“Flee turmoil and anxiety with all your strength. Otherwise all your spiritual efforts will have little success or bear no fruit.”—letter to Fr. Basilio of Mirabello Sannitico, February 9, 1916

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The world today is full of turmoil, so it’s hard to escape it or the anxiety it causes. Even though we sometimes just want to say, “Stop the world, I want to get off,” we can’t. We are called to live out the Gospel message, even if it’s difficult at times. During this season of Lent, we can draw strength from the example of Christ and Padre Pio who fought back against both turmoil and anxiety over what they were called to do. It’s easy to live your faith when it’s comfortable. The challenge is to continue to do so when you are surrounded by uncertainties and fear.
Praying with Padre Pio
St. Pio, give us the strength to try to calm the tur-moil around us and fearlessly live out our faith as an example for others.