Transverberation of the Heart of Padre Pio
The transverberation of the heart of Padre Pio As if in anticipation of the gift he was to be given very shortly, the Lord granted Padre Pio a very special favor, one that would give him joy and pain all his life.
On August 5, 1918, he received the gift of transverberation of the heart. Padre Pio wrote of this experience,
"While I was hearing the confessions of our boys on the evening of the 5th (August), I was suddenly filled with extreme terror at the sight of a celestial being whom I saw with my mind’s eye. He held a kind of weapon in his hand, similar to a steel sword with a sharp, flaming point. At the very instant I saw all this, I saw the person hurl the weapon into my soul with all his might. It was all done in a split second. I was hardly able to cry out and felt as if I were dying. I cannot tell you how much I suffered during this period of anguish. Even my insides were torn and ruptured by that weapon, everything lashed by fire and steel. From that day on, I was wounded to death. In the depths of my soul, I feel an open wound which causes me to suffer continual agony."
The only other person that we know of, who has experienced the transverberation of the heart, was St. Teresa of Avila. She described her experience as follows:
"She (St. Teresa of Avila) saw an Angel to the left of her. He was small and very beautiful. He was so illuminated he had to be one of the very highest of the Angels, the Cherubim. He had a long golden dart in his hand, with what appeared to be fire at the end of it. She said he thrust it into her heart several times, piercing her down to her innermost organs, leaving her burning with a great love for God."
As you can see from their writings, their reactions to the transverberation of the heart were different. Teresa experienced such a feeling of love, which stayed with her all her life. Padre Pio, on the other hand, continued to record his suffering. However, although Teresa stressed the ecstatic nature of her gift, she also mentioned the pain, but even in expressing her pain, she lapsed back into ecstasy. She wrote,
"Even though it is a spiritual pain and not physical, the body participates in the pain, in fact a lot......In this state I was beside myself. I did not wish to see or speak to anyone, except to remain alone with my suffering, which seemed the greatest joy that could exist in creation."
In a letter to Padre Benedetto, on September 5, 1918, Padre Pio talked more about the suffering and anger he was enduring.
"I see myself submerged in an ocean of fire! The wound which has been reopened bleeds incessantly. This alone is enough to make me die a thousand times.
.....The excessive pain of this open wound makes me angry against my will, drives me crazy and makes me delirious. I am powerless in face of it."
This letter was written 13 days before he received the stigmata. He was referring to the transverberation of the heart.
We believe we have each been given gifts in accordance with our walk with the Lord. For Padre Pio, the transverberation of the heart may well have been to prepare him for the stigmata, which he was to receive shortly after. It may also have been given to him as a source of strength and joy, that would offset the physical pain and agony which the Lord wanted to use for His glory. We say this because of a letter he wrote on January 12, 1919.
"Because of the exultation of possessing Him in me, I cannot refrain from saying with the most holy Virgin, `My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.’ Possessing Him within me, I am impelled to say with the spouse of the Sacred Song, `I found Him whom my soul loves; I held Him and would not let Him go.’" 
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