Brief Background:

St. Padre Pio (1887–1968), also known as St. Pius of Pietrelcina, was an Italian Capuchin priest known for his deep prayer, devotion to the Eucharist, hearing Confessions, and bearing the stigmata. He is especially associated with the sick, suffering, and those seeking healing. His simple spiritual advice is still remembered today: “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.”

Padre Pio is commonly invoked as a patron saint of those who are suffering, especially the sick, as well as those seeking healing and spiritual guidance.

REFLECTION:

I remember one of my aunties—my dad’s sister. She was the funny and crazy one in the family. Every family has one, right? And if you’re sitting there thinking, “My family doesn’t have one”… maybe it’s you!

She was always telling jokes, and I remember one about an old man who bought his first car. He was so excited. He drove that car everywhere, showing it off to everybody. Then one day, the car just stopped. He tried starting it—nothing. So he called his friend to come help. His friend looked at the car and said, “There’s nothing wrong with your car. You ran out of gas! Look—the needle is on E.” The old man said, “What do you mean I ran out of gas? There’s still gas!”

His friend said, “No! E means EMPTY!” The old man said, “Ohhhh…I thought E meant ENOUGH and F meant FINISHED!”

Now, obviously, please don’t follow that advice when you’re driving! But I thought about that joke when I read our first reading today.

The writer of Proverbs prays, “Give me neither poverty nor riches; provide me only with the food I need.” Basically, he is praying: “God, just give me enough.” And that’s hard for us because we always want a little more. More money. More time. More things. More security. More control. We think, “Once I have this…then I’ll be okay.” And then Jesus makes it even worse in the Gospel! He sends the disciples out and says: Take nothing for the journey. No walking stick. No sack. No food. No money. I would have been like, “Jesus…at least let me bring a credit card!”

But Jesus is teaching them something important: You don’t need to have everything before you can follow me. Trust that God will give you enough.

That was also the spirituality of St. Padre Pio. We remember all the extraordinary things about him—the stigmata, the miracles associated with him, the stories surrounding his life. But underneath all of that was something very simple: a man who prayed, celebrated the Eucharist, heard Confessions, and trusted God.

Padre Pio is often remembered for those simple words: “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.”

Maybe some of us need to hear that today. Because sometimes we are so busy trying to get our lives to “F”—full bank account, full schedule, full control, everything figured out—that God is reminding us: You already have “E.” You have enough.

Maybe not everything you want. Maybe not everything figured out. But enough grace for today. Enough strength for today. Enough of God for today.

So through the intercession of St. Padre Pio, may our prayer be simple: Lord, give me enough for today, and help me trust you with tomorrow.