In a letter he wrote on July 15, 1913, to Anita, one of his spiritual daughters, he gives her valuable advice regarding how to act in relation to her guardian angel, locutions, and prayer.
As each and every one of us has a Guardian Angel, it would do us well to take Padre Pio’s advice to heart.
Dear daughter of Jesus,
May your heart always
be a temple of the Holy Spirit. May Jesus increase the fire of his love
in your soul and may he always smile upon you, as he does on all the
souls that he loves. May Mary Most Holy smile upon you during all the
events of your life, and abundantly make up for the absence of your
earthly mother.
May your good guardian angel always watch over
you, and be your guide on the rough path of life. May he always keep you
in the grace of Jesus and hold you up with his hands so that you may
not hurt your foot on a stone. May he protect you under his wings from
all the deceits of the world, the devil and the flesh.
Have great
devotion, Anita, to this beneficent angel. How consoling it is to know
that we have a spirit who, from the womb to the tomb, never leaves us
even for an instant, not even when we dare to sin. And this heavenly
spirit guides and protects us like a friend, a brother.
But it is
very consoling to know that this angel prays unceasingly for us, and
offers God all of our good actions, our thoughts, and our desires, if
they are pure.
Oh! For goodness’ sake, don’t forget this
invisible companion, ever present, ever disposed to listen to us and
even more ready to console us. Oh, wonderful intimacy! Oh, blessed
companionship! If only we could understand it! Keep him always before
your mind’s eye. Remember this angel’s presence often, thank him, pray
to him, always keep up a good relationship. Open yourself up to him and
confide your suffering to him. Be always afraid of offending the purity
of his gaze. Know this, and keep it well present in your mind. He is
easily offended, very sensitive. Turn to him in moments of supreme
anguish and you will experience his beneficent help.
Never say
that you are alone in the battle against your enemies; never say that
you have no one to whom you can open your heart and confide. It would be
a grave injustice to this heavenly messenger.
Humble yourself
before the Lord and trust in him; spend your energy, with the help of
divine grace, in the practice of the virtues, and then let grace work in
you as God desires. The virtues are what sanctify the soul and not
supernatural phenomena.
Pray out loud as well; the time has not
yet come to abandon these prayers. Support the difficulties you
experience when doing this with patience and humility. Also be ready to
suffer distractions and dryness, and you must not, under any
circumstances, abandon prayer and meditation. It is the Lord who wants
to treat you this way for your spiritual advantage.
Forgive me if
I end here. Only God knows how difficult it has been for me to write
this letter. I am very sick. Pray much that the Lord may desire to free
me from this body soon.
I bless you, together with the excellent Francesca. May you live and die in the arms of Jesus.
P. Pio
Click here to download and print Saint Padre Pio's prayer to your Guardian Angel
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