"I belong entirely to everyone."

“I suffer only when I don't suffer."

"I want to suffer, but in secret."

"I desire nothing else than to love and suffer"

"I suffer because I cannot win all my brothers to God."

"I suffer everything that Jesus suffered in the Passion."

"I suffer as much as anyone who has the whole of humanity on his back."

"I live for Jesus Christ, I live for his glory, I live to serve him, I live to love him."

 "I pray constantly".

"I want to save souls by continuous prayer." 

"I will never tire of praying to Jesus."

 "I am the greatest sinner on this heart."

"I am unworthy to represent Jesus on earth, to be Christ on the altar."

"Padre Pio wrote on the prayer card for his ordination to priesthood: “May I be a perfect victim.”

Padre Pio reached the highest possible fusion for a human being with the God Man Jesus, from the Garden to the Cross.

No other human being, besides Padre Pio, has had such complete uncompromising unwavering unconditional unrestricted unlimited unselfishness from the cradle to the grave.

Padre Pio was asked what special sacrifices he made. “None. I take what the Lord sends me.”

"Like St. Christopher carried the child Jesus on his shoulders across a river, on my shoulders is the whole world."

"We seek God in books, but it is in prayer that we find Him."

"What mankind lacks today is prayer."

"Prayer is the best weapon we possess."

"Prayers will never be wasted." 

"Prayer must be persistent. Persistence denotes faith."

"The only way to gain salvation is through prayer."

 "Pray, pray a great deal. Always pray, without tiring."

"Prayer is the effusion of our heart in the heart of God."

"In praying, our heart needs to stay open towards heaven, and wait for the heavenly dew to come."

"When it is done well, prayer moves the divine heart, and solicits answers more and more"

"Never grow weary of praying. This is essential.

Prayer penetrates the heart of God and obtains the graces needed… 

"Prayer is the key that opens the heart of God."

"Our Lord wishes that we ask, in order to obtain graces."

"Seek, ask, and knock, in order to find, receive, and to be opened to you."

"Even though the Lord is in us, He still wants us to ask for what we desire."

"All that you ask in prayer with faith, you will receive."

"Pray, hope, don't get agitated.

Agitation doesn't help at all. God is merciful and will listen to your prayer."

("Prega, spera, non agitarti. L'agitazione non giova a nulla. Dio è misericordioso ed ascoltera' la tua preghiera.")

“The more you get agitate, the sooner the Providence will withdraw its arms from you." "Anxiety makes us run only to make us trip." "Agitation never comes from God.”

"Nothing impedes more our progress than agitation, restlessness and an anxious conscience.”

"Let us pray together"

"Community prayer is a powerful weapon in the hands of the Church and the faithful."

"If more souls unite together in prayer, they form a formidable power."

 "In the Groups, when my children unite together in prayer, Jesus will be in the midst of them; There will also be the Mother of Jesus;

I will also be present in spirit and united in prayer."

 "Pray every evening with you family; recite the rosary; once a week or a month gather together to recite the rosary, assist at Mass, listen to a sermon, receive the Communion,  keep Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament company for an hour."

"I have made a pact with the Lord: I will take my place at the gate to Paradise, but I shall not enter until I have seen the last of my spiritual children enter."

"When the Lord entrusts a soul to me, I place it on my shoulder and never let it go."

"I accept you as spiritual child; and don't make me lose face." 

"I see all my children who come to the altar, as if in a mirror."

"I love my Spiritual Children as much as my own soul and even more."

"Once I take a soul on, I also take on their entire family as my spiritual children."

"I tell Mary: Here are the children of your Son."

"Woe to those who lay a hand on my spiritual children."

"To my Spiritual Children: my prayers for you will never be lacking"

"If one of my spiritual children ever goes astray, I shall leave my flock and seek him out."

How do you remember everybody?  "I remember them and I call them one by one, and count their hairs, and then some."

When you leave us what are we going to do without you? "I will be here in your midst, more than before. Come visit my tomb. Before, in order to speak to me, you had to wait. Then, it is I who will be waiting there. Come to my tomb and you will receive more than you did before!"

“Could I ever forget those whom I have regenerated to grace like a bad mother who bears a child and then deserts it?”

"I want to live and die in the (Roman Catholic) Church."

In October 1967 a Jewish convert asked Padre Pio is his father, who died as practicing Jews, was saved. "Julius Fine is saved, but is necessary to pray much for him."

"Other Christian religions were founded by different men, but he Catholic religion was founded directly by Jesus Christ."

Padre Pio, Letter, January 27, 1918: "...the Church; this dear and sweet dove, which alone can lay the eggs, giving birth to the little doves of the Bridegroom. Continually thank God that you are a daughter of the Church. . ."

"The Church is always a mother even when it strikes."

"The Church is our most tender mother."

"The first person I remember in prayer is the Pope, Christ's Vicar."

When asked about visions and visionaries:

"That’s none of my business. It is up to the bishop, the ecclesiastical authority to decide such matters."

Giancarlo Menotti, the Italian-American composer, attended Padre Pio’s Mass in 1957. Afterwards Padre Pio asked him: “Do you believe in the Church?” “No. I believe in God, but I don’t believe in the Church.” Padre Pio: “Why do you come to see me then? I believe in the Church.” Menotti later declared: “Still it was quite an experience. One I shall never forget. I did have the feeling I had met a saint.”  Some of Menotti’s friends believe that Menotti’s encounter with Padre Pio inspired him to write the opera “The Saint of Bleaker Street.”

"The saints are our brothers and sisters who preceded us in the happy journey."

"Let's become saints so that, together on earth we will be together forever in Heaven."

"Fear and don't sin is of the saints."

"It is easy and difficult to become a saint."

"Saints are not the less defective, but the more courageous."

 "Sanctity doesn't consist in not having defects, but in fighting them patiently and constantly."

"Saints are always right. You can't argue with them."

"The Lord elects a priest for the altar and the confessional.”

"It is a tremendous responsibility to sit in the tribunal of the confessional."

 “Our Lord on the Cross complains about his unrequited love, especially from the men consecrated to Him and more favored by Him.”

From a letter of Padre Pio to a priest: “Let’s keep always in our mind that we are priests. Let’s improve until we can say with Saint Paul, without lying, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Cor:11-1)

Padre Pio once told a priest during confession: “If you knew fully what a fearful thing it is to sit in the tribunal of the confessional! We are administering the Blood of Christ.

"We must be careful that we do not fling it about by being too easy-going or negligent."

In a letter to Padre Agostino, reporting what Jesus told him in a vision:

“Jesus showed me a multitude of priests, regular and secular, with some ecclesiastical dignitaries: “Butchers… they leave me alone under the veil of indifference… They add scorn and unbelief to their indifference They speak of this Sacrament of love with great indifference and coldness…. “

A Dominican friar found out that the nuns in the convent in Pompeii were divided pro and against Padre Pio. To settle the doubt he decided to visit Padre Pio in civilian clothes. He was in line for confession, but Padre Pio started staring at him, and finally signaled to come over. He told him: “Go and put on your habit, than come back and I will hear your confession.” The Dominican: “Padre, I came in order to find out something and I have found out what I needed to know.” 

"God only knows if we will reach the end of the year."

"Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today."

"Let's not put off from one moment to another, because the latter is not ours yet."

"Oh if we could understand how precious time is!"

"Blessed are those who make good use of time."

"We will have to give an exact account of every moment to the Eternal Judge."

"One day we will have to give strict account on how we spend our time."

"Everybody should understand the preciosity of time."

Let’s treasure every instant. Only the passing instant is in our power." 

"One day we will have to give strict account of every minute."

” Do not delay for tomorrow what we can do today.  How do we know that tomorrow we will still be alive?"

 "Every year should be more fruitful than the previous one."

"The years pass by, and eternity becomes closer."

"Life is a continual struggle against oneself."

“Life is a struggle, which we cannot avoid.  We must triumph."

"The fruits are more beautiful than the flowers."

"Be docile to the influence of grace."

"Be happy to take small steps, until you have legs to run or wings to fly."

"Only the free will is capable of good or evil."

"It is necessary to be strong to become great."

"Let's be honest always."

"In these hard times faith is dead and wickedness is triumphant."

"The thought of revenge has never crossed my mind."

"Love doesn't tolerate delay."

"Planting is less important than sowing, to have a good harvest."

"Drowning on high seas or chocking on a glass of water has death as the same outcome."

"Repair the past and prepare for the future making good decisions."

"Let us be honest always."

Do not be restless, upset, and anxious in times of darkness."

"Let your whole exterior be a vivid image of the composure of your soul."

"Let us be moved by the presence of God, who is also our judge."

"It is easier to cure a tumor than to change the heart of a person".

Giving a medal with a sacred image he would say: "This is the weapon which will preserve you from your enemies."

"Science is less that nothing compared to the mystery of the Divinity."

"The mom teaches the child walking by supporting him. But later he has to walk by himself."

"The road to perfection is as long as a lifetime."

"In the spiritual life, the faster we run, the less tired we feel."

"Unable to take big steps be content with little steps, until you have the legs to run; or wings to fly."

'Keep going forward. If you stop, the wind will blow you back."

"Ahead!  Courage!  In the spiritual life he who does not advance goes backward."

Media: Padre Pio almost never read the papers. In the mid 50’s television was introduced in the convent. No friars remember him watching television.

To Joe Peterson: “The man who invented refrigeration went to heaven, but the man who invented television…” concluded pointing downward.

It is not known his opinion about internet, web, email, google, twitter, facebook, iPhone, iPod, iPad, text messaging, and similar.

Padre Pio had committed himself 24/7 to serve God and help others. He renounced to any other possible use of his time, and kept his promise until death.

"Yes, the coincidences are coincidences. But there is Somebody up there who arranges those coincidences."

God uses more power in our conversion than he used in creating heaven and earth.

There is more opposition between sin and grace that between nothing and creation.”

“Don’t concern yourself with physical beauty or ugliness. Let the beauty of the soul be enough for you.”

"Detach yourself from the world." "Being attached to the things of the world brings sadness."

"Duty comes before everything else, even something holy." "It is necessary to be strong, in order to become great: that is our duty."

"I wholeheartedly bless the work of catechizing children, the little flowers of Jesus."

"Give me and preserve in me an ardent faith."

"I desire no greater pleasure than my faith, my hope, and my love."

"I have never regretted being gentle."

"Gentleness doesn't mean permissiveness."

"Even when reprimanding, one must be courteous and gentle."

"We must always have kindness with the neighbor and humility with God."

"I cannot tolerate criticizing and speaking ill of our neighbor."

"I would prefer to be stabbed rather than offend anyone."

"Strong and generous hearts do not complain."

"As the pearls are held together by the thread, thus the virtues by charity"

“The pearls fall when the thread breaks, thus the virtues are lost if charity diminishes."

"The pivot of perfection is charity; He who lives in charity lives in God, because God is charity, as the Apostle says."

"Excuse everyone with Christian charity."

"Seek solitude but do not lack charity with your neighbor."

"Charity is the yardstick with which the Lord will judge us all."

"Go out of your way when you get a chance to act charitably."

"To lack charity is to wound the pupil of God's eye."

"To lack charity is like sinning against nature."

"Charity is the daughter of Providence."

"Charity knows how to mix sweet with bitter, and convert transitory suffering in eternal reward."

"Charity is the cornerstone of perfection."

"Charity is the queen of virtues."

"Humility is truth. Everything good in me is of God."

"False humility brings discouragement."

"When Jesus sees you prostrated in humility, he will extend his hand and draw you to him."

"Humility is the recognition of one's abjection."

"God speaks to those who truly have a humble heart."

'When you fall, humble yourself but without degrading yourself."

"Abjection means to be humble and powerless."

"Mary, the more she was filled with heavenly gifts, the more she humbled."

"The tall ears of grain are vain and empty; the ones bent to the ground are humble and laden with grain."

"Be humble, tranquil, sweet, and confident in times of darkness."

 “Consider yourself what you really are: a nothing.”

"Never be pleased with yourself."

Humility and charity go hand in hand.  The one glorifies, the other sanctifies.

"There are two fundamental virtues of holiness: humility and charity."

"Prudence has the eyes and love the legs: with them you can run to God."

"Tranquility is the daughter of the love for God."

"Let’s keep well etched in our mind what the Divine Teacher says: “In our patience we will possess our soul.”

"Wait, your turn will come."

“Guard jealously the purity of your heart and your body."

About Padre Pio:

Padre Lorenzo: “With regard to chastity, I believe him to be angelic.”

Padre Romolo: “As far as chastity is concerned, his tact is extraordinary: as to this, nobody doubts he is an angel.”

Padre Ludovico di San Giovanni Rotondo: Relating to women “he shows politeness, reserve, and at time has even been austere.”

Padre Cherubino: “He treats the women with affability and sweetness, but is always most reserved.”

"Nosiness (curiosity) is a defect that destroys charity, makes us lose peace, and has sad consequences. As the Apostle Paul said: “I resolve to know nothing except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” (cfr.1 Cor. 2:2)

"Hypocrisy is the greatest evil of our time. It exists in all levels of our society, in high places and in low places."

"To doubt is the greatest insult to the Divinity."

"Pride is the moth of the soul who aims at perfection. The saints have also called it the wood-worm of godliness.”

"Blasphemy calls down malediction on your home; and it destroys even the ashes in the fireplace." “Blasphemy is the surest way to go to hell.”

Resentment: “Don’t judge by appearances. Inconsistency between acts and words indicates mere human fragility.”

 Gossiping nauseates me. We have so many defects ourselves; why do we want criticize our brothers?

 Procrastination: "Make hay while the sun shines." "Do not put off until tomorrow what you can do today."

"Sadness is of no use to anyone."

"Don't philosophize on your defects."

"Fear is an evil worse than evil itself."

"Vainglory is the woodworm of holiness."

"Self-esteem is more malicious that pride."

"If I was reborn, I would become a Capuchin again, but not a priest.

“For God the past doesn’t exist, the future doesn’t exist. Everything is an eternal present.”

"Confide and abandon yourself peacefully in the arms of the heavenly Father."

"I'm always uncertain if my deeds please the Lord."

"Life without love of God is worse than death."

"I would want to die ad infinite number of times rather than deliberately offend the Lord."

"Do not wait for Tabor to see God. You already see him on Sinai."

"Let's act in a way that God sees only good in us."

"Be kind to your neighbor and humble to God."

"Purity of the heart and purity of the body are the two wings that raise us to God ."

"God is terrible justice and infinite mercy."

"Recognize the divine will in all the events of life."

"I place my hope in God alone."

"God speaks to those who have a humble heart."

"The good-hearted man sacrifices himself for God and his neighbor."

"God is always fixed in my mind and imprinted in my heart."

 “Father, I don't believe in God." ”Why are you telling me? Tell Him!"

Father, I don't believe in God. "But God, my son, believes in you."

"God enriches a humble heart with his gifts."

"Time spent for the glory of God is never wasted."

"As long as one has God as a foundation everything else falls into place."

"Let's look beyond the hand of men, to find the hand of God."

"Honor and praise the Creator and not the creature."

"Endure tribulation, sickness and pain for the love of God."

"To meet God, we must ascend and he must descend."

"Everything comes from God. I possess only infinite misery."

"With the holy Magi I say: You are our true and only God."

"God is our peace, our consolation, and our glory."

"My past, O Lord, to your mercy; my present, to your love; my future, to your providence!"

"God loves man with an infinite love"

"God tolerates us, even when we offend him."

"The Lord allows us to discover who we are a little at a time."

"Always remember that God sees everything."

"Before going to sleep examine your conscience and turn your thoughts to God."

"If God would take back what he gave us, we would be left with our rags."

"God will always give us more than we deserve."

"God goes in search of obstinate souls."

"God is terrible justice and infinite mercy."

"The sinner who is ashamed of his bad deeds is closer to God than the just ashamed of acting well."

"One day the slightest transgression of God's law will be considered."

"When God punishes He does so with reverence, almost fearing to hurt."

"When the veil of this life is taken off, we will understand things in a different way."

From a letter to Padre Agostino on 10-21-12: "At night, when I close my eyes the veil is removed and the Paradise opens in front of me, and I feel a perfect calm, and wait that the little companion of my infancy wakes me up."

"Father, going to Heaven there is immediate joy, or one has to wait for the end of the world?”

Padre Pio’s answer: “If there was no joy it wouldn’t be Paradise.

At the end of the world will rejoice the resurrected body too.”

"Anna Tortora, the day of the Confirmation asked Padre Pio for a present:

"I want that when you go to Heaven, you prepare a spot for me too." "Are you so sure I will go there?” “If you don’t go there who else goes there?”

"All right I promise you that if I go there I will pull you too by the neck."

"The immensity of the eternal heritage was seen by the Apostle Paul who, was caught up into Paradise and heard ineffable "things, which no one may utter.”  (2 Cor. 12, 4)

“What kind of heaven would be if we didn’t have with us those whom we love?”

To a woman about her deceased dad: "Comfort yourself. He is not dead. He lives a life of joy that will have no end. He lives "in heaven. He lives in the midst of his dearest ones."

To a woman about her deceased two years old child: "Your child is in Paradise, watching over you, assisting you, smiling on you, and preparing a place for you."

“God revealed his power more fully in our justification than in creating heaven and earth.”

“Our justification is such an enormous miracle that the sacred scripture compares it to the Resurrection.”

“Oh, if we could perceive even of a single instant the state to which God’s grace has raised us, to be nothing less than his own children, destined to reign with his son for all eternity.

"I am in agony at all times."

"Everything seems to be a dream to me."

"I don't know where I am wandering."

"God is pleased to visit you through trials of aridity, desolation, and darkness of spirit."

"Patiently await the return of the beautiful sun."

"Be patient a while longer and everything will work out well."

"Winter will pass and the never ending spring will come."

"The trials are all signs of divine love."

In the dark night of the spirit God seems to be playing a game of hide-and-seek oscillating between extreme exaltation and violent depression, as it was with St. John of the Cross, and as it was recently revealed of Mother Theresa.

“In my soul I feel just that terrible pain of loss,” she wrote in 1959, “of God not wanting me — of God not being God — of God not existing.” This inner turmoil lasted until her death in 1997.

To the very end of his life, Padre Pio never felt that his salvation was entirely secure.

Towards the end of his life he asked his friend Pietro Cugino: "Tell me seriously. Do you think I will be saved?"

In a letter to Annita Rodote, on July 25, 1915 from Pietrelcina: "Never forget me before Jesus. These are days of extreme affliction for me."

“Let’s be vigilant and don’t let the enemy get in our heath and contaminate the temple of the Holy Spirit.”   

"Let's pray the Paraclete Spirit that he enlightens us about three things:

Understanding the importance of being Christians,

Understanding the immensity of the eternal heritage to which we are destined,

Understanding the extreme greatness of the miracle of 'justification.'"

 "I will never forget the day of my Confirmation, when the Holy Spirit gave me extremely sweet consolations.

My heart still burns with a vivid flame thinking of that day.”

Don Nello: ""They say that on other planets there are more creatures of God."

Padre Pio’s answer: "And you wanted that the Omnipotence of God was limited to the little planet Heart?

And you wanted that there weren't other creatures loving the Lord?"

Still don Nello said: "Padre, I have been thinking that the Earth is nothing, compared to all the other stars and planets." Padre Pio replied: "Yes, we born on the Earth are nothing. The Lord has certainly not restricted his glory to this little planet. On other planets there might be beings that have not sinned like we did." 

"In the end, the gamble of our life is all in this Child."

In a letter to Padre Agostino: "The baby Jesus likes to play with me. I'm sorry that he has chosen this worthless toy."

The student friar future Padre Raffaele of Sant’ Elia a Pianisi, testified in writing that in 1919he was spending four days in the convent of San Giovanni Rotondo, and was given a room right next to Padre Pio’s. The night of September 20, he could not sleep. Finally at midnight he decided to get up. When he opened the door of his cell, he saw Padre Pio walking down the hall very slowly, immersed in prayer. His face was suffused with a beautiful light. In his arms was the Child Jesus. "He was not holding a statue or an image, but a real baby."

Similar was the experience of Lucia Iadanza. She testified that on December 24, 1922 she was in the sacristy of the church, in preparation of the Midnight Mass, when she was Padre Pio coming into the sacristy. He was holding the Baby Jesus in a shining light. When the vision disappeared Padre Pio noticed that Lucia was there. He asked her: "What did you see?" She told him, and he replied: "Don't tell anybody."

"Jesus put on our own flesh to live the miserable life of earth in our midst."

"Jesus wants to be helped by us for the salvation of souls."

"Oh Jesus, if I had an infinite number of hearts I would offer them all to You."

"My Jesus You are the love that sustains me."

"May Jesus be your guide, support, and life, always and in everything."

"I am unable to explain the burning me up volcano which Jesus has placed in my small heart."

"If Jesus manifests himself, thank Him. If he hides, thank him. It is all a game of love."

"To love Jesus be ready to love sacrifice."

"I see always the Cross  on Jesus' shoulder."

“Jesus told Padre Pio in a vision: “I associate you to my Passion.”

 "Without Jesus you can do nothing."

"In Jesus everything has an answer. Without him, there is only a big void."

Responding to a person who asked him if his stigmata hurt. Padre Pio replied: "Do you think that the Lord gave them to me for a decoration?"

"I have asked Jesus to take away this signs that cause me so much embarrassment. His answer has  been: you will bear them for fifty years."

Mons. George Pogany testified that a man told Padre Pio: “Who knows if the stigmata are a fake?” Padre Pio replied: “If it is not real, I am the first one who was deceived.”

"The wound that causes me the greatest pain is the shoulder wound. It is painful and sweet at the same time."

"Jesus alone can understand what I suffer when the Calvary is enacted  before my eyes."

"Jesus is consoled by those who sympathize with his torments."

"I want only to be allowed to share in his sufferings."

"Life is a Calvary, but we must climb it cheerfully."

"From the Calvary we go to the Tabor."

"On the Calvary Jesus redeemed us, and salvation must be accomplished there."

"The Cross must be our daily bread."

"God is not able to save us without the Cross."

"The more the Lord draws a soul to himself, the more he purifies it by means of the Cross."

"Everyone on this hearth has a Cross."

"When the Lord makes you feel the weight of the Cross, he also helps you and gives you strength."

Adversities place the soul to the foot of the Cross, and from there at the gate of Heaven."

"As the body needs nourishment, the soul needs the Cross to purify and detach."

"Everybody has his own Cross. We must be like the good thief and not like the bad one."

"The foot of the Cross is the gate to Heaven."

Padre Pio was convinced that he had been chosen to carry the cross to the Calvary like Simon of Cyrene.

"If He asks us to carry the Cross, the Lord will help and give strength."

"Jesus doesn't ask you to carry the heavy Cross with Him; just a small piece."

"Jesus knows how to convert the transitory sufferings to eternal rewards."

"Consider yourself extremely fortunate in participating to the sufferings of the God-Man."

"The salvation of souls must be accomplished on the Calvary."

"Suffering is a gift that we cannot have in Paradise."

"He who begins to love must be ready to suffer."

"Suffering is the helping hand of the Infinite Love for our regeneration."

"Suffering is the most powerful lever to raise man up again."

"Suffering is necessary for our souls."

""God has decreed that glory will be ours on condition that we endure suffering."

"Bearing physical and spiritual ailments is the worthiest gift we can offer to Jesus."

"My sufferings are pleasing."

"Jesus, let me suffer, and let me die from suffering."

"Suffering is expiation."

"Suffering is necessary for our souls."

"In suffering we give something to God, which we cannot do in Paradise."

"He who begins to love must be ready to suffer."

"Suffering is a most powerful lever to raise man up again."

"Glory will be ours on condition that we endure suffering."

"The Angels are jealous of us because they can't suffer."

"Bearing physical and spiritual ailments is the worthiest gift we can offer to Jesus."

"Suffering is a sure sign that God loves us."

"Accepting the sufferings we will perfect and sanctify us."

Being at five in the morning near the altar of Padre Pio was really a close encounter of the special kind with the supernatural. The Mass of Padre Pio was a spectacular mystical event, mixing the height of the human complete immolation to God, that we could see, with a mystical and physical renewal of the Passion of Christ from the Garden to the Golgotha, which we couldn't see, but were able to feel.  

From his own handwriting to his spiritual directors and the spiritual daughter Cleonice Morcaldi, we know that Padre Pio experienced during Mass the Passion of Jesus, including the Agony in the Garden with the sweat of blood, the scourging, the crowning of thorns, the hostile crowds, the Via Crucis, Veronica, Simon of Cyrene, the Crucifixion, the seven words, the sipping of the gall, the death and deposition.

"All of Paradise is close to the altar when I say Mass."

"The angels around the altar adore and love."

"The angels attend my Mass In legions."

"The Holy Virgin assists me."

"The Mass is the complete union between Jesus and me."

"If people knew the value of the Mass, there would be policemen at the door, to regulate the access to the church, every time that a Mass is celebrated".

"It is easier for the earth to be without the sun than without the Mass."

"If we only knew how God regards it, we would risk our lives to be present at a single Mass."

"The Mass gives to God an infinite glory"

"Mass is redemption of your soul and reconciliation with God."

"Listen to the Mass the way the Virgin Mary stood at the Calvary"

"The holy Mass regenerates the world."

"The fruits that we receive at Mass cannot be enumerated. We will know it only in Paradise."

"When you are well, attend Mass. When you are sick, read the Mass."

From a letter to Annita Rodote on July 25, 1915:

"The Divine Master calls the church the house of prayer. In order to avoid irreverence and imperfections I exhort you in the Lord to:

Enter the church in silence and with great respect. Take the holy water and make the sign of the cross carefully and slowly.

Before God in the Blessed Sacrament genuflect devoutly. At your pace, kneel down and render to Jesus the tribute of you presence.

Confide to him all your needs, and those of others. Speak to him with filial abandonment. Be very composed when standing up, kneeling down, and sitting. Carry out every religious act with the greatest devotion. Be modest in your glance. Don't turn you head here and there to see who enters and leaves. Don't laugh. Don't speak to anybody, except when requested for charity or other strict necessity. Say the words distinctly, observe the pauses, and never hurry. Behave in such a way that all the presents are edified by you. Don't leave without asking Jesus for his blessing, and forgiveness for your shortcomings. Leave the church recollected and calm."

"The Eucharist gives ad idea of the union we will have in heaven."

"How could I live failing even for a single morning to receive Jesus in the Communion?"

Padre Alessio and another priest were distributing the Communion to a very large number of faithful. Padre Alessio 's pixis emptied sooner and he went back to the altar for the purification of the pixis. He had just completed the rite when, looking at his immediate right he saw a host standing in midair. The Host moved towards the pixis and fell into the pixis with an audible click sound. Padre Alessio was devastated by what he had seen. He hadn't seen anybody holding the Host. Later in the day Padre Pio reported his experience to Padre Pio. Padre Pio: "Boy, be more careful and do not distribute the communion too fast. Tank your guardian Angel for not letting the Host fall to the ground."

Padre Onorato to Padre Pio: "It is hard for us to collect properly all the little fragments of the Hosts after distributing the Communion." Padre Pio: "What do you think the angels are doing around the altar?"

"In the Communion I ask the Lord to let me be another Jesus, all Jesus, always Jesus."

"My Communion is a fusion.

Like two candles that fuse together and cannot be distinguished one from the other. "

"I die mystically, at the Holy Communion. The Communion is the culminating point of my suffering."

"In the communion Jesus put his delight in his creature."

"We are all unworthy of the holy Communion, but its He who invites us and desires it."

"Let's approach the holy Communion with great love and fear."

"Let the whole day be preparation and thanksgiving for the holy Communion."

"In these times where we are surrounded by perpetual hatred and blasphemy our strength is the Eucharistic food."

"See how much sacrilege is committed towards the Sacrament of love."

"We can never prepare ourselves too much for the holy Communion."

"Only the Catholic Church possesses Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament."

"When I am no longer here, go before the tabernacle. In Jesus you will find me, also".

"Just staying humbly in His presence is an excellent sign of perfection."

"When we are in the presence of God, let's just be happy to stay there, not being concerned about anything else."

"Passing before an image of Mary we should say: Hail Mary, say hi to Jesus for me."

"Beautiful Mother, you are so beautiful."

"Your eyes are more resplendent than the sun."

'Mary in an anchor to which you must be attached in time of trial."

"May Mary be the reason of your existence."

"May Mary guide you to the safe harbor of eternal salvation."

"May Mary transform all of your sufferings into joy."

"May Mary place her maternal hand on your head."

"May Mary adorn your soul with the fragrance of ever new virtues."

""Oh Mary, (You are) the sweet mother of priests, mediator and administrator of all graces."

"The Virgin combined the two duties of Martha and Mary."

"This heavenly Mother is the sea to be crossed to reach the eternal Kingdom."

"Mary said a single yes to the Lord and humanity was redeemed."

"What tongue can worthily describe Mary's triumphant entry into Heaven?"

"The triumph was prepared by God himself for his Mother."

"The Madonna is the shortcut to get to God."

"Love the Madonna, and make people to love her."

"Abandon yourself in the hands of Mary. She will take care of you."

"Let's pray the Madonna of Graces. She will heal you." After: "Mary healed you, not me."

On the 19th of September 1968, four days before Padre Pio’ death, Padre Alberto D’Apolito was present when a spiritual son brought Pio a bouquet of roses for the 50th anniversary of his stigmata.  Padre Pio asked the spiritual son to bring one of the roses to the shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii.  He did so. 

One of the Sisters at the shrine placed the rose in a vase with other flowers.  On the 23rd, when Padre Pio died, the Sister saw that the vase of flowers had withered and was about to throw them out when she noticed that the Padre Pio rose "had closed and become a fresh and perfumed bud again." 

The rose was placed in a glass container. 

A year later, when Padre Alberto went on a pilgrimage to Pompeii, he and his group saw the rose "preserved in its container, still fresh, with the stem slightly yellowed."  

Padre Pio called the Mother of Jesus in many different ways. Some of them: Maria, Madonna, Mamma, Mammina, Madre, Madonnina, Madonnella, Signora, Vergine Maria, Madre Maria, Diletta Madre, Tenera Madre, Madre mia cara, Celeste Madre, Madre di Misericordia, Bianca Signora, Maria Santissima, Mamma mia, Madre Immacolata, Santissima Vergine, Cara Madre, Mamma dolcissima, Madonna Mia, Mamma nostra, Dolce Signora, Vergine Santa, Madonna delle Grazie

Father Tarcisio Zullo da Cervinara and Padre Mariano da Magliano Santa Croce were in Padre Pio’s room. They took the courage and.asked him: 'Father, is the Madonna at this moment in this room?'

Padre Pio's answer: "Wrong formulation. You should have asker 'Did the Madonna ever leave this room?' "

One evening Dr. Kisvarday was talking with Padre Pio in his cell when the light went off. He got up to get a candle. "Where are you going? There is so much light. We don't need a candle. Don't you see the Madonna lighting up the cell?" Dr. Kisvarday: "I didn't see the Madonna, I saw only pitch dark."

To Padre Onorato who was going in pilgrimage to Lourdes: "I have been to Lourdes many times. You don't need a car or a train, there are other means too."

On April 24, 1959, the Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fatima visited Italy, starting from Naples. The same day  Padre Pio became very ill. He had bronco pneumonia and couldn’t celebrate Mass.

On August 1st Padre Pio was recovered inpatient at Casa Sollievo. The illness continued. On August 5 the Statue of Fatima came to the Convent. On August 6 the Statue was just leaving in helicopter. Padre Pio from the hospital: "Madonna, my Mother, I have been sick since you came to Italy; and now you are leaving, and leaving me sick." Padre Pio reported: "I felt a chill in the bones." Then: "I’m feeling well." "I am healed! Our Lady has healed me!" Later he said: "The Madonna came here, to heal Padre Pio." On August 10 Padre Pio resumed celebrating Mass, and the 21th he resumed the confessions.

"Pray the rosary frequently. It costs so little, and it's worth so much!"  

"We can't live without the Rosary."

"Say the rosary, and pray it every day."

'Mary has recommended the Rosary at Lourdes and Fatima because of its exceptional value for us in our times."

"Always recite the rosary and recite it as often as possible."

"Mary is present in every mystery of the rosary."

"Mary has taught us the rosary just as Jesus taught us the Our Father".

"I always pray for the sick. Every day I say a holy Rosary for them."

Padre Pio used to carry permanently a Rosary in his hands and would pray it many times a day. 

Padre Marcellino testified that he had to help Padre Pio wash his hands one at a time "because he didn't want to leave the rosary beads, and passed the Rosary from one hand to the other."

To Lucia Merlinda: "After the Glory, say: Jesus, I love you, and I repent for offending You."

About the repetitiveness of the Rosary: "Pay attention to the mysteries. They change at every decade."

To Enedina Mori: "When you get tired reciting the Rosary, rest a bit, and then restart again."

"The Rosary is the weapon of defense and salvation."

"The Rosary is the weapon given us by Mary to use against the tricks of the infernal enemy."

"Satan always tries to destroy the rosary, but he will never succeed."

To father Onorato Marcucci, grabbing the Rosary that he had put few seconds on the nightstand: "This s my weapon. With this, one wins the battles."

"The rosary is the prayer of the Madonna, the one that triumphs on everything and everybody."

February 6, 1954 9:00 PM, to padre Carmelo: "I still have 2 rosaries to pray today. I said only 34 so far. Then I will go to bed."

Answering to Padre Michelangelo: "Today I said 32 or 33 rosaries. Maybe 1 or 2 more."

Answering to Padre Mariano da Magliano Santa Croce: "About 30. Maybe some more, but not less." 'How do you do it? "What is the night for?"

Answering a question: "Some days I say 40 Rosaries, some other days 50."

How do I do it? "How do you manage not so say any?"

To Lucia Pennelli one morning around 7:00 AM after Mass: "How many rosaries did you say so far today?" 'Two". "I already said seven."

To Lucietta Pennelli, one day at about noon: "Today I have already said 16 complete Rosaries."

 Padre Alessio Parente asked Padre Pio why he would constantly say the rosary and no other prayers. Padre Pio: “Because the Madonna never refuses me anything that I ask through the prayer of the rosary.”

"The temptations come from the evil of the devil."

"Despise the temptation and embrace the tribulation."

Temptations against faith and purity are the merchandise of the enemy."

"When assaulted by the enemy, he who flees wins."

"The more the assaults increase, the closer God is to the soul."

"The more a soul is pleasing to God, the more it must be tried."

"Temptation is like the soap: it seems to soil but in reality cleanses."

The temptations seem to soil, but in fact they purify."

"What a joy there is in spiritual battles!"

"If God lets you fall, is to make you more careful in the future."

"Hate your faults with a quiet hate."

"When the enemy roars around you, it shows that he is not within you."

"The sight of so many souls who wish to justify their evil ways pains me, exhausts my brain, and tears at my heart."

"God runs after the most stubborn souls. They cost him too much to abandon them."

"Sin without repentance is a deception of conscience; in essence a sacrilege."

"If you win a temptation, it has the same effect as in washing dirty laundry."

"The more a soul is liked by God, the more He will be proved."

"Temptations belong to devil and hell; sufferings belong to God and Paradise."

"The temptations come from the devil, the sufferings come from God."

"Despise the temptation and embrace the tribulation."

"Do not dwell on your temptations."

"The thought doesn't make the sin, but consenting to the thoughts does it."

"Only the free will is capable of good or evil."

"Temptations against faith and purity are the merchandise offered by the enemy."

"Don't voluntarily dwell on what the devil presents to you."

"When tempted, say to God: "Have mercy on your poor weakling."

"When the assault of the enemy increases, you are closer to God."

"When the enemy roars around you, it shows that he is not in you."

"The more a soul is pleasing to God, the more it must be tried."

"Temptation is like the soap. It seems to soil but in reality cleans."

"There is joy in the spiritual battles. Learn how to fight and you will be certain of victory."

"If God lets you fall is to make you humble and more careful in the future."

"The devil enters a soul only through one door: the will."

"We must prepare for temptation if we want to approach God."

“If you are tempted, that means that God loves you.”

"There is no sin if it has not been committed willfully."

"It is not the thought that makes the sin, but consenting to that thought does it."

"Let's bury our sins as our Lord has done." 

"When you fall, humble yourself without degrading yourself."

"When we repent, the sin becomes a stepping stone which leads us to God."

Mons. George Pogany lived near the convent from 1940 until 1957. He helped Padre Pio and the friars, confessing, saying Mass, bringing Communion to bedridden people, and translating.  He reported years later: “Sometimes I was Padre Pio’s confessor. I don’t believe that he ever committed sin, not even a venial one. No, I don’t think so. I heard his confession.” (He moved to the USA in 1957, and was a pastor in Irvington, New Jersey, for decades.)

Padre Agostino stayed in touch with Padre Pio from 1907 until 1967. He was his spiritual director, and wrote in his “Diary”: 'I could swear that Padre Pio has kept his virginity, and never committed a venial sin against the angelic virtue.'

During the confession: Father I don't believe in hell. "You will believe in it when you get there."

"I believe that not a great number of souls go to hell. God loves us so much. He formed us at his image. God loves us beyond understanding. And it is my belief that when we have passed from the consciousness of the world, when we appear to be dead, God, before He judges us, will give us a chance to see and understand what sin really is. And if we understand it properly, how could we fail to repent?"

"The human soul if the battlefield between God and satan."

"The battle takes place every moment of our life."

"When we face our enemy with a weapon he becomes a coward."

"The devil is trying to snatch me from the arms of Jesus".

"The devil wants me for him at all costs".

"The number of devils active in the world is greater than all the people who have been alive since Adam."

“If all the devils would take bodily form they would blot out the light of the sun."

"I don't have a minute of free time; it is all spent releasing my brothers from the grip of satan.”

"If the Devil is making uproar, it is an excellent sign:  what is terrifying is his peace and concord with a man’s soul.”

"What comes from Satan begins with calmness and ends in storm, indifference and apathy."

"Do not let the infernal beast frighten you. God will fight it with you and for you.”

"The devil is like a rabid dog tied to a chain; beyond the length of the chain he cannot seize anyone.

And you: keep at a distance.  If you approach too near, you let yourself be caught."

"The human soul is the battlefield between God and Satan."

Dr. Sanguinetti was in the backyard with few other men. Padre Pio suddenly asked: “What is the name of the devil?” Several names came up. Padre Pio: “No, no, no.

When we say: I, I do, I can, I succeed, I, I, I, this is the devil.”

Padre Francesco was about to leave Padre Pio's cell. "Don't leave; otherwise the devils (cosacci) come."

After a while he left, but while he was few steps away, he heard a terrible noise, and went back. Padre Pio had been assaulted.

Opening the letters from his spiritual director Padre Agostino, at times they were all blank. He would put some holy water on them and the writing could be seen again. Padre Pio: "Barbablu' made it invisible so that it couldn't be read."

August 9, 1912, in a letter to Padre Agostino: 'Barbablu' prevents me from writing to you. Every time I try, I get a terrible headache, and the arm is paralyzed and I can't hold the pen in my hand."

December 3, 1912, in a letter to Padre Agostino: "I received you letter on November 29. It only contained a blank page. It must have been the 'cosaccio'."

On the late evening of Sunday July 5,1964 Padre Pio cried: “My brothers help me.” When the friars came they found Padre Pio lying on the floor bleeding from the nose and the forehead, and with a number of wounds above his right eyebrow. He had been badly beaten by the devils.

Such incidents happened frequently in Padre Pio’s life. Brother William, future Father Joseph Pius noted: “To encounter Padre Pio was likely reading medieval history.”