SSPX
Spiritual Director
Padre Pio overcame these terrible trials by following what had been taught
him in the novitiate: perseverance in prayer, mortification of the senses,
unshakable fidelity to the demands of one's duty of state, and, finally, perfect
obedience to the priest in charge of his soul. His painfully acquired
experience allowed him to draw to himself souls desirous of perfection, and
to be demanding.
To the souls he directed, he gave a five-
point rule: weekly confession, daily
communion and spiritual reading,
examination of conscience each evening
and mental prayer twice a day. As for the
recitation of the rosary, it is so necessary it
goes without saying ....
"Confession is the soul's bath.
You must go at least once a
week. I do not want souls to
stay away from confession more
than a week. Even a clean and
unoccupied room gathers dust;
return after a week and you will
see that it needs dusting again!"
To those who declare themselves unworthy to receive holy Communion, he
answers:
"It is quite true, we are not worthy of such a gift. However, to
approach the Blessed Sacrament in a state of mortal sin is one thing, and to be unworthy, quite another. All of us are unworthy, but it is He who invites us. It is He who desires it. Let us humble
ourselves and receive Him with a heart contrite and full of love." To another, who told him that the daily examination of conscience seemed
useless, since his conscience showed him clearly at each action whether it was good or bad, he replied:
"That is true enough. But every experienced merchant in this world not only keeps track throughout the day of whether he has
lost or gained on each sale. In the evening, he does the book keeping for the day to determine what he should do on the morrow."
