St. Padre Pio: The Mystical Calvary of the Altar

"What great care she took to accompany me to the altar this morning. It seemed to me that she had nothing else to think about except myself as she filled my whole heart with sentiments of holy love."

Asked if the Madonna had been present at Mass, he answered: "Yes, she placed herself to the side, but I could see her, what joy! What paradise…" Has she attended only once, or is she always present? "How can the mother of Jesus, present on Calvary at the foot of the Cross, who offered her Son as victim for the salvation of souls, be absent at the mystical Calvary of the altar?" Is our Lady present at all of the Masses that are being celebrated in the world? "Yes." Do the angels also attend? "The whole celestial court is present."

"I cannot get tired, because when I celebrate Holy Mass I am not standing, but hanging on the cross together with Jesus, and I suffer inadequately all that Jesus suffered on the Cross, as much as is possible for a human creature. The Lord has deigned to associate me with the great work of human redemption, and this despite my every demerit, and only because of His supreme goodness."

~ St. Padre Pio ~