Virtue scores
Review
**About the Book** Susan De Bartoli invites readers on a transformative Lenten journey through the spiritual life of Padre Pio in *Carry the Cross with Padre Pio*. Drawing from carefully selected excerpts of Pio's letters, De Bartoli guides readers through six weeks that mirror the Capuchin saint's fifty-year journey of carrying his cross and reflecting Christ's Passion. Each week begins with a Marian reflection, explores four days of Pio's supernatural gifts and spiritual battles, and concludes with stories of his encounters with consoling angels. The devotional traces pivotal moments from Pio's childhood consecration to Jesus and Mary through his mystical experiences including the stigmata, his spiritual warfare against evil, and his profound devotion to Christ's Passion. De Bartoli encourages readers to identify their own cross as they journey from Ash Wednesday to Easter, discovering how Pio embraced each day as a "little Lent" and drew closer to holiness by uniting his sufferings with Christ. **CCMMP Analysis** - **Created**: The book affirms human dignity through Pio's childhood calling and natural capacity for mystical union with God, demonstrating the soul's inherent orientation toward the divine - **Fallen**: Addresses the reality of suffering, spiritual warfare, and the necessity of carrying one's cross, acknowledging that "without suffering, there can be no healing, no redemption" - **Redeemed**: Points toward healing and restoration through grace, showing how Pio's sufferings became sources of consolation and sanctification when united with Christ's Passion - **Fortitude-Perseverance**: Demonstrates persistent effort toward holiness through Pio's fifty-year journey of embracing daily crosses and spiritual battles - **Temperance-Humility**: Models accurate self-knowledge through Pio's acceptance of his role as spiritual father and his openness to both suffering and mystical graces