St. Padre Pio is a beloved saint of the Catholic Church, and he was a warrior when it came to spiritual warfare. What made him such a powerful saint? Perhaps it was his simplicity. He had 3 simple weapons he used in his spiritual warfare, and in such a complicated world, it is refreshing to contemplate St. Padre Pio’s saintly wisdom.
It is a real simple spiritual formula to live by: “Pray, Hope, and Don’t Worry.”
These 3 simple, yet powerful weapons of spiritual warfare were proclaimed by one of the most famous and miraculous saints of the 20th century, St. Padre Pio.
“I want to be only a poor Friar who prays…Pray, Hope and don’t worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayers…Prayer is the best weapon we have; it is the key to God’s heart. You must speak to Jesus not only with your lips but with your heart. In fact, on some occasions, you should speak to Him only with your heart.” – St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, Cappuchin friar and priest (1887-1968 A.D.)
Spiritual Warfare Weapon #1: Pray
Like St. Padre Pio said, prayer is your #1 weapon. Saints such as St. Augustine and St. Alphonsis Liguori, both doctors of the Church, have warned that without prayer, there will be no union with God. Entire books have been written about prayer. I believe St. Padre Pio’s favorite prayer was the rosary, but if you have not been praying at all, you might start out with The Lord’s Prayer, the perfect prayer. Jesus instructs us…
“This is how you are to pray:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one. Matthew 6:9-13
I read a heartfelt reflection from a 19th century monk included in the Magnificat earlier this year. He said in life, “the chief fruit is always Christ.” He said if you want to live a fruitful life for the Lord, you have to stay connected with Him, and we do this by means of prayer, scripture study, and frequenting the Church sacraments.
Anyone starting out might try praying the Lord’s Prayer throughout the day until you have memorized and included more prayers in your spiritual arsenal.
Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Here are some shorter prayers that can be prayed throughout the day:
The Jesus Prayer
“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”
The Hail Mary Prayer
“Hail Mary! Full of grace, the Lord is with thee! Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus, Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, amen.”
I found the Hail Mary is highly effective to neutralize any negativity as it is forced to scurry back into the darkness at just the mentioning of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Prayer of Venerable Maria Consolata Betrone
“Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you. Save souls. Amen.”
In regards to the Lord’s Prayer, I learned from a spiritual warfare expert that this is an ideal prayer to pray for spiritual protection because there is a petition to the Father for deliverance. Most all of us are probably in need of deliverance healing on some level. A devotion to the Lord’s Prayer will help us find mercy and healing in God.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Matthew 6:8
Forgiveness – is also very important in spiritual warfare. Please note that the petition for forgiveness is at the very center of the Lord’s Prayer. Forgiveness is also the first thing Jesus mentions after instructing us how to pray in St. Matthew’s Gospel.
If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions. Matthew 6:14-15
Spiritual Warfare Weapon #2 Hope
There is a book written about St. Padre Pio titled, Padre Pio Man of Hope by Renzo Allegri. Saints suffer as much as anybody on earth, and probably more intensely than others. Here’s a list of tribulations St. Padre Pio had to endure throughout his life:
- Persecution
- Humiliation
- Accusations
- Slanders
- Trials
- Condemnations
“Throughout his life, in the midst of the most difficult trials, St. Padre Pio always looked to the future with a spirit of optimism, faith, and love,” – Renzo Allegri
Biblical optimism. Hope. I believe Padre was able to hope, hang on, and effectively deal with such horrendous sufferings he endured because the chief fruit in his life was Christ. He devoted his whole life to Jesus and the Kingdom of God. Think about what the apostle St. Paul says about suffering in the book of Romans:
The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us. Romans 16:16-18
Here is an excellent description about the theological virtue of hope:
What is hope? – Hope is the virtue by which we firmly trust in God, Who is all powerful and faithful to His promises, will in His mercy give us eternal happiness and the means to obtain it.
- God promised to give man eternal life, and the means to obtain it. In this promise is our hope.
He that puts his trust in me shall inherit the land, and shall possess my holy mount. Isaiah 57:13
- Hope is necessary for salvation. Our hope must be firmly founded in God, Who promised to give us the means for salvation.
Source: A Manual of Religion My Catholic Faith A Catechism in Pictures
Consider this Divine Office excerpt from a Church Father, St. Peter Chrysologus.
- If you hope for mercy – show mercy.
- If you look for kindness – show kindness.
- If you want to receive – give.
Spiritual Warfare Weapon #3: Don’t Worry
One of the reasons why St. Padre Pio said for us to not worry about anything is because worrying diminishes the power with our #1 spiritual weapon, prayer. We want to have confidence in God working in every aspect of our lives.
For perspective, here is a list of some of antonyms for the word “worry.”
- Calmness
- Cheer
- Confidence
- Contentment
- Happiness
- Joy
- Peace
- Reassurance
- Sureness
- Trust
Think about the central message of Divine Mercy: “Jesus, I trust in you.” St. Padre Pio knew worry was useless because God is in control. Jesus controls every aspect of spiritual warfare in our lives. God often uses the diabolic we have to combat to help form us into who He calls us to be. If St. Padre Pio’s life had been without temptations and chastisements, would he have been the same beloved saint we cherish today?
Recap
“Pray, Hope, and Don’t Worry.”
If we want to strive to obtain perfection, we can include three of St. Padre Pio’s primary weapons for spiritual warfare in our own internal spiritual storehouse.
The chief fruit is Christ. Pray much to God like St. Padre Pio did.
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Philippians 4:6
Put all of your hope and trust in Jesus and do not worry.
Trust in the LORD and do good that you may dwell in the land and live secure. Psalms 37:3
The Spirit of Jesus is working in our lives beyond our understanding:
“There’s not a single aspect of the spiritual life in which we must not be working at in some degree if we are going to obtain perfection. Either you’re moving upstream in the spiritual life or you are floating downstream.
There’s no treading water.
One of the biggest or most unfortunate things among a lot of Catholics is they like to reach a certain plateau where they are staying out of mortal sin, they might have a few venial sins they’re struggling with, they feel comfortable in their spiritual life, they might be going to Mass regularly, they’re receiving the sacraments and life just seems kind of comfy, and they know that in order to eradicate those last imperfections in their life, there’s going to have to be a lot of suffering and a lot of self-denial, and so they shy away from it.
Demons don’t let you do that.
God allows demons in your life precisely to drag you one way or the other. Obviously, God allows them in our lives so that we can grow in virtue. – Fr. Chad Ripperger, Exorcist
St. Padre Pio, Pray for us. Amen +
