The quote above from Padre Pio is something that I have seriously sat with and tried to understand for a few months now. I am sure I could come up with something that sounds good or is even close to the intended meaning, but only Pio himself truly understands the depth of those words. I am sure most of you know but for those who don’t, Padre Pio became who he was because of his wounds. He had the physical wounds of Christ called stigmata. This was made known throughout the world because of the holes in his hands, although he would wear fingerless gloves, they constantly bled. However wounds with Padre Pio did not stop with stigmata, he also would have physical altercations with the Devil himself. He wrote, “These devils don’t stop striking me, even making me fall down from the bed. They even tear off my shirt to beat me! But now they do not frighten me anymore. Jesus loves me, He often lifts me and places me back on the bed.”
This quote spoke to me on a multitude of levels with varying degrees of substance. Back in 2022, I started training Muay Thai as someone who had primarily only played basketball my entire life. For anyone that has joined any form of MMA or really taken up any sport as of recent there is usually one feeling that remains consistent over all the others: humility. The reason humility remains so persistent is because you generally suck when you start something new and you’re usually surrounded by people that don’t. At the core of whatever journey you’re on, I’ve found one eternal truth to be very helpful: the more you learn, the more you realize how much you don’t know.
Christianity (Catholicism especially) is filled with paradoxes. In order to live you must die to yourself, Jesus is God and man, Mary as a Virgin Mother, etc. Upon further reflection it can even seem like anything that has ever been true is a paradox. The path to individual happiness and meaning is focusing less upon yourself and more on those around you. We have all heard it before, the more one seeks on fulfilling pleasures the more miserable one eventually becomes, increasingly depending on a momentary feeling. I can think of no better phrase to sum up the paradox of life than “kiss the hand that strikes you.” Often the greatest strikes in life come as obstacles, difficulties, temptations and if we are willing to see it, the deeper meaning revealed to us is always better than we could have imagined.
The journey of life and combat sports often reflect metaphysical and physical manifestations of the same reality. Getting better everyday, having a good foundation, mastery of self, getting absolutely rocked, leaving no area prone to attack from the enemy, and the willingness to leave everything you have in battle. This is the core of the hypothetical Pio’s Gym that I hope one day could become a reality. A place where everyone wears the same brown uniform everyday. All equipment must be black. You leave your ego at the door and shoes off the mat. We pray before and after each session. Then we have the golden rule of combat sports: spar how you want to be sparred. And last but not least, always remember that no matter how many strikes you throw or are thrown at you, remember that the biggest ones in life come from the hand of a Father who loves you.
June 22, 2023