When I looked into my dad's top drawer our of curiosity since I was only 11 at the time, I saw surprised to find right on top my own baptismal certificate dated April 17, 1938 which was just 6 days after I was born.
My parents beleived in getting their children baptized as soon as possible. Well, what surprised me was my full name: Pius Peter Carl George Zammit. The Maltese love to give lots of names. But "Pius"! Now that threw me for a loop because I was never known by any other name but "Peter". Where did "Pius" come from? Well, turns out that my grandfather on my mother's side was "Piu Azzopardi." My Dad thought I would be teased in school with a name like "Piu", so he changed it to the Latin name: "Pius". When I went to the Seminary at age 13, the Precious Blood Priests at Brunnerdale Seminary just loved to call out my name loud and clear...perhaps because at the time, Pope Pius XII was live and well sitting on St. Peter's Chair in Rome. (He was a pope that recent research has uncovered that he saved thousands of Jews..even hiding many in the Vatican. Vatican Radio - best in the world at the time - helped to tract refuges and re-unite families and oppose Hitler. Hitler retaliated by killing 2300 priests.)
Well, I say all the above to let you know that the name, "Pius" is very sacred to me. In Roman history, the adjective "pius" meant "loyal to Rome" and "devoted" and "loving". Thus "Pius Marcus" meant that "good citizen Marcus who was loyal to Rome."
Thus today many popes have taken the name "Pius" to mean "Loyal to God and His Kingdom" - to be "devoted to God" to be "a lover of God."
That is where we get the VIRTUE OF PIETY! What is this virtue? It is the virtue of putting God first in your life: to be totally devoted to God and to His will...to love God with all one's heart.
Now a perfect example of the Virtue of Piety is David's loyalty to God. God said of David: "He is a man after My own Heart." God said this because David did not erect altars to false gods as did Solomon, his son; but rather David relied on God to give him victory over Goliath. David said to the Philistine Goliath: "God will deliever you into my hands, and I will deliver your body up to the birds of the air and the beasts of the fields." That was an accurate statement made by David; God did exactly that. With Goliath own sword, David cut off the head of Goliath.
But there was trouble abrewing between Saul, the King. When Saul heard the women singing David's praises that "Saul has killed his thousands and David has killed his tens of thousands", Saul became jealous and envious. And from then on decided to kill David. ENVY is like a cancer on the soul. It eats away its host.
Let us define ENVY so as to understand what was happening to Saul. First of all, Saul should have rejoiced in the talents of David who has made Saul's throne more secure from the Philistines. Rejoicing in the talents and accomplishments of others is a virtue of HUMILITY; but Saul did not have that virtue. Rather was Saul had was the vice of ENVY: "The sadness that one's feels for the good abilities and accomplishments of another because of the delusion that those talents and goods and abilities and accomplishments of another takes away from one's own and actually are believed to belong to oneself and not that other person." So, Saul decided to seek to KILL David. But Jonathon, son of Saul, and best friend of David warned David and told him to seek refuge and hiding in a cave outside the City. Jonathon intercedes for David and shows his father, Saul, that David is innocent of all wrongdoing and actually has done great deeds for Saul; and that Saul had rejoiced in the slaining of Goliah by David. So, Saul relents for a time and lets David come home. But again the evil spirit enters Saul who thinks that all is lacking to David is the Kingship. Saul remains jealous of David even when David is the best subject Saul has in the Kingdom. David is loyal to Saul and does not at all seek the Kingship. All this is only in the imagination of Saul. ENVY is a lying to oneself about another person. But to rejoice with the goodness and abilities of another is the result of humility because HUMILITY never puts oneself at the center of things.
David tried again and again to win back the good graces of Saul. Once, when David had the opportunity to kill Saul, he just left his spear and water jug at the head of Saul who was sleeping outside because Saul was seeking to find and kill David. But when the King awoke, he knew that David had been there and could have easily killed Saul. Saul did try to repent of his jealously and envy of David; but the evil spirit had entered him; and Saul did not want to give up his desire to kill David because the King thought that if he killed David, then Saul alone would be the greatest in Israel. Killing David, he thought, was the solution to David's having stolen Saul's fame. Of course, ENVY is a kind of spiritual and emotional insanity because it is based on illusion and delusions. Finally, Saul was killed by the Philistines and David was anointed King. Again, this is a perfect example of "The meek shall inherit the earth." Meekness is having power but not exercising it." Jesus could have blown the Pharisees away with thousands of legions of angel; but Jesus was meek and did not show His power. Even before Pilate, Jesus did not command legions of angels to overrule Pilate. This not only shows Jesus' MEEKNESS; it also showed Jesus' PIETY. Jesus recognizes the legitmate authority of Pilate and respects it. Jesus explicitly tells Pilate: "You would have no authority over me unless it was given to you from Above." The virtue of Piety means we respect all authority that comes from God.
But let us look at David's Virtue of PIETY: David was so "pius" that his loyalty to God and the King (Saul) made him to not hurt Saul even when Saul was out to kill David. David respects God and all God's appointed rulers. David recognized Saul as God's anointed one. All Piety respects God and all those God has placed in legitimate authority. David always remains loyal to God as to worhipping Yahweh as the One True God of Israel. David never left the faith. And after David sinned with Bethsheba, he wrote the most beautiful act of Contrition in the History of humankind: Psalm 151: "Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me according to Your great mercy....a clean heart create in me, O Lord, and do not take Your Holy Spirit away from me." David knew that the strings of the harp cannot play of themselves. He has to pluck them. Well, David knew that he was th strings of the harp, and only the Holy Spirit can pluck them. Without the Holy Spirit, David would just remain silent; we would have no Psalms of David. I know, too, that to be a writer is like being a piano key. It is the Holy Spirit who presses the right keys in me to write to you. If the Holy Spirit did not play me, this and all my blogs/books would be blank...and non-existent. When I sit down to right, the Holy Spirit comes and speaks to me in the very center of me where God dwells. Only God has access to this center; even I do not have access to this center of me....but it is where prayers inspired by God come from. In that understanding, all good in us and all that we do are only a grace from God. "All salvivic action begins in God." Even when we ask God for something and think we are doing it, it is God doing it in us because He thought to give us this gift we want first and then asks us to ask Him for it.
David knew that all the Psalms he had written were by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. When David wrote and sang those Psalms while playing the harp, there was a beauty in his face. The BEAUTY was the result of his MORAL BEAUTY. The beauty of one's soul does show on one's face. Have you seen the U.S postage stamp of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. I have purchased about $100 of those stamps to be used when I send out pro-life letters to abortion clinics - especially Planned Parenthood which is the number one killer of babies in the womb in the United States. Well, this stamp is very interesting. It was taken from a photo of her....and is perhaps the best photo of her ever taken. What is so interesting to me as an artist is that her face is by no mean "pretty"; but her face is RADIANTLY BEAUTIFUL! Why? Because her face shows her saintly soul. Her Moral Beauty makes her the most beautiful woman on the planet. The more Moral Beauty we have is due to the fact that Moral Beauty is a reflection of God's Beauty. We begin to resemble God in our very person: body and soul.
Well, David had this moral beauty. Even the giant Goliah saw that David was handsome and ruddy. But that handsomeness was not just physical. David had those piercing eyes of grace and goodness.
You know of course the famous and fierce figure of a man called "Attillla the Hun" who came to sack Rome and take it by the might and ferocity of his army. Atilla had come across the Alps with his elephants to take Rome and had full intent to do so UNTIL he had seen in a dream an old man meeting him at the gates of Rome. That old man was the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. That little holy man so impressed Attilla that the mighty worrior did not take Rome and returned home. What was it that the old man had? He had a radiant Moral Beauty.
Can we ever sin against the Virtue of PIETY? Yes, we can even when we think we are in the right. For example, what is our parents do something wrong? We know that the Fouth Commandment says: "Honor thy father and thy mother." It is the virtue of Piety that causes us to respect and honor them. But what if we see our parents do something that is seriouly wrong? Can we and should we correct them? Absolutely NOT!
Why not? Here's why not: our parents before God are placed in authority over us and are answerable to God for our instruction in the Faith and doing the right thing in all that is required of us. BUT WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE TO GOD FOR THEIR MORAL CONDUCT. Our parents are responsible for us to God and will have to answer if they do not correct us when we do wrong. There is an Old Testament quote that has always impressed me. God was speaking to the father of a family and says to him: "I have this against you: that you no longer correct your sons!" Also, Padre Pio told a woman who came to confession to think about her life and come back in 3 weeks. She came back and said she could not think of any sins she had committed except the one she has already mentioned to him. But he said to her: "When you came in for confessions, I saw two of your children in the fires of hell because you DID NOT CORREDT them." So, parents are directly responsible to God for correcting their children; but we children are NOT responsible for the moral conduct of our parents. We have not been appointed to be the rulers of our parents. We do not have responsibility for them. We can pray for them and make sacrifices for them. BUT we cannot correct them. If we correct them in a serious matter, then we would be committing a serious MORTAL SIN against the Virtue of Piety.
So in summary, the Virtue of PIETY keeps our eyes on the Lord..not on ourselves...but on the Lord who has given us all our talents to be used for God. Even our education which we have diligently studied to obtain, all that diligence which seems to come from the naural virtues in us was given to us by God to obtain so that we can be better able to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All is GRACE and GOODNESS from God. Look at Our Lady! He exalted her above all women of the earth. All was grace for her. The Angel Gabriel got it right when he called her "Full of Grace." - "Gratia Plena" (Latin) - "Fully Graced" (Greek).
Yes, Jesus is the only Mediator between God and man; but God has willed and created Mary that all graces given to us must first pass through her hands. Jesus said to John from the cross: "John behold thy mother. Mother behold thy son." She was given to be our mother - all of us - from all ages till now. She is mediatrix of all graces in that all graces given to us are given into her hands. This is seen perfectly when she told Jesus simply at the Wedding Feast of Cana: "They have no wine." She says that to Jesus for all of us now. She knows what we need and tells Jesus. If we go directly to talk to Jesus; that is ok...but we should end our prayer: "Through Mary". When we are in heaven, we will see this Queen of Heaven and Earth..the person whose MORAL BEAUTY exceeds all the BEAUTY of all the angels and saints combined!
Lord, Please give us the gift of Piety as Mary has and as You will us to have. In Jesus' Name we pray, through Mary, Our Mother and His..Amen.
Love, Pio who is grateful to God for my name, my life, my talents, my joys and sorrows and any suffering He has given me to win souls for Christ. Help us all to depend on You and keep our eyes on You as to not envy anyone else. Help us to see the many talents you have given us that would take many life-times to thank you for. We cannot waste time envying anyone because that would mean we have taken our eyes off of You and placed it on ourselves. So, Dearest Father, how can I THANK You for all that you have given me and for all that You have given to my brothers and sisters and friends. THANKS You, Father, for all the surprises and love You have in store for me today. But no gifts are greater than You, Yourself, and Your Son Jesus in the Holy Spirit. I thank You for all in Jesus' Name through Mary who is the most beautiful creature You have ever made. She shows gratitude to You, Father, in her beautiful person that resembles You and mirrors You. Make us beautiful, too, and how to learn from her to become beautiful as she is and does by her resembling You, O God! If You have made Mary to be the most Beautiful of all your creatures You have made, help us to be as Beautiful as You wish us to be and planned for us to be from all eternity. Make us Beautiful, Father, as You are Beautiful in our own little finite way; but still as Beautiful as You can make us to be so that for all eternity You can enjoy looking upon us with Love and we can look with awe and love upon You. Amen. Amen in Jesus' Name.
-----------------
Love, Pio xoxo
("Pio" is the ablative case of the Latin word: "Pius." So "Pio" and "Pius" are basically the same word.)
No comments:
Post a Comment