My Experience Welcoming the Christ Child with Padre Pio

My Experience Welcoming The Christ Child With Padre Pio

By Stephen Rule, Intern

This Advent I spent each day reading Susan De Bartoli’s Welcoming the Christ Child with Padre Pio. Although this book was released in 2022, it was a tremendous daily read to prepare for Christmas.

“All of the feasts of the Church are beautiful . . . but Christmas has a tenderness, a childlike sweetness that captivates my entire heart!” (1)

This quote from Padre Pio, which begins this book, sets the tone for what we are in store for with this Advent reflection.

De Bartoli draws our hearts and minds to the Blessed Virgin Mary’s resounding yes to bearing the son of God in her womb at the Annunciation, all the way up to the birth of Christ for which we prepare in the season of Advent. 

It is this richness of Advent which allows Padre Pio to say of Mary, “Let us be very grateful to the Madonna because it is she who gave us Jesus.” 

What This Book Offers

Each day, we are given a quote from Padre Pio, as well as a story related to this great saint, and a short passage from scripture. While I was pleasantly surprised to find many stories of Padre Pio that I have never heard of before, I was also appreciative of the stories for which I had previous knowledge.

A recurring theme of this book is the ability that Padre Pio had for healing physically and spiritually. Padre Pio is one of the most popular and most well-known saints today, and this small book gives us numerous examples as to why that is the case, being someone so close to us in history while also someone with significant healings and miracles.

At least twice in these reflections I read about the healing of visual impairments and blindness, which speaks to the way in which Padre Pio impacts souls: taking away their spiritual blindness to be drawn closer to Christ. 

The concise and consistent set of reflections, stories, and prayers for each day provides a look at a wide variety of angles of this great saint, with his childlike simplicity, his serious approach to rooting out sin, and his wonderful sense of humor. 

With his immense popularity that has endured through the decades, it is easy for many to think they know the fullness of Padre Pio, but this book shows us how this saint has an inexhaustible depth. Something that became evident from these reflections is that Padre Pio was not only working great miracles during his lifetime, but continues to do so through his intercession in heaven. 

The reflections every day are only three to five pages long, making it not too overwhelming to read over the four weeks of Advent. It is worth noting that this book covers twenty-eight days, which means that it can work for any year during the Advent season. 

A Great Read for Everyone

I would think that those who already have an understanding of Padre Pio’s life will be able to get the most out of this book, but even if someone is just hearing about him for the first time this is a great introduction to his life. 

The Christ Child, as the title suggests, is a major theme that runs throughout the book, as is fitting for the Advent season. There was no difficulty for Padre Pio to relate to the Christ Child, and it was a very tangible union that he had with Him. I was not aware of this aspect of Padre Pio’s faith previously, though it puts things into greater perspective. 

The stories not only draw us into the life of Padre Pio, but also those with whom the saintly friar came into contact, and while the stories are short, they allow for a chance to be invested in each person’s struggles and the hope they found in Christ. 

I found myself being so moved by each day’s quote from Padre Pio and the great wisdom he offers us in the spiritual life. The book would be worth reading if it just contained these quotes from the great saint, but they are made even better by the great reflections and stories provided by the author. There was never a dull or lackluster story to be found in this collection and all of it points to the greatness of this season of waiting which we have in Advent. 

There are many different Advent reflections to choose from to help you walk through this season which starts the new liturgical year. Many of them are quite good, yet they offer much of the same things you would find in any given Advent book. This however is not the case with Welcoming the Christ Child with Padre Pio, which shines a unique light on both the season of Advent and the saint who permeates the book. While the book is structured in such a way that it is meant to be read throughout the Advent season, I think this book would be a great read for any time of the liturgical year. 

This book shows us that there is no lack of detail to show the impact that this great feast had on the saint. Susan De Bartoli shows us why Padre Pio is the ideal person to help us encounter the sheer mystery of a God who enters history. 

---

Stephen was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and is a recent convert to the Catholic faith, which came about through reading the Doctors of the Church, particularly the writings of St. Augustine and St. Thérèse of Lisieux. He is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio. Stephen has a great love for reading, writing, and creating music and has a passion for using his gifts to share the faith with others.