ST ANTHONY OF PADUA; 13th JUNE

 ST ANTHONY OF PADUA

13th JUNE

St Anthony’s feast day was not celebrated yesterday as it fell on a Sunday, but we cannot let his feast day pass without recognising this charming saint, who achieved so much during his lifetime, who was an incredible scholar and orator, but whose humility is such that he now devotes his time in heaven to, (lovingly, unbegrudgingly), finding our mislaid car keys, the lost beloved toys of your six-year–old daughter, forgotten passwords and bar coasters with hastily scribbled telephone numbers.

St Anthony was a Portuguese Franciscan friar and priest, who was born to a wealthy family in Lisbon and died in Padua, Italy. He was noted for his powerful preaching, expert knowledge of Scripture, selfless devotion to the poor and sick and was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XII.

He initially had sought to engage in mission work in Morocco but became sick and returned to Europe, where he was assigned to a rural hermitage of Sao Paolo in Romagna, where he lived in a cave made by one of the friars into a cell, spending time in prayer and study.

His preaching became noted as the result of a misunderstanding when some Dominican friars were visiting for an ordination. The Dominicans, as the Order of Preachers, had been assumed by the Franciscans as the ones who would preach. However, the Dominicans were unprepared as they had assumed that a Franciscan would preach. The head of the Hermitage, who doubted the abilities of his humble friars to rise to the occasion, called upon Anthony, whom he suspected was the most learned, and entreated him to give a homily on any topic inspired by the Holy Ghost. Anthony tried to resile, but was overruled, and his impromptu sermon created an overwhelming impression on those who heard it. His audience was moved, not only by his rich voice and arresting manner, but also the substance of his discourse, his love of Scripture and his obvious holiness. (1)

St Francis of Assisi then entrusted the education of his friars to Anthony – he had been distrustful of theological scholarship by his friars as he did not want the pursuit of knowledge to lead them away from a life of simplicity and poverty. However, Anthony combined true spiritual understanding of St Francis’ vision and he embarked in the spiritual development of the friars.

“The traditional practice of praying for St. Anthony's help in finding lost or stolen things is traced to an incident during his lifetime: St Anthony had a Psalter that was particularly important to him, as it contained his notes and comments for use in teaching his students. A novice who had chosen to leave had taken the psalter with him. Prior to the invention of the printing press, book were hand-copied, and thus, of high value; a Franciscan friar in particular, given his vow of poverty, would have found such an item difficult to replace. When Anthony realised his psalter was missing, he prayed that it would be found or returned, after which the thief was moved to not only return the book to Anthony, but also to return to the order. The stolen book is said to be preserved in the Franciscan friary in Bologna”. (2)

“In another oft-told story, which took place in Toulouse, Anthony was challenged by a heretic to prove the reality of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The man, who sought to mock Anthony by show, brought out a half-starved mule and showed it fresh fodder on one hand, and the Sacramental Host on the other. The mule was said to have ignored the fodder and instead of eating either, bowed before the sacrament.”

Another account tells of an occasion in Italy when Anthony was dining with heretics. He realised the food they put before him was poisoned, and he confronted them. The men admitted to attempting to kill him, but then challenged him to eat if he truly believed the words spoken in Mark 16:18 about the apostles of Christ: "...and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them." Anthony is said to have blessed the food, eaten it, and suffered no harm, much to the amazement of his hosts.

Anthony was canonised by Pope Gregory IX on 30 May 1232, less than one year after his death”.

"The richness of spiritual teaching contained in the Sermons was so great that in [16 January] 1946 Venerable Pope Pius XII proclaimed Anthony a Doctor of the Church, attributing to him the title Doctor Evangelicus ["Evangelical Doctor"], since the freshness and beauty of the Gospel emerge from these writings."

He is especially invoked and venerated all over the world as the patron saint for the recovery of lost items and is credited with many miracles involving lost people, lost things and even lost spiritual goods. “ (3)

Below is the Unfailing Prayer to St Anthony:

Blessed be God in His angels and in His Saints.

O holy St Anthony, gentlest of saints, your love for God and charity for his creatures made you worthy, when on earth, to possess miraculous powers. Miracles waited on your word, which you were ever ready to speak for those in trouble or anxiety. Encouraged by this thought, I implore you to obtain for me [REQUEST]. The answer to my prayer may require a miracle – even so, you are the saint of miracles.

O gentle and loving St Anthony, whose heart was ever full of human sympathy, whisper my petition into the ear of the sweet infant Jesus, who loved to be folded in your arms, and the gratitude of my heart will ever be yours.

Amen.

Say 13 Our Fathers, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

(1) Wikipedia,

(2) Ibid.

(3) Ibid.

Image: Strozzi, "St Anthony of Padua Holding the Infant Jesus," (1625); Wikipedia.