see anything, and that you find yourselves in the midst of an ardent thorn bush. The thorn bush burns, the whole air is filled with clouds and the spirit does not see or understand anything. But God speaks, though, and is present to the soul that listens, hears, loves and fears.”

The post Aug 9 – St. Pio Daily – God is Still Present first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Ave Maria!— August’s Theme: Spiritual Aridity

“The trials to which the Lord is subjecting you and will subject you are all signs of the Divine predilection and gems for your soul. The winter will pass and the unending spring will come, so much the more rich with beauty as the tempests were difficult. The darkness that you are experiencing is an indication of the nearness of God to your souls.”

The post Aug 10 – St. Pio Daily – Gems for the Soul first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Ave Maria!— August’s Theme: Spiritual Aridity

11- “Moses, that great leader of the people of God, found the Lord in the darkness of Sinai. The Hebrew people saw it in the form of a cloud and as a cloud it appeared in the Temple. Jesus Christ, in the transfiguration on Tabor, was first visible and then made invisible to His apostles, because He was immersed in a bright cloud. That God hiding Himself in the darkness means His (il suo ingrandirsi ai vostri sguardi – too difficult for translator!) and that from the invisible to the intelligible one is transfigured into the purely divine.”

12- “Neither am I deceived nor mistaken, nor are you a sinner: the sun rises and causes the noon day, and the soul reaches to the sun; but when it passes and darkness happens, one has no more memory of it and the Lord even takes away the memory of the consolation received, so that the shadows are perfect. Be calm and be certain, then, that these shadows and these temptations are not a chastisement for your sinfulness; you are neither impious nor are you blinded by your malice, but are one of the many elect that are tried as gold in the fire.”

The post Aug 11,12 – St. Pio Daily – Gold Tried in Fire first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Ave Maria!— August’s Theme: Spiritual Aridity

“You are not alone in your trial, which is a true agony, but well accompanied: otherwise, how could you want that which the soul flees from, and frighten yourself for not being able to pronounce the fiat!? How could you want to love the highest good? How could you fear to offend? Yes, you, too, say always to the most sweet Lord: I want to live dying, as long as from death comes life, and helps life to rise from the dead.”

The post Aug 13 – St. Pio Daily – A True Agony first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Ave Maria!— August’s Theme: Spiritual Aridity

“It is not at all true that you, in this state of aridity and desolation of spirit, to which the most loving Savior has subjected you, offend God because His vigilant grace guards you very well from such offenses. And if, therefore, you do not offend God, but rather, you love Him in this state willed by Him, of what therefore should you grieve over? Of what do you afflict yourself? Set out, therefore, on your ascent to the Cross; stretch out upon it and be patient with yourself because with your patience, the Divine Master tell us, you will possess your soul.”

The post Aug 14 – St. Pio Daily – Patience Possesses The Soul first appeared on AirMaria.com.