Homily: June 13 - Saint Anthony of Padua

Saint Anthony of Padua has been honored since the 11th century by Catholics around the world.  Saint Anthony belonged to the first generation of the band of brothers of Saint Francis of Assisi known as the Friars Minor. 

Anthony was born into a noble family in Lisbon in about 1195.  He was educated by the Augustinians, and entered the Augustinian order at a young age.  He dedicated himself to the study of Scripture and the Church Fathers, acquiring the theological knowledge that was to bear fruit in his teaching and preaching activities throughout his life.

In the first decade of the 11^th century Saint Francis was already gathering his first followers.  In fact, by the time Anthony met Francis, a group of Franciscans who attempted to bring the Gospel to Morocco had been martyred. The turning point in Anthony’s life was when the relics of those first Franciscan martyrs were brought through the town in Portugal where Anthony was living.    He was so inspired by these Franciscan martyrs that he requested to leave the Augustinians and join the Franciscans.  He initially wanted to go to Morocco himself, but because of an illness, his journeys took him to Assisi, where he met Saint Francis. 

Unlike Saint Francis, Anthony was ordained to the priesthood.  But like Francis, he preached the Gospel, and united himself to Christ crucified.

Anthony is not only the patron saint of lost items, he is also a doctor of the Church, and laid the foundations for the Franciscans’ great intellectual heritage.

In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI gave a beautiful summary of Saint Anthony’s life and spirituality which was so important to the development of the Franciscan Order.  He wrote, “Anthony, in the school of Francis, always put Christ at the center of his life and thinking, of his action and of his preaching.”

In a sermon, Anthony said, “If you preach Jesus, he will melt hardened hearts; if you invoke him, he will soften harsh temptations; if you think of him, he will enlighten your mind; if you read of him, he will satisfy your intellect.”  And aren’t each of us called to do just that, invoke Jesus throughout the day, meditate upon him, read his word, and preach Him. 

May Saint Anthony always help us to find Christ and serve Him, in the poor, in one another, in our Sacred Worship, in our prayer, in our charitable  works, that we may be faithful to all that the Gospel demands of us for the glory of God and salvation of souls.