# 18 OF 25 - THIS HAPPY BOOK REPORT ON PADRE PIO
IN PURSUIT OF THE TRUTH - HTTP://WWW.CINOPSBEGONEBLOGSPOT.COM - HAPPY THANKS GIVING, THURS. NOV. 22/18
PADRE PIO - THE TRUE STORY BY C. BERNARD RUFFIN
CHAPTER 6 OF 34 - BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL 84- 88 OF 448 PAGES
"When he finished praying and returned to Pio's room, he was amazed to find his young friend lucid and cheerful. "You went to the choir to pray." he said, "and that was fine,but you also thought about my funeral eulogy....There's time, Professor, there's plenty of time!" ...
Padre Agostino began to observe Pio closely and became convinced that the priest was neither insane nor delirious. He began to spend a great amount of time in Pio's room. Sometimes, rather crassly, he invented his students in to watch, for he and Padre Evangelista agreed that some of Pio's experiences were true cases of ecstasy, and they thought the students had the opportunity of a lifetime to view such phenomena firsthand.
St. John of the Cross defines ecstasy as "the going out of a soul from itself and being caught up in God." This "immersion" in God is how Agostina and Evangelista perceived some of the trances into which Pio was falling. On other occasions they were convinced that he was having visions inspired by the devil.
Padre Agostino observed that Padre Pio went into ecstasy two or three times a day. On seven occasions, the professor sat with pen in hand and transcribed everything that Pio said. Other ecstasies were, for various reasons unrecorded. These celestial encounters, in which Pio seemed to converse with Jesus, Mary, and his guardian angel, were usually either preceded or followed by diabolical vexations. The heavenly colloquies, Agostino observed, were usually longer than the infernal visitations, usually lasting between minutes.
In all, Padre Agostino observed ten "diabolical apparitions." The first was the vision of the black cat. On another occasion, Pio had a vision of naked women who "danced lasciviously" on his room. Another time, the devil, invisible, spat in his face. On yet another occasion, Pio complained of hideous noises that no one else could hear....
Pio went on to relate how, shortly after Agostino had left him in the monastery, there was a knock on the door and --- there was the professor, back again... what appeared to be Agostino said he was ready to hear Pio's confession. Pio, however, felt an unaccountable disgust for him....he had a wound on his forehead that had not been there a few minutes before. "What happened to your forehead? Pio asked.
"Oh," replied "Agostino," "I fell while I was going downstairs. Now, son, here I am to hear your confession." At this point, Pio demanded, "Say, Praise Jesus.". "No!" shouted the demon who had taken the professor's ample form, and he vanished into thin air. ....
The first ecstasy Padre Agostino transcribed to place on Nov. 28, 1911, between 9:45 and 11:00 a.m. When it began, Pio seemed to be talking with the Virgin Mary. Then he began to pray for various souls, addressing Jesus as he would talk to a friend: O Jesus, I commend that soul to You ... You must convert her, for then it might be possible for her to lose Your grace, but sanctify. Yes, sanctify her ... Oh, didn't You shed your blood for her too? ... O Jesus, convert that man ... You can do it. Yes, You can!..I offer all myself for him ...
He prayed for the colleagues who ministered to him in his sickness. "Jesus, I commend these friars to You," he says. "They get up at night. You know that .... After all, who am I? ... Help them... I am not good enough even to celebrate Mass, but they exercise their ministry."
Pio's conversations with his guardian angel were a good deal less reverent: "Angel of God, my angel -- aren't you my guardian? God gave you to me .... Are you a creature or are you a creator? .... You are a creator? No! Then you are a creature and you have a law and you have to obey -- you must stay close to me whether you want to or not.... You're laughing! ... What is there to laugh about? Tell me one thing -- you have to tell me. Who was it? Who was here yesterday morning? ... You're laughing... You have to tell me! ... Who was it! ...Either the professor or the guardian... Then Pio turned to Jesus. "If you wont tell me, he said to the angel, "I will ask Jesus ... then you will listen."... George H. Kubeck
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