One woman asked him, "Father Pio, do they ache?" He replied, "Just as though you took a nail, drove it into the hand and turned it round. Of the wounds Padre Pio said, "These are flames of Divine love: I suffer gladly." He, like Christ, suffered for the conversion of sinners.
When Padre Pio said Mass he took off his woolen gloves. He often went in and out of ecstasy. He would weep and sob. There was a special handkerchief placed on the altar called a tear cloth. During the consecration his body shook with pain. Blood trickled down from the wounds of his hands. The consecration lasted about 5 minutes. When he received Holy Communion he usually went into ecstasy. He looked radiant. People came by the thousands to attend his Masses.
This is a man who healed literally thousands who could read souls. This is a man who suffered legitimate stigmata -- deep wounds that bled until they miraculously healed upon his death. This is a priest who could predict the future and could see into heaven and led many to the faith.
An example of one of the miraculous things that he done was during World War Two. Pilots seeking to bomb the vicinity of San Giovanni Rotundo, where he lived, time and time again recounted how they had been unable to bomb the area after spotting the apparition of a monk -- at times a towering apparition -- in the clouds.
His canonization miracle involved the cure of Matteo Pio Colella, age 7; the son of a doctor who works in the House for Relief of Suffering, the hospital in San Giovanni Rotondo founded by Padre Pio. On the night of 20 June 2000, Matteo was admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital with meningitis. By morning doctors had lost hope for him as nine of the boys internal organs had ceased to give signs of life. That night, during a prayer vigil attended by Matteo´s mother and some Capuchin friars of Padre Pio´s monastery, the child's condition improved suddenly. When he awoke from the coma, Matteo said that he had seen an elderly man with a white beard and a long, brown habit, who said to him: "Don’t worry, you will soon be cured." The miracle was approved by the Congregation and John Paul II on 20 December 2001.
On June 16, 2002, over 500,000 Padre Pio devotees gathered in Rome to witness Pope John Paul II proclaim Padre Pio, Saint Pio of Pietrelcina. The Padre Pio Foundation and many benefactors travelled to Rome, San Giovanni Roton do, Pietrelcina, Piana Romana and many other holy places to celebrate Padre Pio's Canonization.
Personally I don’t think the fact that Padre Pio had stigmata was a miracle I don’t believe that anyone else except God himself could suffer for our sins because we are all sinners. Jesus died on the cross to forgive us for our sins and I believe he is our one saviour.
However I am not saying all of the miracles the padre pio did were in veign. I do believe that God can use people to do heal people and carry out his work like the disciples. Padre pio was an extrodanary man to be able to do the things he did. The only thing that I don’t really agree with is that from what I have researched, people seem to be looking to Padre Pio as the divine one. I have only once seen someone write that God worked through padre pio in order for him to do the work that he done. It seems like people think that padre pio performed these miracles by his own accord but it is only through Christ that he could perform in such a way. So the fact that there is a pray to Padre Pio I believe is defeating what God intended to happen if the stigmata was actually to bring people closer to christ. If People are praying to Padre pio how can they develop there own relationship with God. God wants to have a personal relationship with each and everyone of us. Jesus christ was sent to earth to be the intercessor with Christ and human beings.
Describe how Jesus was presented as a worker of miracles, giving examples from Luke.
In Jesus time most people believed in miracles so this is why I believe miracles played a big part in Jesus’ ministry.
In Luke Jesus is shown as a miracle worker performing many different types of miracles. There are four types of miracles that Jesus performed:
Healing miracles- Performing these types of miracles showed Gods love for everyone. There were many illnesses in those days that were unexplained. So when people fell ill they were often outcast and abandoned. The fact that Jesus spent time to heal them showed that he was loving and caring.
Resurrection – Raising people from the dead showed how powerful and magnificent God was. It showed that nothing could separate them from Gods love.
Casting out Demons- In those days when people had demons in them it meant that the devil was in them so when Jesus cast them out it showed that the devil could not conquer God, and that God was stronger and more powerful than him.
Power over nature- this showed that God can do great and wonderful things that were seen as impossible to man.
Here are some examples of the miracles.
Jesus and the Woman with a Hemorrhage.
Luke 843-48
This miracle shows gods power over illness
Jesus had returned to the other side of the lake he was going to heal a mans daughter and there were many people gathered around who were waiting to see what was going to happen. There was a woman in the crowed who had been hemorrhaging for twelve years she had spent all of her money on doctors but they couldn’t find a cure for her. She touched the edge of Jesus’’ clothes and immediately the bleeding stopped. Jesus felt that someone had touched him, he said he felt the power come out of him. He asked who it was and after a while the woman fell to Jesus’’ feet she admitted that it was her that touched him and explained that she had been healed.
Jesus then said, “ My daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”
In those days if a woman had the ‘problem of bleeding’ as they called it she was not allowed to be apart of the Jewish ceremonies for they believed if she even touched someone they too would get the problem. She was seen as unclean.
This miracle shows that Jesus had the power to heal someone who had an illness that was seen to be impossible to cure. The story says that the woman had spent all her money to try and get help and no one could do a thing, but just by touching a bit of Jesus’ clothes she was healed. This shows the extent of Jesus’’ power. This also is about faith the woman had enough faith that if she could just touch a bit of his clothes she would be healed although she knew she was not meant to touch anyone.
Also Jesus said that her faith made her well. I believe that Jesus was trying to tell people in the crowed and Christians today that they she have faith like this woman to be a follower of Jesus.
Jesus raises a widow’s son
Luke 7: 11-17
This miracle shows power over death
Jesus had just arrived in a town called Nain where a funeral was taking place. An only son of a widow had died and many people from the town were there. When Jesus saw he felt pity for the woman and told her not to cry. Jesus walked over to the coffin and touched it he said “ young man! Get up, I tell you!” Then the man got up and began to talk. Everyone started rejoicing and the news spread throughout the country and the surrounding territory.
This miracle is showing not only Gods power over death but his love for people. In the story its says that Jesus felt pity for the woman. This shows that Jesus meets our needs. In those days women were seen as nothing without a man, so Jesus knew how important having the son was to the woman. The fact that he gave her back her son , shows how much God wants us to be happy and how much he loves us. This is a message for Jesus followers today too it means that we should always be willing to help people and do things that make a good impact on peoples life because then we will be able to lead them to Christ. Also it helps Christians today because helps them to realize that Jesus will cater for our needs.
A Man with an Evil Spirit
Luke 4:31-37
This is a miracle about Jesus’ power over Demons
Jesus was teaching in Capernaum, a town in Galilee, where he was teaching about the Sabbath. He impressed the people because he spoke with such authority. A man came out of the synagogue that was possessed by an evil demon. He screamed out “What out what do you want with us Jesus of Nazareth? Are you here to destroy us? I know you are: you are Gods holy messenger!” Jesus ordered the spirit to be quiet and come out of the man and it did.
The people were amazed and were astonished that Jesus could order evil spirits and they would listen.
I think this is a really powerful miracle because it shows that even evil spirits recognized that Jesus was Gods holy messenger and that he had the power to destroy them. It shows that even evil it self knows that it can not defeat God. It showed the people who were around Jesus at the time that he wasn’t just a normal man but he did have authority over not just humans but spirits as well.
Jesus Calms a Storm
Luke 8:22-25
The disciples and Jesus were in a boat and were sailing across to the other side of the lake. Jesus fell asleep and while he was sleeping a great storm came filling the boat with water. The disciples were scared and they woke Jesus up saying that they wee going to die. Jesus got up and ordered the winds and the waves to calm down and they did. Jesus then said to the disciples where is your faith. The disciples were amazed at what they had seen.
This miracle shows that Jesus had power over the wind and the waves he commanded them to calm down and they did. Jesus again tended to people’s needs the disciples asked him to calm the storm and that is what he did. Jesus asked his disciples “where is your faith” this shows that Jesus wanted the disciples to have the same faith that he had that the storm would calm down and everything would be fine. This miracle also has a message for Christians today. Our lives as Christians are not always going to be smooth, problems will come but we must have faith that if we call upon Jesus he will calm our storms.
*There was no doubt that Luke thought Jesus’ miracles were important. They were signs of Gods power and Gods Kingdom. They showed who Jesus was. They showed he was not just a man of words-he was the Son of God.
Discuss the importance of the healing miracles of Jesus for Christian life today.
Healing miracles are very important for Christians today, because they help us to see how powerful and loving Jesus really was. The miracles were signs of Gods salvation they, showed God saving the lost and the outcast.
In the healing miracle about the woman with a Hemorrhage there are messages for Christians today.
From this miracle you can see some characteristics of Jesus. Jesus felt the woman touch his clothes although there were so many people around and they all probably touched him but he knew there was something special about this touch. Jesus treated the woman as an individual and decided to stop what he was doing just for her. He could have just carried but because he is so loving and caring he decided to stop just to help this woman. As Christians today this can be comforting because we know that although there are millions of people on this earth God will treat us all as individuals and take care of our every need.
This also applies to the way Christians are with non-Christians. Our job on earth is to try and bring people to the kingdom of God by following Jesus example. So like Jesus we should meet people where they are and attend to there need then bring them to God.
Another message you can get from this Miracle is about faith. Jesus could have just carried on walking and the woman still would have been healed, but he wanted to let the woman know that he recognized her from all of these people, and also he wanted to let everyone else realize that it was faith that made her well. As Christians we will go through hardship, we might do wrong things and people might condemn us for it but we must believe that through Jesus Christ everything will be all right.
