Should You, Because You Can?

HOMILY: Memorial of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Priest

Matthew 11: 25-30 

23 September 2021

Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez, AA 

I have mixed feelings about ending the ECQ. Do you? I understand the economy will suffer if we prolong strict restrictions. So many people’s livelihood will be in peril. On the other hand, being cooped up at home does take a toll on your physical and mental well-being. We constantly shift between the temptation to be restless and the temptation to be lazy, hoping to find some balance in between. Either way, we find so much to worry ourselves about. 

The pandemic has definitely raised our level of anxiety. Some break down in tears for no reason at all. Some feel exhausted, while others have sleepless nights. We all struggle to find ways to cope yet there are, of course, those who choose to defy the rules, because they can. I was recently told that in Poblacion, Speakeasy’s have mushroomed in the area and young people have been having underground parties so they can socialize with their friends, destress and drink their cares away in secret.  Escaping to these haunts is a challenge and quite a thrill if they succeed. They go, because they can — as if they can escape a COVID infection because it all happens in secret or BELOW the radar. On the other hand, there are those who believe they are ABOVE the law because of the size of their bank accounts, the weight their name carries or the position they hold in society.  I know of family members who use the IATF exemption IDs of their relatives to cross inter-city borders during ECQ — just because they can. It also brings to mind a news report of a high-level politician who insisted on being self-quarantined at a fancy suite in a luxury hotel on taxpayer’s money. He did it because he felt his status was worthy of the prestige. I’m sure you can identify other instances wherein people you know or you yourself have acted selfishly and delighted in putting one over the government and the rest of society. These acts of self-gratification are the same as boasting of what makes one special. 

On this Feast Day of St. Pio, we learn a lot from this man of God who was no stranger to the struggles we have today. St. Paul declares in the Second reading: “The only thing I can boast about is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Galatians 6:14), but it might as well have been uttered by St. Pio. He had extraordinary gifts but never boasted about them or used them to influence situations in his favour. He accepted his circumstance with gentleness and full trust in God. St. Pio was undoubtedly a remarkable person. He was a sought-after confessor gifted with the capacity to see into people’s souls. He was said to have the otherworldly ability to bilocate — being at two places at the same time. He was also blessed with the stigmata of Christ! St. Paul, in his letter to the Galatians says “…the marks on my body are those of Jesus” (Galatians 6:17). Padre Pio literally bore the nail wounds in the hands and feet of Jesus and the piercing in His side. He did not openly display this gift for people to marvel or gawk at. He kept his hands modestly hidden in his sleeves or pockets or he wore gloves to conceal the wounds. Still, people came in droves from everywhere to see him and hear him, to confess to him and be blessed by him because he was so exceptional. 

His popularity must have alarmed the religious authorities at the time that they restrained the poor Capuchin friar. The book Padre Pio: The True Story by Bernard Ruffin, details how the saint reacted to the decree that worked against his ministry. It stated: “Padre Pio is to be stripped of all faculties of his priestly ministry except the faculty to celebrate the Holy Mass, which he may continue to do provided it is done in private, within the walls of the friary, in the inner chapel, and not publicly in church”. For a priest this is a very painful sanction yet Saint Pio responded: “God’s will be done,”…then he covered his eyes with his hands, lowered his head, and murmured, “The will of the religious authorities is the will of God.” He readily obeyed his superiors when they told him to confine himself while being investigated.  While in “quarantine” he experienced many struggles, even spiritual attacks. Through it all he prayed constantly, remained humble and cheerful. Asked by his friend and former teacher, Padre Agostino how he spent his time in confinement, he good naturedly responded: “I pray and I study as much as I can, and then I annoy my brothers.”    

In today’s Gospel Jesus declares “I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children.” (Matthew 11:25) I’d like to think that because St Pio also had the humility, meekness, and wonder of a child, he used his time to seek Christ more deeply and was rewarded. And the gospel passage continues “…no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” (Matthew 11:27) It was in his moments of meditation and prayer that Jesus allowed him to develop a greater understanding and love for God through a devotion to His Sacred Heart.  When emissaries of the Pope Pius XI were sent to check on Padre Pio two years after his “convent arrest”, it was reported: “They found no wild-eyed fanatic, no crazed neurotic, no embittered rebel, but a pleasant, humorous man. According to Padre Rafaele, one of the Pope’s representatives Mosignor Luca Pasetto was very much impressed with Pio’s humility, his docility, and the whole of his conduct.”   

If you think about it, his popularity would’ve been sufficient to make an appeal for a reversal of the decree. These days a slighted priest can opt to mobilize his flock to rally on his behalf or he could use the pulpit to criticize his detractors. Padre Pio did nothing of the sort. Neither did he flaunt his gifts.   The wisdom in his meekness is noteworthy.  When the country started to administer vaccines, I remember being in awe of Jaime Zobel de Ayala, who for all his wealth and influence, fell in line and waited for his turn to be vaccinated with Sinovac!  He could have simply boarded his private jet and gotten himself vaccinated in the US with any vaccine of his choosing, yet he opted to queue for the least favoured vaccine brand. Several days ago, I came across an article explaining why a favourite presidentiable had not declared her candidacy. She said: “Madaling tumakbo pero marami pang dapat pag-isipan.” Having served well in her capacity, she does have an advantage in terms of name recall and her many accomplishments as a public servant.  She said, however, that she wants to ascertain if her running will benefit the nation because if it will divide the nation further or damn the country to a worse fate, she is willing to hold back. There’s some self-sacrificing wisdom for you and me. We really should not lord things over others because we can, but rather choose humility and look beyond one’s self for the good of the other.

St. Pio is definitely someone we can look up to and strive to emulate as we struggle through this pandemic and recurring quarantines. He inspires us to take the high road even when our freedom is curtailed and we are done an injustice. He was never boastful nor arrogant nor did he resort to taking advantage of others for his benefit. He cautions people against useless worry and encourages people to pray and pray often. It was prayer that helped him fight many spiritual battles while alone in his room and helped him overcome the lack of support he suffered from people who should have looked after his welfare. St. Pio advocates the praying of the Holy Rosary disclosing that it is the most effective weapon against evil and the snares of the devil. By his example, St. Pio teaches us that against all uncertainties, we simply have to submit to God’s plan and trust in Him completely.