Bringing Light Into a World of Darkness
The Final Battle with Satan
The Most Dangerous Countries for Christians
Padre Pio’s Encounters with Souls from Purgatory
Miracles of St Padre Pio
THOUGHT FOR TODAY
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill
the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy
both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 10:28
For our Christian brothers and sister who are persecuted and
killed around the world, we are praying for you. You may not
succeed in having the freedom to practice your faith, in the face of
threats from Satan’s army, but Jesus sees and hears your
struggles. Keep the Faith, we are praying for you. God bless you.
Richard Pickard
Blessings to All:
Is This the beginning of the Final Battle?
Jesus explicitly warned his followers about persecution, stating they would face hatred
and suffering for His name.
“Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be famines
and earthquakes from place to place. All these are the beginning of the labor
pains. Then they will hand you over to persecution, and they will kill you. You will be
hated by all nations because of my name.” Matthew 24: 7-9
The followers of Satan have unleashed the forces of hatred against Christians. Severe
persecution and killings of Christians have increased to unimaginable numbers around
the world. Yet, most people are unaware of this, as the News Media does not provide
us with this information, or in very limited coverage.
From Islamic extremist to communist controlled countries, Christians are the most
persecuted people on earth. Next to Christians are our brothers and sister of the
Jewish faith.
Jesus has warned us of these days. The days of tribulation which come before His
return. No one knows when He will come in Glory to judge the people of the earth,
but the signs are becoming more visible and the hatred and killing of
Christians is upon us.
It is estimated that from 1925 to 2025, a period of 100 years, millions of Christians
have been killed. Some historians and researchers estimate that between 67 million
and 100 million deaths from secular anti-religious violence occurred in the 20th
century alone, a significant portion of whom were Christians. Italian journalist Antonio
Socci estimated that 45 million Christians were martyred in the 20th century, mostly
by communist and Islamic. We also know through the reported numbers of abortion
that over 1 billion babies in the womb have been killed.
Satan’s army is killing babies and the followers of Jesus. His goal, filled with hatred for
humans and the followers of Jesus, is to inflict as much pain and blood shed as
evidence of his existence. Until this century, Satan remained hidden. But not
anymore.
Your prayers for those persecuted around the world are needed. Also pray for your
families, as Satan is trying to destroy the family.
The letter from Sister Lucia of Fatima about the Family
On Feb. 16, 2008, the Italian Cardinal Caffarra had celebrated a Mass at the tomb of
Padre Pio, after which he gave an interview with Tele Radio Padre Pio. He was asked
about the prophecy of Sister Lucia dos Santos that speaks about “the final battle
between the Lord and the kingdom of Satan.”
Cardinal Caffarra explained that Saint John Paul II had commissioned him to plan and
establish the Pontifical Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. At the beginning
of this work, the cardinal wrote a letter to Sister Lucia of Fatima through her bishop,
since he could not do it directly.
“Inexplicably, since I did not expect a reply, seeing as I had only asked for her
prayers, I received a long letter with her signature, which is now in the archives of the
Institute,” the Italian Cardinal said.
“In that letter we find written by Sister Lucia: “The final battle between the Lord
and the kingdom of Satan will be about Marriage and the Family.’ Don’t be
afraid, she added, because whoever works for the sanctity of Marriage and
the Family will always be fought against and opposed in every way, because
this is the decisive issue. Then she concluded: ‘nevertheless, Our Lady has
already crushed his head.”
Genisis 3:15 (Douay Rheims ) “I will put enmities between thee and the
woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in
wait for her heel.”
These are signs that Jesus talked about and we must be prepared and aware of the
evil that is looking for souls to take to Hell. We are living in the last battle with Satan,
as Sister Lucia stated in her letter. As Christians, we will suffer, as Christ did for us.
But remember that His Divine Mercy is there to help us. Pray for your families each
day without ceasing. Your prayers can save your family members who are not living a
Christian life. Don’t give up. Jesus hears your prayers and will not fail in giving His
Devine Mercy to them. Pray…Pray…Pray.
The Most Dangerous Countries for Christians
Imagine not being able to tell anyone about the most important thing in your life, not
your friends, not your neighbors, and not even your family. You mumble things under
your breath and hide precious items under your mattress. If your secret got out, you
could wind up in prison or dead.
That’s the reality for more than 380 million Christians around the world who live in
countries with high levels of persecution. Going to church, owning a Bible, or even
talking about Jesus could lead to serious consequences for these believers and even
death.
Each year, 2Open Doors releases the World Watch List, a ranking of the 50 countries
where it’s most dangerous to be a Christian. Despite the threat of harm and
discrimination, believers in these nations still seek to tell others about Jesus. There
are many ways believers can help their persecuted brothers and sisters, one of which
is to pray for them.
Here are the top five countries where Christian persecution is the most severe and
ways you can pray for believers in these nations.
1. NORTH KOREA
North Korea publicly executed a Christian woman in 2009 for distributing the Bible,
which is banned in the communist nation.
North Korea has topped the World Watch List for 23 years because of the intensity of
persecution Christian’s face there. Worshiping any deity outside of the family of
Supreme leader Kim Jong-un is considered a threat to the country’s leadership.
Anyone suspected of being a Christian could be killed on the spot or deported to a
labor camp and treated as a political criminal. On top of that, families of Christians
may also be punished, even if they aren’t Christians themselves. Even North Koreans
who flee the country could be caught by spies and returned to the country for harsh
punishment.
Because the North Korean government strictly controls every aspect of citizens’ lives,
it is practically impossible for Christians to gather in a church community or speak to
others about their faith.
2. SOMALIA
An Islamic militant group known as Al-Shabab is committed to eradicating Christianity
from Somalia. This means that those who are believed to be Christians could face
house arrest, forced marriage, or death. Being Muslim is strongly tied to Somali
identity. Since most Christians in Somalia are formerly Muslims, their conversion is
seen as a betrayal of what it means to be Somali.
3. YEMEN
Yemen has been torn apart by civil war, and the three powers that control the country
discriminate against Christians. Believers in areas controlled by Islamic extremist
groups are especially vulnerable. With Houthis gaining more power over the past year,
persecution has increased. It’s dangerous to own a Bible or other Christian books in
Houthi-controlled areas. Christians can face severe monitoring, imprisonment,
discrimination, or death.
Because of the ongoing political instability and persecution, dozens of Yemeni
churches can no longer gather.
Four Missionary of Charity Nuns Executed in Yemen
4. LIBYA
Libya is yet another country whose government is in transition. Islamic militant
groups are known to brutally kill Christians, including foreign Christians, and those
who convert from Islam face pressure from their families to renounce their faith.
Christians are at risk of being arrested or attacked for their faith. Migrant believers
who try to make it to Europe are often caught and either arrested or handed over to
human traffickers.
5. SUDAN
War in Sudan has led to millions fleeing their homes and the world’s largest hunger
crisis. Christians face discrimination and don’t receive much needed aid from their
communities. More than 100 churches have been damaged in attacks, and many
Christians have been abducted and killed. Muslim background believers could be
attacked, imprisoned, or disowned by their families. With churches, Christian
buildings, and homes belonging to Christians being forcibly occupied, believers have
few places to turn.
churches bombed killing Church Goers
6. Nigeria
It is estimated that over 100,000 have been killed by Islamic jihadist.
The attacks on Christians have also led to significant problems with regard to people
being forced to flee from their homes. While more than 50 million Christians, mostly
in Northern Nigeria, face “serious jihadist threats for being professed Christians, no
fewer than “14 million have been uprooted and 8 million forced to flee their homes to
avoid being hacked to death.
About 5 million have been displaced and forced into Internally Displaced Peoples’
(IDP) camps within Nigeria and refugee camps at regional and sub-regional borders.
The sheer number of Christians and moderate Muslims killed or displaced has sent
chills down the spines of many, including Andrew Boyd, spokesman for Release
International, which serves the persecuted church in some 30 countries. He described
the report’s finding as “a staggering death toll.”
“It is absolutely appalling that so many Christians are being targeted for their faith
and killed in Nigeria, while the Nigerian government seems to stand by and let it
happen. It is no less appalling that the international community appears content to
stay on the sidelines and watch,” he told OSV News.
Millions of persecuted Christians are in need of our prayers every day.
Continue to pray for these believers as the early Church did for Paul—that the
message of the Lord will spread rapidly and that believers will be delivered
from those who wish them harm (2 Thessalonians 3:1-2).
Those killing Christians live in hate and
God will hold them accountable. They will not escape the
eternal punishment awaiting them.
Padre Pio’s Mysterious Encounters with Souls from Purgatory
God chose Saint Pio of Pietrelcina to reveal the supernatural life to our tepid era. His
supernatural interior life was made visible through his immense suffering and his wellknown stigmata.
Padre Pio once described an encounter he had with souls in purgatory and testified
this to the Bishop of Melfi, His Excellency Alberto Costa and also the superior of the
friary, Padre Lorenzo of San Marco.
Below is third person written testimony of the words of Padre Pio:
“While in the friary on a winter afternoon after a heavy snowfall, he was sitting by the
fireplace one evening in the guest room, absorbed in prayer, when an old man,
wearing an old-fashioned cloak still worn by southern Italian peasants at the time, sat
down beside him. Concerning this man Padre Pio states: ‘I could not imagine how he
could have entered the friary at this time of night since all the doors are locked. I
questioned him: ‘Who are you?” What do you want?’
The old man told him, “Padre Pio, I am Pietro Di Mauro, son of Nicola, nicknamed
Precoco.” He went on to say, “I died in this friary on the 18th of September 1908, in
cell number four, when it was still a poorhouse. One night, while in bed, I fell asleep
with a lighted cigar, which ignited the mattress and I died, suffocated and burned. I
am still in Purgatory. I need a holy Mass in order to be freed. God permitted that I
come and ask you for help.”
According to Padre Pio: “After listening to him, I replied, ‘Rest assured that tomorrow
I will celebrate Mass for your liberation.’ I arose and accompanied him to the door of
the friary, so that he could leave. I did not realize at that moment that the door was
closed and locked: I opened it and bade him farewell The moon lit up the square,
covered with snow. When I no longer saw him in front of me, I was taken by a sense
of fear, and I closed the door, reentered the guest room, and felt faint.”
A few days later, Padre Pio also told the story to Padre Paolino, and the two decided to
go to the town hall, where they looked at the vital statistics for the year I908 and
found that on September 18 of that year, one Pietro Di Mauro had in fact died of
burns and asphyxiation in Room Number 4 at the friary, then used as a home for the
homeless. Around the same time, Padre Pio told Fra Alberto of another apparition of a
soul from Purgatory which also occurred around the same time. He said:
One evening, when I was absorbed in prayer in the choir of the little church I was
shaken and disturbed by the sound of footsteps, and candles and flower vases being
moved on the main altar. Thinking that someone must be there, I called out, “Who is
it?”
No one answered. Returning to prayer, I was again disturbed by the same noises. In
fact, this time I had the impression that one of the candles, which was in front of the
statue of Our Lady of Grace, had fallen. Wanting to see what was happening on the
altar, I stood up, went close to the grate and saw, in the shadow of the light of the
Tabernacle lamp, a young confrere doing some cleaning. I yelled out, “What are you
doing in the dark?” The little friar answered, “I am cleaning.”
“You clean in the dark?” I asked. “Who are you?”
The little friar said, ‘I am a Capuchin novice, who spends his time of Purgatory here. I
am in need of prayers.’ and then he disappeared,”
Padre Pio stated that he immediately began praying for him as requested, and it is not
known if he had any further dealings with this particular soul. However, in regards
souls in Purgatory it is very interesting to note that later in life Padre Pio once said
that ‘As many souls of the dead come up this road to the monastery as that of the
souls of the living.”
Without a doubt, many souls from Purgatory visited Padre Pio seeking his prayers,
sacrifices and sufferings to obtain their release.
Pray for the Poor Souls daily.
Miracles of St. Padre Pio
Many think miracles ended with the Apostles. But in the last century, Padre Pio gave
sight to a girl **born without pupils**—something science still cannot explain.
Gemma Di Giorgi was completely blind. In 1947, Padre Pio simply heard her
confession and made the Sign of the Cross over her eyes.
On the train home, she suddenly saw the sea outside the window. Doctors later
confirmed the astonishing part: **she still has no pupils.** By every law of biology,
she should be blind—yet she sees perfectly.
Most miracles heal the body. This one bypassed the laws of nature entirely.
In 1919 in San Giovanni Rotondo, a fourteen-year-old boy experienced a miraculous
healing. When he was only four years old, he had caught typhus. The typhus caused
the boy’s back to become deformed. Once he confessed himself to Padre Pio, the
priest touched him with his hands. When the boy stood up, the deformity in his back
had disappeared.
Also, in 1919 a gentleman from Foggia, Italy came to Padre Pio. The gentleman was
sixty-two-years-old and was walking with not one, but two canes. He suffered a terrible
fall from a carriage, a fall that broke both his legs. With doctors unable to help him he
relied on those two canes for support. One day after confessing himself to Padre Pio,
the friar told him: “Stand up and go away! You have to throw away these canes.” The
man carried out the order and began to walk by himself.
There was a gentleman whose left knee was swollen and in great pain for many days.
The doctor told him the situation was very dire and prescribed to him a lengthy series of
injections. Prior to beginning the treatment, the man went to confession to Padre
Pio. He asked Padre Pio to pray for him. The man recounted, “When I was leaving San
Giovanni Rotondo that afternoon, the pain disappeared. I observed my knee and noted it
was not swollen anymore! Both my legs were now normal. So, I immediately ran to
Padre Pio in order to thank him. He said: ‘You do not have to thank me, but you have to
thank God!'”
In 1950, a man’s mother-in-law was taken to a hospital for an
operation. The mother-in-law had breast cancer. After the initial
operation, it was necessary to operate on the right breast some
months later. Unfortunately, due to the dissemination of the cancer
cells in her body, the doctors informed her that she would not live
more than four months. The man immediately went to Rotondo and
waited for confession with Padre Pio. He asked Padre Pio to help
his my wife’s mother and heal her. The man recounted, “Padre Pio
sighed long twice and said: ‘We have to pray, everybody has to
pray. She will recover!’ It happened! In fact, my mother-in-law
recovered after her operation and she went by herself to San Giovanni Rotondo to thank
Padre Pio who smiling told her: ‘Go in peace, my daughter! Go in peace!'” Instead of four
months, his mother-in-law lived for
nineteen more years.
A woman said, “In 1947 I was thirty-eight years old and I had been suffering cancer of
the intestine. The cancer was found by x-ray, and it was decided to operate. Before
going to the hospital, I wanted to visit San Giovanni Rotondo to meet Padre Pio. My
husband, my daughter and one of her friends took me to him. I desired to confess my
sins to Padre Pio and to speak with him concerning my disease, but it was not possible
to meet him. My husband told my problem to one of the friars. That friar was moved
and he promised to report all to Padre Pio.
In a short time, I was asked to go into the
corridor of the convent where Padre Pio would pass. Padre Pio walked through the
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crowd, but he was interested only in me. He asked me the reason for which I was so
distraught and told me I was correct about the surgeon. After that, he encouraged me
and he said he’d pray to God for me. I was amazed. In fact, he did not know the surgeon
who was going to perform the operation, and nobody told him that I was the right
person to speak to in the crowd. Yet, he appeared to know both the surgeon and me. I
faced my operation with hope and with peace. The surgeon was the first one who spoke
of a miracle. He performed an appendectomy despite previous x-rays that showed
cancer. The surgeon did not believe in God, but since then he has put a crucifix in each
room of the hospital. There was no evidence of cancer anymore. After this miracle and
a short time of rest I returned to San Giovanni Rotondo in order to meet with Padre Pio.
The saintly friar was going to the sacristy when he suddenly stopped and smiled at me –
he said: ‘What do you know? You have come back here!’…and he gave me his hand to
kiss, which I affectionately held in my hands.”
One of Padre Pio’s miracles occurred in 1953, to a lady with abdomen problems. She
had a medical check-up and x-rays because of pains in the abdomen she was
experiencing. After some investigation, she learned that an immediate operation was
necessary. A friend of the lady, who knew of her problem, suggested to her: “write a
letter to Padre Pio in order to ask for his prayers and help”. The woman received an
answer in which Padre Pio suggested that she go to the hospital—he would pray for her
there. She went to the hospital and again had a medical check-up and x-rays just before
the operation. The same doctors were astonished to find she no longer had the serious
illness anymore. After forty years the woman is still grateful to Padre Pio for his help.
A year later, in 1954, a railway man fell ill with a strange disease, which immobilized his
legs. At the time he was forty-seven years old. Without success many different doctors
treated him. After two years of treatment, the man was going to have to retire from his
work. As the situation got worse, his brother suggested to him to travel to San Giovanni
Rotondo, to see the friar there to whom God had given gifts. The man went to San
Giovanni Rotondo with his brother’s assistance. In the Church, he met with Padre Pio
who said, “Let that railwayman pass!” Remarkably, Padre Pio had never met the man
before and he knew he was a railwayman. Padre Pio and the man spoke to each other
for a few minutes. Later, Padre Pio put his hand on the man’s shoulder. He consoled
and encouraged him with a smile. As soon as the man left Padre Pio, he realized he had
been healed. He no longer needed tools to help him walk; now he could walk on his
own.
A priest brought his friend, a Jewish man named Lello Pegna, to visit Padre Pio in 1919.
Pegna was completely blind in both eyes. The priest had brought him to Padre Pio in
the hopes of his friend being cured. Padre Pio told Pegna, “The Lord will not grant you
the grace of physical sight unless you first receive sight for your soul. After you are
baptized, then the Lord will give you your sight.” A few months later Pegna returned
baptized despite the protests of his family. In the following months his sight was fully
restored. For the next thirty years, his sight remained perfect.
St. Padre Pio’s faith and confidence in God’s healing power was unparalleled. He shows
us all that the power of prayer can yield beautiful, miraculous results. He was a conduit
of God’s grace, love, and mercy.
Trust in Jesus and Pray for Your Family.
The International Catholic Family Newsletter Is Published Monthly
Our mission statement is to motivate people to pray and to be
Christian examples in their work, home and with others, for
those needing the Light in a world of Darkness.
The Rosary is the ‘weapon’ for these times. – St. Padre Pio