To touch and be touched

The heat and rain did not stop nor discouraged the faithful to queue just to view and touch the sacred and incorrupt heart relic of Saint Padre Pio. Each of the faithful has a favor or request for such visit. It may be personal, for the loved ones, for others or for the entire community.

Born on May 25, 1887, Padre Pio is one of the most popular saints in the Catholic Church. In life, he carried the stigmata, the wounds of Christ that miraculously appeared on the saint's body. And for us in the contemporary period, it suggests the sacrifices Christ has gone through to save the humanity. Died on September 23, 1968, and devotion to the saint is now believed to have caused many miracles. The Catholic Church proclaimed him a saint on June 16, 2002.

Padre Pio is remembered for having performed bilocation, or appearing in different places at one time. This likewise puts forward that Christ is ubiquitous. Wherever we are, He is just within our midst. Regardless of place and time, He lives in our hearts.

The heart symbolizes the source of our feelings or emotions. When one is in love for someone or fascinated by something, it is the heart that symbolizes it. It is the heart that speaks a thousand words. The once-in-a-lifetime encounter with the incorrupt heart relic last October 12-14 was indeed a constant reminder for us that God dwells and speaks to us through our hearts.

It is the heart that sees goodness of a person. It feels compassion, humility and kindness. One wants to touch the encased relic in the hope for healing, or one is heard of his prayers. But we must not forget that there is more on the act of venerating it. It is on how we apply the teachings of God through San Pedro Pio. I saw in my own eyes people trying to short cut the long queue, inserted themselves as if nothing happened without considering those who patiently sacrificed just to be able to venerate and touch the glass.

Even if others were not able to touch but the intense and pure intension of one’s heart for praying is so much the essence, which counts most.

The incorrupt heart of Padre Pio sends us his undying love for his vocation and our God. Sometimes, when we encounter difficulties in life, the option of quitting is an easy way out. To continue what we are doing seems a futile preference.

Let Padre Pio's loving heart assure us that we are not alone in distress. We are united with the sufferings of Christ, which always lead to the Resurrection, our greatest hope and consolation.

Padre Pio’s heart will remain in the hearts of those who believe in his teachings through his humility and full submission to God’s will. It is a kind of humility that acknowledges our limitations, and submits to His plan for all of us. His heart will likewise continue to touch the hearts of those still hardened by wickedness.