Should Stigmata be shared?

[Sunflower33]

Should a gift from God like the Stigmata be shared with others or kept secret? To me, it seems as though such a visual gift should be shared, but does it make the recipient showy or prideful if they do so? Maybe the Stigmata is meant to be kept between the recipient and God in order to be used for prayer? Thoughts anyone? I have a hard time wrapping my mind around this Holy gift and how it is to be used.

 

[oneofmany]

I guess it would be up to the person but if they go to a doctor for a physical I don’t see how they could hide it 100%.

 

[pacomius]

the stigmata from it’s very meaning is a form of sharing in the passion of Christ. the original purpose is usually ascetical and penitential. this means it is a gift normally to be shared between the giver and receiver.
however such gifts cannot always be completely hidden based on their peculiar nature. even though the stigmata is not meant to be publicized by the stigmatist, the usual inability to keep it secret also serves as a form of evangelism and testimony.

 

[mdgspencer]

Jesus said don’t throw your pearls before swine. When he said this, he spoke of spiritual things.
In the case of Padre Pio, to parade this in public would be to subject it to endless mockery. Also he kept it secret out of humility too. (And many who refuse to believe in such a thing say Padre Pio faked his stigmata, creating and maintaining them with carbolic acid.)
One time, Padre Pio was to have an operation. But he knew, and the doctor said when asked, that the doctor was going to examine his stigmata when Padre Pio was under. So he would not allow an anesthetic to be used to keep the doctor from prying into his stigmata.
On the other hand, it seems God did want the stigmata in this case to to be known–because we all know of it. But it was not revealed by Padre Pio.

 

[Pythagoras]

I don’t think it is meant to be shared. The deep pain of the stigmata is used as a reparation for the forgiveness of sins of mankind, which is God’s intention in giving it to His instrument. There is no need to share it, unless under strict obedience from a superior, because this will only open up to temptations of wanting to exalt himself before the world.

 

[InNomineDomini]

Frankly, I would find it odd that someone would receive **any **great mystical gifts, but yet not have a regular and trustworthy spiritual director. I would think that advanced states of union with Christ are not arrived at without regular guidance; and supernatural activity surely would cause people to run to a priest to help with discernment.

As such, I think the answer to the question would be analyzed during spiritual direction; and I don’t think someone would suddenly find themselves undergoing the Stigmata without the slightest clue of who they could go to for spiritual assistance.