St. Padre Pio - When You Have Prayed About It Over and Over — Pray, Hope & Don’t Worry
Feast Day: September 23
You prayed about it yesterday.
You prayed about it this morning.
You have asked saints to intercede.
You have prayed Rosaries and novenas.
And yet five minutes later, you are thinking about the problem again.
What if it doesn't happen?
What if something goes wrong?
What if God doesn't answer the way I hope?
This is when St. Padre Pio has something very simple to teach us:
Pray, hope, and don't worry.
Prayer means giving the situation to God.
Hope means believing He has not abandoned you.
And refusing to live in constant worry means learning to leave the intention in His hands.
Who Was Padre Pio?
St. Pio of Pietrelcina—better known simply as Padre Pio—was born Francesco Forgione in 1887 in Pietrelcina, Italy.
From childhood, he had a deep desire for God.
He entered the Capuchin Franciscans as a young man and was ordained a priest in 1910.
Padre Pio eventually became known throughout the world for his extraordinary spiritual life, his long hours hearing Confessions, his devotion to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, his spiritual direction, and the remarkable mystical phenomena associated with his life.
In 1918, he received the stigmata, wounds corresponding to the wounds of Christ.
He bore them for approximately fifty years.
But Padre Pio should not be remembered merely because extraordinary things happened to him.
His message continually brought people back to something much more important:
Jesus.
Prayer.
Confession.
The Mass.
Our Lady.
The Rosary.
Sacrifice.
Trust.
“Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry”
This may be the Padre Pio advice we need most.
Notice the order.
Pray.
Bring the problem to God.
Hope.
Believe God can work even when you cannot see what He is doing.
Then:
Don't worry.
That does not mean you will never feel worried.
It means that when worry comes, you do not have to feed it.
You do not have to spend the next hour imagining every possible outcome.
Instead, turn the worry back into prayer.
“Jesus, I already gave Thee this.”
Are You Praying — Or Just Worrying in God's Presence?
Sometimes we kneel down to pray but spend the entire time mentally trying to solve the problem ourselves.
We tell Jesus the situation.
Then explain all the obstacles.
Then explain what another person needs to do.
Then tell Him when everything should happen.
Then spend another ten minutes imagining what will happen if it doesn't.
Padre Pio's spirituality challenges us to move from worrying about the intention to trusting God with the intention.
Tell Jesus what you want.
Ask boldly.
Then say:
“Jesus, Thou knowest what I cannot see. Take care of this according to Thy holy will.”
What Are You Carrying Today?
Ask Padre Pio's intercession for:
A serious illness
Chronic pain
Someone undergoing surgery or treatment
An impossible intention
Family difficulties
A troubled marriage
Someone who needs conversion
A loved one who has left the Faith
Anxiety about the future
Financial or employment difficulties
A difficult decision
Protection from temptation
A deeper prayer life
A good Confession
Priests
The grace to forgive
Strength during suffering
A prayer that seems unanswered
The ability to stop worrying after you have prayed
Bring him the intention that keeps returning to your mind.
Padre Pio and Healing
Countless people sought Padre Pio during his lifetime asking for prayers for illness and suffering.
Reports of extraordinary favors and healings became closely associated with him, both during his lifetime and after his death.
The Church carefully investigated miracles connected with his cause for beatification and canonization.
But Padre Pio never taught people to place their faith in extraordinary phenomena.
Our faith belongs to God.
If you are sick, seek appropriate medical care.
Receive the Sacraments.
Ask for prayer.
And certainly ask for healing.
But also pray for something even greater:
“Jesus, whether Thou healest me immediately or askest me to carry this cross longer, do not let my suffering separate me from Thee.”
Padre Pio and the Rosary
Padre Pio had an extraordinary devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Holy Rosary.
The Rosary was constantly part of his prayer.
That gives us a wonderfully practical response when worry begins.
Instead of thinking about your intention for another thirty minutes:
Pick up your Rosary.
You do not even have to begin with five decades.
Start with one.
One decade for your husband.
One decade for your child.
One decade for healing.
One decade for your impossible intention.
One decade simply asking God to give you peace.
Turn worry into Hail Marys.
Give Your Guardian Angel a Job
Padre Pio also had a remarkable devotion to the Guardian Angels and frequently encouraged people to seek their help.
When you cannot be physically present with someone you love, pray:
“Holy Guardian Angel, watch over him.”
When someone needs help:
“Guardian Angel, assist her.”
Before a difficult conversation:
“Holy Guardian Angels, help us speak with charity and understand one another.”
Before traveling:
“Guardian Angel, protect us.”
Before sleeping:
“Guardian Angel, watch over my family tonight.”
You cannot accompany everyone you love everywhere.
But you can entrust them to God and ask their Guardian Angels to watch over them.
A Prayer for Your Huge Intention
O St. Padre Pio,
faithful priest and servant of Jesus Christ,
I ask thee to pray with me today
for the intention that has been weighing heavily upon my heart.
[Mention your intention.]
Padre Pio, I have prayed about this many times.
Sometimes I trust.
Sometimes I become afraid again.
Sometimes I give the intention to Jesus
and then take it back through worry.
Please pray that I may finally learn to say:
Jesus, I trust in Thee.
If a door must open,
pray that God opens it.
If healing is needed,
pray for healing according to His holy will.
If someone's heart needs conversion,
pray for that soul.
If an obstacle must be removed,
ask God to remove it.
If I need to act,
help me recognize the next step.
If I need to wait,
obtain patience for me.
And if God's plan differs from mine,
obtain the grace for me to trust His wisdom more than my own understanding.
St. Padre Pio, teach me to pray.
Teach me to hope.
Teach me not to surrender my peace to worry.
Place my intention before the Sacred Heart of Jesus
and beneath the mantle of Our Lady.
St. Padre Pio, pray for me.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in Thee.
Amen.
What Do You Do When the Worry Comes Back?
It may come back ten minutes after you finish praying.
That does not mean your prayer failed.
Simply say:
“Padre Pio, I'm worrying again. Help me give this back to Jesus.”
Then:
“Jesus, Thou already hast this.”
Return to your work.
Fold the laundry.
Make dinner.
Go to work.
Take your walk.
Call the person you need to call.
Do today's duties.
You do not have to solve tomorrow while living today.
Turn Worry Into an Offering
Padre Pio understood suffering.
So when something hurts, do not waste the suffering by allowing it only to become frustration.
Offer it.
When you have a headache:
“Jesus, I offer this for my family.”
When work becomes difficult:
“Jesus, I offer this hour for my intention.”
When someone irritates you:
“Jesus, I offer this little sacrifice for that person.”
When you have to wait:
“Jesus, I offer Thee my impatience.”
When you wake during the night worrying:
“Jesus, I offer Thee even this. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in Thee.”
Your suffering does not become good simply because it hurts.
But suffering that cannot reasonably be avoided can be united with Christ and offered with love.
Go to Confession
Padre Pio spent countless hours in the confessional because he understood something important:
We often want God to change everything around us while God wants to begin something inside us.
Perhaps you are praying for a miracle.
Continue praying.
But also ask:
“Jesus, while I wait for my situation to change, what do Thou want to change in me?”
Is there resentment to surrender?
Someone to forgive?
A habit to stop?
A Confession you have been avoiding?
A relationship with God that needs more attention?
A duty you have neglected?
Do not allow your huge intention to become the only thing you ever talk to God about.
Seek God Himself.
Don't Make Your Faith Depend on Signs
Stories of extraordinary events surround Padre Pio's life.
But our faith should never depend upon receiving signs, scents, dreams, coincidences, or unusual experiences.
If God permits a consolation, thank Him.
Then keep going.
You do not need another sign tomorrow.
The greatest signs have already been given to us:
The Cross.
The Resurrection.
The Eucharist.
Jesus has already given us reasons to trust Him.
Pray. Hope. Then Live.
After you have prayed, go live the life God has given you today.
Laugh.
Work.
Love your family.
Go outside.
Make dinner.
Help somebody.
Read something good.
Pray your Rosary.
Go to Mass.
Do not put your entire life on hold while waiting for one intention to be answered.
That is part of trust too.
You can deeply desire something and still enjoy the blessings God has already placed around you.
You can be waiting for a miracle and still live today with gratitude.
Visit Our Parish Bookstore
Want to learn more about Padre Pio?
Visit our parish bookstore for books about the saints, the Rosary, the Sacred Heart, Confession, prayer, and the Catholic spiritual life.
Consider keeping a Padre Pio prayer card somewhere you frequently worry—at your desk, beside your bed, or inside your prayer book.
Let it remind you:
I have prayed about this. Now I need to trust.
Pray, Hope & Don't Worry
Maybe nothing has changed yet.
Maybe the answer still seems far away.
Maybe you have no idea how God could possibly arrange everything.
You do not have to know.
Your job today is not to control every detail of tomorrow.
Your job is to remain faithful today.
So bring Padre Pio your intention.
Ask him to intercede.
Pray your Rosary.
Go to Confession.
Stay close to the Mass.
Do what God asks of you.
Then when worry starts whispering again:
Pray.
When discouragement tells you nothing will happen:
Hope.
And when your mind wants to spend another hour imagining everything that could go wrong:
Give it back to Jesus.
One more time.
And one more time after that.
St. Padre Pio, teach us to pray, hope, and not worry.
St. Padre Pio, pray for us!
