Buddha and Padre Pio

Buddha was born on the full moon in May and Padre Pio on May 25th so I want to take some time and revere these great Masters.

Buddha was born into a royal family and it was foreseen that he would give up all material possessions and become a holy man. His father the king was appalled at the idea and once the young boy was born he build a fortress around his kingdom to shield his son from the "real" world. However after Siddhartha married he was able to leave the palace and met a sick man, an old man and a corpse, the signs that would lead him to seek his true nature and become enlightened. After numerous trials he eventually reached nirvana under a boddhi tree.

Padre Pio was born Francesco Forgione on May 27, 1887 in a small town in Italy called Pietrelcina and early in life at the tender age of 5 he felt the need to dedicate his life to God. At the age of 15 he became a Fra (padre / brother). He later became a spiritual director and his five rules were: weekly confession, daily Communion, spiritual reading, meditation and examination of conscience. (Wouldn't we all be better off with a few of these daily).

His theology can be summoned in his saying "Pray, Hope and Don't Worry".

What made Padre Pio very famous later was the appearance of stigmata. He also performed many miracles but throughout his life he suffered physically, emotionally and spiritually for many years and was only posthumously recognized for his hard work and made a saint in 2002.