07/26/25 Fruitful and Faithful

1:44 Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. I'd like you to have a seat. So the other night I was talking with a group of high schoolers and the topic of a man named St. Padre Pio came up. I don't know if you guys, have you guys heard of St. Padre Pio? Yes. Okay. So remarkable guy. And we just were talking about like some of the most incredible gifts. So Padre Pio was a Capuchin priest or friar. So it's a Franciscan friar. Back, he was born in the end of the 1800s. I think he died in the 1960s. So long life. But he was ordained. he was from Italy and he was ordained in a place called St. Giovanni Giovanni Rotondo and that's where he lived his entire life. But shortly after he was ordained he just started experiencing, I think even before his ordination, experienced these massive gifts. So I was asking these high schoolers like do you know about the gifts of St. Padre Pio and what are they? So they started throwing out all these gifts like among many others where St. Padre Pio had the gift of bilocation which is you could be, he was in two places at once. Like he never physically I think left St. Giovanni Rotondo.

2:43 But at one point, there was a, not a conclave, like officially conclave, like electing the Pope, but a group of bishops and cardinals and the Pope like gathering in Rome at one point. And he walks in. And at the same time, no, he was back in Giovanni Rotondo, two places at once, amazing. So one of the students pointed out that he had the gift of being able to read souls. So he would hear confessions from 10 to 15 hours a day as a priest, because people would flock to him. Because not only would he be able to hear confessions, and give absolution. But oftentimes, if someone neglected to say something, they forgot to say something or they were covering something up in their confession, he would say, you're forgetting about this. And they're like, okay. And so I was asking the students, would you like that? And they couldn't tell. I wasn't sure if I would like it either, but I think I would want. I maybe need it, like the situation. It was so deep. There was a man, I believe he was a British man who had gone to confession as a soldier during World War II to St. Padre Pio.

3:38 and the saint, he said, no, you're forgetting something. And he's like, I don't think I am. And he said, no. And he said, remember what happened, this thing happened with this young lady in the park. And he was even able to name the town that he was in. And the man was like, oh my goodness, I can remember. Yes, and he brought it to the Lord because the whole point of reading souls is not to dazzle, it's to heal hearts, right? So that was the gift. There's one remarkable gift Padre Pio had, which I had never heard of until one of the students pointed out. the gift of flight. So I'd never heard this, but there are stories of Italian bombers, right? People flying, this is World War II, right? So going on bombing runs and being turned away by a friar flying in the sky and telling them to turn around and go back home. So they did that. Some generals, both Italian apparently and American generals had heard about this and said, no, we're going to go bomb that because at one point they were going to bomb St. Giovanni Rotondo because they didn't know where the bad guys were, essentially.

4:40 So they will bomb the whole little village, a whole little town. And so they flew over, tried to drop their bombs. They couldn't. Tried to drop the bombs. They couldn't. And so Padre Pio was praying. The bombs dropped, but they didn't drop until they were over, like, an abandoned forest, where no one would get hurt. Later after the war, one of these generals went to the friary where Padre Pio was. And he sees that that's the guy I saw flying. Like, that's the monk, or the friar, the priest I saw flying. Padre Pio sees him, walks up to him, and says, so you're the guy who is trying to destroy all of us. And they actually became friends, which is a happy ending to the story. One of the most incredible gifts of Padre Pio, of course, is the stigmata. That it was maybe seven or eight years after his ordination. He had the visible wounds of Jesus. I was listening to a podcast recently, Pints with Aquinas, with Matt Fred, where there was a man on who was talking about how when Padre Pio got the gift of the stigmata, meaning the wounds in his hands, in his side, in his feet, that for the first year of Padre Pio being wounded, you could literally see through his hand.

5:49 After years, or after one year, there was a membrane that was formed over this. And those wounds he kept in his body for 50 years. And whenever they were examined, I mean, there's so many incredible stories of this, but whenever they were examined, all the physicians, all the religious people, everyone who was trying to prove that it was, or trying to demonstrate that it was a hoax, walked away saying, I don't know how this is possible. The tissue is not dying. It's still fresh, but it's been going on for 50 years. After Padre Pio died, I think it was three days before he died, the stigmata vanished. so if you see his body now there's not even a scar there's no wound there's not even a scar there's not even a mark on these places that people for 50 years said you could literally see through his hands is this a remarkable way in which padre p was invited to participate in the sufferings of jesus so i was asking the students again that's a lot of the stuff right asking the students if you could ask for any one of those gifts which one would you want and no one said they wanted the stigmata, which makes sense, I think.

6:54 But what would you say? Like, oh, even if that's the question, if the Lord appeared to you and said, okay, out of all of the spiritual gifts, out of all the gifts, I could possibly, you could possibly ask for, which one would you want? I think it's a worthwhile question because in fact, it's the question that happens in the first reading today, right? In the first book of Kings, here's God who comes to Solomon. Solomon is the new king. His dad is David, and he asks Solomon, out of all the gifts I could possibly give you, which one do you want? Of course, we heard that Solomon asked for the gift of wisdom, and apparently that was the right choice, because God says, since you ask for wisdom and not all these other things, I will not only give you an understanding heart. In fact, he says this, he asked for an understanding heart to judge, to govern or lead the people, as well as to distinguish right from wrong. And God says, since you're asking for this understanding heart, I'll give you all these other things.

7:47 In fact, if you looked at Solomon, you think Padre Pio was blessed. You think Padre Pio was gifted. Solomon, his life is gift. Like, I mean, to think about every aspect of Solomon's life was filled with gifts. From even the fact that, I mean, his dad was the king. It's kind of a gift. Not only was his dad a king, his dad was a godly man. I mean, yes, we know that David had his sins. We also know that David knew the Lord. Imagine having a father who knows how to pray. A father, yes, he sins, but a father who knows how to repent. a father who knows how to listen to God's voice. Imagine that gift that Solomon had just even in his dad. And then, you know, Solomon was a smart guy. Not only does Solomon have, was given wisdom, he's given wealth, he's given opportunity, but Solomon actually did something with those gifts. I think this is one of the things that so often we ask the question, you know, if you would have any gift, what would you want it to be? But the big question is not what gift do you want, is what are you going to do with it?

8:43 Solomon received those gifts from the Lord, and he acted. Like, he wasn't just privileged. He was productive. I mean, so what did he do? I mean, Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem. Solomon expanded the city of Jerusalem. In fact, he established Israel. So his dad united the 12 tribes, right, into one kingdom. But Solomon established Israel as a kingdom that was known throughout their own world. Solomon used that wisdom for discernment and right judgment. We know the story of the two women arguing over whose child, Who did this baby belong to? Solomon used these gifts. Not only did Solomon, again, establish Jerusalem as a phenomenal capital, building it up, the temple building that up, Solomon also wrote a significant portion of the Old Testament. Something like the Wisdom of Solomon, or the Song of Solomon, or Proverbs, or some of the Psalms.

9:35 Like, Solomon wrote the wisdom literature that's in the Bible. So he was remarkable. He was not only privileged, he was productive. And this is so important for us. Because every one of us has been given gifts. Maybe not the gift of wisdom. Maybe not the gift of being able to build up a city or build a temple. But every one of us has been given gifts. And as Jesus said, to whom much is given, much will be expected.

10:00 And in that area, Solomon was a success. Again, he wasn't just privileged. He was productive. and yet if you follow Solomon's story his story is not a success story in fact if you follow Solomon's story some debate this but I would say that Solomon's life looks more like a tragedy than a success story he started he started so well and he did so much good but he ends up he ends up being one of the worst idolaters in the entire Bible the man who built the temple and wrote portions of the Bible ends up becoming one of the worst idolaters in the entire Bible. And yeah, maybe other kings were more brutal in their sacrifices, but when it came to Solomon, his personal idolatry became very public. It became very royal. It became very national.

10:55 How did he get there? Well, 1 Kings chapter 11, it says this. It says that Solomon's foreign wives turned away his heart after other gods. And he built temples, monuments, altars to the god Ashtaroth, to Moloch, to the god Shemash. And if you think about Moloch, remember, Moloch is the god that if you worshipped at Moloch's altar, you would often offer up living babies as a sacrifice. Burnt in front of Moloch. Here is Solomon, who's so wise, who knows so much of the Bible, wrote so much of the Bible. Here's Solomon, who is so gifted, so privileged, so productive, who's be willing to do that.

11:38 There's no telling how many people he led astray. No telling how devastatingly he modeled idolatry for almost every king after him. So the question again is, how did he get to that point? Solomon, who had been so privileged and so productive, what was he missing? Where was Solomon deficient?

11:58 I would say this, the one who had been given a wise and understanding heart all at once, slowly and gradually gave that heart away. Because it's the reality, of course. It's possible to use the gifts God has given. It's possible to use the opportunities and it's possible to lose your heart.

12:20 And Solomon, he gradually gave his heart away. Why? Because he was fruitful, but he wasn't faithful. That he did a lot of good things, but he failed in the most important things. In fact, he did a lot of remarkable things. He did a lot of extraordinary things, but he failed to do the basics. This is the interesting thing. Solomon did stuff that no other king had been asked to do, was even capable of doing. Solomon accomplished those things. but he neglected the things that every king was asked to do. Again, he did extraordinary stuff but he failed to do the ordinary things. Again, not every king would be in the temple. Not every king would build up Jerusalem. Not every king would put Israel on the map. But God had given instructions for all kings. If you go back to Deuteronomy chapter 17, God had given instructions and said, okay, all the kings, you have to do this.

13:12 Number one, here's some things not to do. He said, God said to the kings, do not multiply horses, do not increase your horses. Well, in 1 Kings chapter 10, It says Solomon built 40,000 stalls for his horses. So he's already going wrong. Deuteronomy 17 says, whatever you do, don't trade with Egypt. Don't get your stuff, your materials from Egypt. First Kings chapter 10, where do you get the horses? He got them from Egypt. It says in Deuteronomy chapter 17, it says, the king must not store up gold and silver. 1 Kings 10 and 11 says that in the days of Solomon, silver was as stone. And lastly, it makes it very clear, the king is not to multiply his wives.

14:03 In 1 Kings chapter 11, how many wives did Solomon have? He had 700 wives and 300 concubines. So here's the basic, here's Solomon doing all these extraordinary things. Again, he was productive. He was fruitful. But in the basics, he wasn't faithful. And I imagine this. I imagine that if he was looking at this as a king, he'd be like, well, all this just makes sense. Like every one of those things that he did would just make sense. For example, we're building. We need resources. Where are the resources? They come from Egypt. If you want me to build a temple, if you want me to build a city, if you want me to build this country, they gotta come from somewhere. Also, if you want me to defend a country, I'm gonna need horses that pull chariots. So it just makes sense. And all this stuff costs something, so we have to build up a bank. It just makes sense to gather all this gold and all this silver. And listen, if we're gonna establish ourselves as a superpower, we have to make alliances with the nations around us.

14:59 So it just makes sense. I need to marry all these princesses because that would make the alliances strong. And not only that, they belong to foreign gods. Well, it just makes sense. If I'm gonna keep the peace at my own home, Well, I'll let them worship their foreign gods. And when they feel neglected for me not going to church or temple with them, I'll find I'll go and I'll do what they ask. All of those things, all of those compromises just make so much sense. but he ignored the basics.

15:34 He was very fruitful, but he failed to be faithful. And in fact, as I said already, he wrote a good portion of the Bible, which is amazing, incredible, again, fruitful. But there was another commandment that every king was given. And the command that every king was given in Deuteronomy chapter 17 was that every day they wouldn't write scripture. Every day they would study the scriptures. Every day they'd read the scriptures. Every day they'd listen to the scriptures. Every day they would attend to the scriptures. And by attending to God's voice, by doing the basics, they wouldn't be led astray.

16:14 Solomon did not lose his heart because he did extraordinary things. He lost his heart because he failed to do the ordinary things that was asked of every king. And that can be us. That could be us. That could be us saying like, okay, God, show me the path. Show me the big thing you want me to do. That's wonderful. That's amazing. It might come. It might not come. But God has given to us the basics. God has given to us, okay, if you want to be mine, this is what I need you to do. I just need you to simply spend time with me each day. I just simply need you to have a sacramental life. Like go to mass at least on every Sunday. And when you fall, go to confession. Here's the basics. I just need you at some point to pick up my word and listen to my voice. These basic things like, God, you have big things for me. Yes, it's one thing to be fruitful, but what's required is that we're faithful.

17:10 And this is why, this last thing, this is why Padre Pio is remarkable. You might know this, but as soon as Padre Pio got the stigmata, people started flocking there and he started being under scrutiny. People had examined his life and say, what's going on? It got so bad at some point. People are, again, they're going to St. Giovanni Rotondo. They were coming there and he was healing so many people. I mean, there are amazing stories. In fact, one last little healing story. A woman named Gemma came to Padre Pio. She had no pupils. She was born without pupils, so she couldn't see. He rubbed his stigmatized hands on her eyes and she regained her sight. For the rest of her life, she lived into the, I think the 90s, maybe into the 2000s. The rest of her life, she could see, but she still had no pupils. Amazing. But in 1930-31, church authorities said, Padre Pio, you are no longer permitted to appear in public, no longer permitted to preach in public, no longer permitted to say mass in public, you're no longer permitted to hear confessions.

18:06 You could imagine that Padre Pio would say, well, no, that doesn't make any sense. I'm spending 10 to 15 hours a day in confession. People are being healed, not just being physically healed, their souls are being healed. People are being edified. People are becoming Christian. They're becoming Catholic. People's lives are being saved. It would make sense for Padre Pio to say, listen, I've got so many extraordinary gifts. I do not have to listen to this ordinary command.

18:32 But as soon as they told him to stop, immediately he stopped. for two years. All the same gifts, all the same privilege, all the same blessings of God were in Padre Pio, but they were hidden because he was told to. And he even said this. He said, I will always, always obey the church. After a couple of years, he was given freedom to be able to say Mass and hear confessions. And Pope, I think, Paul VI was made the Pope. Paul VI was a big fan of Padre Pio, and he just said the world needs to know more and more about what God is doing in the life of this one man, in this place, St. Giovanni Rotondo, and that blessings of God were unleashed on the world. Why? Not because Padre Pio was fruitful, but because he was faithful.

19:28 He didn't just simply do what many of us do, Use our gifts, use our opportunities, and lose our heart. He used the gifts, he used the opportunities, and he kept his heart. Every one of us has been given gifts. we can do extraordinary things and still lose our heart.

19:52 Or we can simply choose to do the ordinary things that God has asked of all of us.