Have you met St. Padre Pio?

 

I was first introduced to St. Padre Pio during a season of Advent many many years ago by a generous lady we affectionately called “Granny Jan”.  

It was also during that Advent season when I learned that she was a former nurse and retired after being diagnosed with cancer. During her healing and recovery, she developed a deep devotion to both our Lady of Perpetual Help and St. Padre Pio. Both of which Granny Jan has now blessed our home and family with through gorgeous artwork and blessed sacramentals. 

She happen to introduce us to St. Padre Pio during a scary time when one of my kids had suffered a misfortunate accident and had gotten quite a severe concussion. Granny Jan heard about the incident and insisted on giving us her second-class relic of St. Pio. We humbly took the relic and blessed our child who recovered quickly without any complications. Praise God!

 

Afterward, I became very curious about this Saint and I began reading books, magazines, newsletters, and prayer cards and watched a couple movies about him.  

I came to learn quite a bit about this incredible mystical capuchin monk, priest, and now Saint.  I fell in love with him immediately and Granny Jan was so thrilled that she gifted us with this absolutely beautiful 3-foot outdoor statue of Padre Pio (see photo above).  

 

I think one of the first things that made me feel connected to him was when I read about his temper.  Apparently, St. Padre Pio had little tolerance for certain things, such as ladies coming to the confessional dressed immodestly. It got to the point that his brother monks had to screen the people who came to see him for confession. 

On the other hand, St. Padre Pio was also known to be as gentle as a lamb. He showed such tender love as noted in his letters, conversations, and the many supernatural visits he had with different eyewitnesses. All of whom became his very devoted spiritual children.  Reading about St. Padre Pio’s encounters was not only warm and caring but so admirably attractive and so enlightening. 

 

He was also well known for bearing the wounds of Christ through the stigmata. And he could celebrate Masses that would last for hours.  Could you imagine? That must have been amazing to be present at one of his Masses! St. Pio has developed an intimate relationship with his Guardian Angel since childhood and people testified hearing him having arguments with his Guardian Angel when he was an adult. I got such a chuckle and immense joy in reading those stories about him. 

St. Pio also had many long and exhausting nights in his cell battling Satan and his evil dominions.  Many years later when I was learning more about different types of torments that evil spirits manifest, this one God permitted with St. Pio we’re called ‘vexations’.   On the other hand, St. Pio was witnessed having many many beautiful encounters and ecstasies with the Christ-child Jesus and our Lady, Mother Mary. 

 

It quickly became obvious St. Pio was granted several extraordinary supernatural charisms and he used them to help save many many souls.  Honestly, I could read stories about him, all day long! He helped so many people from all over the world and from all walks of faith and from so many different generations. 

St. Pio definitely helped me to get another perspective on who was each person of the blessed Holy Trinity, and what Heaven and Hell were like.  His intimate encounters with each Heavenly being gave me glimpses into what an intimate relationship with our Lord could actually look like.   

 

This past Advent season I have enjoyed getting reacquainted with this amazing supernaturally gifted, mystical priest from the past, through each of these delightful daily devotions. 

Somehow being inspired by each day’s readings and prayers I have felt strongly compelled and convicted to write this post and introduce you to this powerful Saint.  My prayer is that you too will come to know a side of God through St. Padre Pio’s life, which will deepen your desire to know, love, and serve God more.  If you don’t know much about St. Padre Pio, I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend getting to know him better. His intercessory prayers are supernaturally powerful! ❤️🙏

Today, dear reader I’m asking a favor.  Could you please say a quick prayer for Granny Jan who introduced me to this incredible Saint? 

St. Padre Pio to pray for us.

 

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I pray you found what you were needing today. Please leave a comment below, I would love to hear how this post might have been helpful for you.

 Remember you are not alone! No matter what you’ve done or failed to do you are still loved unconditionally by a very merciful and just Lord and Savior!

May God Bless You,

Leslie

What's holding you back?

 

This past Advent I’ve really enjoyed spending the season preparing for Christmas with one of my favorite saints. There were several daily readings where I got such consolation and insight into what God was doing in my life right now. And they all came through different stories about this Saint.  These moments of joy-filled encounters with the Holy Spirit through this saint kept bringing back a conversation I had this past year with a dear woman. 

During this conversation, we were discussing in particular her conversion from being an atheist to a now-proclaimed agnostic. Which was a big step forward for her. For sure.  However, during that conversation, she made two statements that have been coming back to me throughout this Advent season.

 

While discussing with her how God was working in her life, the first statement she made was she could see how something bigger than her was watching over her, but she had no desire to be affiliated with any churches or institutions right now in her life. Primarily I think it was because she didn’t want any hypocritical people telling her what she should or shouldn’t be doing. I think considering where she was in her transformation that statement was “fair enough”.  I too remember from personal experience not wanting to be controlled by a bunch of hypocrites who thought their church and rules were the right and only way.  

Today, I look back and see how those thoughts really came from a place of fear, ignorance, and pride on my part.  For one there are zero perfect people whether that be in a church or institution or society. Since we all fall short, no better place to grow and become healed than in a community of like-minded people. I also had to come to the realization that the process of converting to Christianity doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, education, awareness, and actual life experiences with God, self, and others. 

I learned over time that this conversion from agnostic to Christianity is one that can never be done alone.   We human beings were created for communion not to live and grow in isolation. God knows that better than we do. So it makes total sense as to why He had to send His only son, the second person of the Trinity, to come to earth to complete what His chosen people imperfectly started and could never finish. Before ascending to the right hand of the Father of course he established ONE, holy, catholic, and apostolic church. This was the only way for all His present and future generations of disciples could grow and develop in objective Truth. 

 In time I pray God will continue to place the right people, situations, and circumstances in this dear woman’s path to help her take the next right step forward.

 

Back to the conversation, it was this dear woman’s second statement that concerned me the most. Unfortunately, it’s one I’ve heard too many times from ignorant people.  She adamantly stated she did not believe in "saints or anything supernatural, nor would she ever".  It was the tone she used that really stood out to me. One of obstinacy and pride.

I felt bad for her because one of the most profound impacts on my faith journey has been the stories told about beautiful mystical encounters these people from the past have had with the supernatural world.  It was through their life experiences that I have grown to better understand my faith, how the Catholic Masses play such a vital role in our salvation, how the Eucharist is food for our souls, and most importantly how to have an intimate relationship with our triune God. 

I remember a time when I struggled with what an intimate relationship with God was even supposed to look like.  Why? Because if I was already stuck at maintaining close relationships with my family and friends in my current life, how in the world was I supposed to have one with God?  Honestly, if it hadn’t been for the biographies and testimonies left behind for us to read. The stories of how different saints showed up and overcame struggles while here on earth, I would be SO lost today. 

 

Of course, God has brought devout people, priests, and nuns into my life, who have each helped me to grow in my faith. However, these people are still on this side of Heaven which means they have not overcome their own sinful faults,  failings, and trials. There’s no guarantee they are going to Heaven to be with God for all eternity. It would be foolish to assume just because they’ve been baptized and are subjectively ‘good’ people that their lives and examples are trustworthy.

 

That being said, having the biographies and testimonies of devout people who have had their earthly lives evaluated through a beatification process, which means they lived in a manner that was in alignment with the teachings of the Scriptures and the Magisterium of Jesus’s Church, offers me more reliability and trustworthiness to follow their examples. These saintly people who were from all walks of life have been incredibly instrumental in my own growth as a Christian in the Catholic Church. They’ve shown me a better understanding of who God is; how He lives outside of time; what He expects from us during our time here on earth; what Eternal life could actually look like; how to use our free will in alignment with God’s will; and so so much more.

I pray down the road this dear woman’s heart will soften and she will be able to be more open-minded in learning more about our Creator from the creatures that once lived on this side of Heaven and all the beings that now live closest to Him in Heaven for all eternity.  

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I pray you found what you were needing today. Please leave a comment below, I would love to hear how this post might have been helpful for you.

 Remember you are not alone! No matter what you’ve done or failed to do you are still loved unconditionally by a very merciful and just Lord and Savior!

May God Bless You,

Leslie

What are you grateful for this season?

 

There are many things I can thank God for this season! However, in today's story, I want to tell you about someone very dear that came into my life many many years ago. I am immensely grateful for her 'yes' to God.  She was a very generous lady, who fondly became known to our family and close friends as “Granny Jan” and she will forever be remembered in our prayers.

This divine intervention began after one of those humbling Sunday mornings when all my kiddos were still very young.  Our family had been running a little late that morning trying to corral everyone out the door and into the van, to get to Mass on time.  I believe one of the kids couldn’t find matching shoes, another child needed to run back inside to go potty last minute, and another somehow managed to sneak into the van unnoticed during all the mayhem.  Needless to say, when we arrived at the church, this child gave us quite an eclectic fashion show.  Thinking back on that day, I am chuckling now, but I'm pretty sure that morning I did not think it was very funny.  

On top of that, just as we walked through the doors, the Mass captain approached our family and asked if we could please light the candles on the Advent wreath at the beginning of Mass. Do you know where the Advent wreath is situated?  Yup, right up front!!  Of all the Sunday Masses, it had to be that one!  Right? Let’s just say standing up in front of the entire congregation was quite humbling and knocked my vanity and pride down a couple notches.

 

After Mass, this lady came up to our family, introduced herself, and told me she had been incredibly blessed by watching our whole family up on the altar lighting the Advent wreath candles.  At first, I just thought she was being nice because anyone could see the disheveled state our family was in that morning. But for whatever reason that morning God chose to use our family to answer her prayers and bring her great hope.  She went on to tell me she had been quite depressed about things in her life, and that morning she started questioning God on her purpose in life when suddenly she saw our family go up to light the Advent wreath candles. When she told me this I was stunned and knew right away this was one of those Holy Spirit-zapping moments. 

I thanked Granny Jan from the bottom of my heart and gave her one of my sincerest hugs.  Then as we walked her out to her car, she turned and asked me what Mass our family typically attended.  She said she had wanted to bring something and needed help.  I sincerely thought at the moment, "Well she must need help getting something to the staff at my parish."  Since I was a regular parishioner and she was a visitor who had just befriended us, I wanted to help her in any way I could. So I told her what Mass we would be attending the following week, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.

 

The next week, to my surprise, there was Granny Jan, waiting for us in the narthex after Mass.  She asked me if I could help her with something that was in the back of her car, so I followed her out. As she was pulling out this beautiful, framed painting of the Holy Family, and a bag full of prayer cards and other Catholic paraphernalia, she turned to me and thanked me profusely for giving her the hope she was desperately needing, then handed me the items and said they were gifts for MY family.  Again, I was stunned because I honestly thought she was gifting them to our church staff?!! Granny Jan,  reassured me it was not, she wanted our family to have these gifts.  I learned she was downsizing from her big home to a small retirement apartment and part of her depression was not being able to take these family heirlooms with her. Granny Jan had a distant son, who was married but they had no children. She then asked if I would be open to taking some more of her Catholic heirlooms into my home?  Again, I was speechless, and I graciously accepted her generous offer.

 

Granny Jan had a gift for being drawn to antique Catholic sacramentals that were being sold in flea markets and estate sales. This ultimately meant over the next couple of months, our home was blessed with many beautiful framed paintings, statues, artwork, crucifixes, and different holy Catholic sacramentals. One was the beautiful Byzantine Lamp (see photo above) that she had inherited from her deceased husband, who went to the Greek Orthodox church when he was alive. 

 

What Granny Jan did not know at that time, was that God had actually used her to answer a prayer of mine!!  From the time we first converted to the Catholic faith, I held in the depths of my heart a deep desire. The only Catholic reminders we owned at that time were a crucifix and a Catholic Bible which had been gifted to us by our RCIA sponsors. Since my husband and I were the only Catholics on both sides of the family, I had secretly prayed to God to help me Catholicize my home someday. I grew up in a non-churched home with many artifacts from places my parents had visited but honestly with the exception of a handful that reminded me of my childhood home, and a couple of my mom's original paintings, these meant nothing to me.  I wanted to be surrounded by paintings, statues, and Catholic sacramentals that all reminded me of one thing.  My final destination which with God's grace, mercy, and justice will be Heaven, forever! I'm grateful for the daily reminders of who I want to live with, and where I want to go, to be in supreme happiness for all of eternity. 

Today I can joyfully say when you come to my home you will know without a shadow of a doubt that we are a Catholic family.   I thank God every day for sending “Granny Jan” into our lives during that special Advent and Christmas season.  She had answered a prayer of mine that I held close to my heart for over ten years.

Today, dear reader I would like to ask you to please say a quick prayer for Granny Jan.  Please don't forget to thank God for always answering your prayers. I promise you from experience, He ALWAYS does in His own loving, merciful way and perfect perfect timing. 

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I pray you found what you were needing today. Please leave a comment below, I would love to hear how this post might have been helpful for you.

 Remember you are not alone! No matter what you’ve done or failed to do you are still loved unconditionally by a very merciful and just Lord and Savior!

May God Bless You,

Leslie

Are you certain you are following God’s Will?

I think for most of my Christian life, I would have said 'yes' to this question, but honestly, in hindsight, I can now see where I was really missing the mark in one particular area of my life.

The Holy Spirit gently and lovingly showed me how I had been hindering God’s Will in my emotional life, every time I played out old childhood patterns of survival in my marriage and in my interactions with my children, extended family, and friends. I learned that by replaying these old childhood patterns, they were not only creating unhealthy horizontal relationships but were having a direct impact on my primary vertical relationship, with God. One relationship cannot exist without affecting the other!

Through these two amazing books by Fr. Martin Padovani, the Holy Spirit helped me to see that by minimizing and avoiding facing my past and present emotional realities I was not following God’s Will in this area of my life.  

Over time I became more cognizant of how I was using pride and vanity to justify my actions and reactions.  Gradually, I came to see the big picture and the impact these negative repercussions were having not just in my emotional life but in every area of my life. Like the ripples, you see when you throw a stone in still waters. 

As I prayed to God to show me the roots of these old destructive patterns from a spiritual perspective, through His eyes. That’s when the Holy Spirit prompted me to read this book, during the following Lent.

Let’s just say, that Lenten season my whole world opened up with completely new eyes! As only God can do!  And the Holy Spirit showed me how these old, destructive emotional childhood patterns were not only being fed by my root sin of pride but I was also shown how my predominant fault of anger had been manifesting throughout my current adult life.  And still, to this day, I have to be conscientious of how my primary wound of rejection can become inflamed during interactions with certain people and or circumstances.

Unfortunately, situations and circumstances in my life had grown more and more burdensome, before all these realities became conscious and clear. Every season I was hit with one more tragedy or life’s curveball or a “life pop quiz” it took a huge toll on me physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and socially.  I became increasingly lonelier, more apathetic, and more exhausted!  The combination made it near impossible to serve others in perfect love, as God has commanded all of us to do.

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I pray you found what you were needing today. Please leave a comment below, I would love to hear how this post might have been helpful for you.

 Remember you are not alone! No matter what you’ve done or failed to do you are still loved unconditionally by a very merciful and just Lord and Savior!

May God Bless You,

Leslie

Have you ever rested in the Spirit?

 

Yes, I have, and each time it has been an incredible, life-changing experience. 

Have you ever thought about what it would have been like to be baptized by the Holy Spirit like the apostles were that day in the upper room? All fears would vanish, and all the pain, suffering, and confusion of seeing Jesus ascending into Heaven would be instantly gone!

While I do believe and have personally heard of instant miracles, I believe my personal healing journey, in particular, from unresolved grief and unacknowledged losses actually began unraveling gradually after I rested in the Spirit like the apostles did in the upper room that day many centuries ago. 

This supernatural experience was gifted to me, by God, about three months after my husband’s only brother unexpectedly died, which was six months after the tragic death of a close friend who committed suicide. That year was a really difficult season for me.  

 

Through divine intervention, I was invited by some friends to attend a spiritual retreat that was focused on the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  It was led by a dear priest whom I was blessed to have crossed paths with a few years previously. He was an exorcist, with many special gifts, one being the gift to read souls. That will be a story for another time. It was through this holy man’s intercession, that for the first time since becoming a Christian twenty years prior, I was able to rest in the Spirit. (Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, John 1:33, Acts 1:5)

 

My only reference for people resting in the Spirit back then was from watching those eccentric evangelical shows on TV.  They always left me wondering why anyone would want to go through such embarrassing theatrics on a stage in front of live cameras and an audience.  No, thank you!!

 

I actually didn’t personally witness people resting in the spirit, until 2006, after a healing service led by Alan Ames at the Atlanta Eucharistic Congress. First, I need to say, what I experienced that evening in person looked NOTHING like those loud, yelling, theatrical spectacles I had seen on TV.  

 

Thank God! 

 

What I witnessed was done in a serene and orderly manner.  People lined up and as Alan walked by each person, blessing them on their foreheads, with the sign of the cross, some people collapsed on the ground, while others just quietly walked back to their seats. 

 

In the beginning, the falling bodies were a bit alarming, and it didn’t help that I was sitting in the very front row. My dear friend who was sitting next to me verbally reassured me that it was fine. She explained that each person was just resting in a deep peaceful sleep. As I started to look more closely at each person lying on the floor, all I could see were rows of the most angelic, peace-filled sleeping expressions on each and every person’s face! Occasionally I came across a person that was crying, but the majority just rested there with content tranquility on their faces. I’d never seen anything so beautiful and serene, and I was immediately hooked.

 

Since that Eucharistic Congress in 2006, I was blessed to witness several more healing services over the next couple of years, where people rested in the Spirit. Each time I went forward to get the blessing, I would end up being one of those individuals that quietly walked back to my seat. That was until this one particular spiritual retreat on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 

 

I remember it being an evening when the priest who officiated the Mass beforehand, broke out in tongues during the consecration of the Eucharist and as people chimed in around me in song, I closed my eyes and it felt like I was in Heaven among angels.  The vibration and sensations in the air around me from everyone singing were so supernaturally uplifting, harmonious, in sync, and incredibly beautiful and peaceful. That alone was truly an incredible experience.

 

After Mass, I happen to be behind my daughter, as we both walk up for a healing blessing.  We happened to be in the same line as the holy priest, I mentioned earlier. I watched as the priest rested his hand over my daughter to bless her and within seconds she fell to the ground ever so gently, so peacefully. I remember her face was so angelic. I’d never seen her expression look so radiant, beautiful, and peaceful.

 

Then it was my turn for the blessing. I remember looking up at the priest at that very moment, feeling total and perfect surrender inside. All the accumulated events of that past year had taken a huge toll on me. In that moment all I felt was a deep longing for relief and to surrender all of it. I wanted to taste that inner peace, from the Holy Spirit that I was seeing on my daughter’s angelic face. She was carrying that same peaceful expression that I had witnessed so many times prior on other people’s faces. I wonder if this is the same desperation that rich man in Hades felt, when he called out to Father Abraham, to have mercy on him and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool his tongue, for he was in anguish from the flames? (Luke 16: 24)

 

 As I looked at the priest, there were no words exchanged between us, but he nodded and gently smiled before placing his hand gently on top of my head. Then he whispered something to the Holy Spirit and blew gently in my face.  I had seen him do this many times before me, so I was anticipating his warm breath, but instead, a cool almost cold wind blew upon me, and the next thing I knew I was waking up on the ground next to my daughter, who was still peacefully resting in the Spirit.

  

I was told by my friends that I was one of those people who had cried while resting. I don’t remember crying, but I do remember at some point a voice saying to me, “It’s okay, Jesus is with you” and then instantly feeling warmth and joy. When I woke up I felt at such peace. All my fears, stress, and anxieties were gone.

 

I was not one of those people who had experienced some miraculous healing, but I did, however, feel reprieved from all the heaviness I had experienced earlier that year. I bet much like the apostles did in the upper room. 

I can see now, in hindsight how the Holy Spirit gradually, over time started shifting and healing me from the inside out. Hidden wounds that had been inflicted upon me from past toxic relationships and painful traumatic circumstances had started surfacing and I was able to experience forgiveness and redemption.  I learned how to grieve and heal from unresolved losses and I’m slowly piecing back together my childhood identity that was ripped away from me. 

My journey of inner healing still continues to this day and will probably last until the day I die.  However, in the interim, I will try to never miss an opportunity where I can rest in the Spirit. I so LOVE the Holy Spirit!!!

 

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I pray you found what you were needing today. Please leave a comment below, I would love to hear how this post might have been helpful for you.

 Remember you are not alone! No matter what you’ve done or failed to do you are still loved unconditionally by a very merciful and just Lord and Savior!

May God Bless You,

Leslie

All Saints Day Tribute

(c) Leslie Adamson

“We can compare the saints to the church windows which allow light to enter in different shades of color. The saints are our brothers and sisters who have welcomed the light of God in their heart and have passed it on to the world, each according to his or her own hue. But they were all transparent; they fought to remove the stains and the darkness of sin, so as to enable the gentle light of God to pass through. This is life’s purpose: to enable God’s light to pass through; it is the purpose of our life too.” 

November 2022 issue of The Magnificat publication.

I took this photo one day after going to confession at my local parish. About two years later, on All Saint's Day, Magnificat published this beautiful meditation.  Immediately I knew why I felt so inspired that day to take this beautiful photo.

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 I pray you found what you were needing today. Please leave a comment below, I would love to hear how this post might have been helpful for you.

 Remember you are not alone! No matter what you’ve done or failed to do you are still loved unconditionally by a very merciful and just Lord and Savior!

May God Bless You,

Leslie