The movement of the human soul, and human society in general, from its fallen chaotic state towards divine order is at the heart of the Blog of Padre Pio Press. Writings, ponderings, and reflections on this movement of the soul are authored by Fr. Cliff Ermatinger and by the occasional Guest Contributor. The articles and recordings are relegated to the following areas:
Throughout the Month of May,
Padre Pio Press Cordially Invites Its Readership to Join In Saying:
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
St. Augustine, How Should I Know if I am with God in Prayer?
Question 008
What should I look for when I go into myself?
Where God is there is peace… the Sabbath of the heart. For it listens to God, who promises great things. For it listens to God, who promises great things, and if it labors in the present, it expands in hope of the future, where the clouds of sadness are brightened; as the apostle says, “rejoice in hope (Rom. 12:12). And that very joy in the tranquility of our hope is our Sabbath.
from St. Augustine Answers 101 Questions on Prayer by Fr. Ermatinger.
When we seek God within our soul, for this shall […]
And I Will Give Them One Heart, and Put a New Spirit Within Them
Part IV in a Series by Pseudo-Ermatinger
Women Picking Olives, Vangogh, 1889
The way to the Holy Mountain of the Divine Father is a path trod by prayer. If one ascends through prayer, they will find themselves ascending through the cloud of unknowing that veils the summit from prying eyes (cfr. Job 28:12-28; Isa 45:3; 1 Cor 2:9). There beyond they will see the Holy Temple of the Lord, which has been sung about by their fathers and their father’s fathers all the way into the deep mists of the past (cfr. Exo 15:17; Isa 51:1-4; Lke 1:54-55,68-75). It is the song of ancestral memory and reflections upon […]
St. Augustine, What if I Don’t Feel Like Praying?
Question 007
What if I don’t feel drawn to prayer?
Are you not drawn? Pray, then, that you might be drawn to him. It is urgent to overcome sentimentalism in our relationship with God. There is no sea so deep as the thoughts of God, who makes evil men to flourish and the good to suffer…it is upon that deep, in that profundity that every unbelieving soul is wrecked. Do you want to cross over the deep? Then do not move away from the wood of Christ’s Cross.
from St. Augustine Answers 101 Questions on Prayer by Fr. Ermatinger.
It is a great […]
Fourth Sunday After Epiphany – Homily by Fr. Ermatinger
Jan Brueghel the Elder, Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee (detail), 1596
Transcription of Homily
4th Sunday After Epiphany
Translation of the Epistle for the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany.
Brethren, owe no man anything, but to love another; for he that loveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law. For, thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not bear false witness; thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is comprised in this word: Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. The love of our neighbor worketh no evil. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.
