Saint
Anthony of Padua has been honored since the 11th century by Catholics around
the world. Anthony belonged to that first generation of the followers of St.
Francis of Assisi known as the Friars Minor.
In 2010, Pope
Benedict XVI gave a beautiful summary of Saint Anthony’s life and
spirituality. He said, “Anthony, in the
school of Francis, always put Christ at the center of his life and thinking, of
his action and of his preaching.”
Franciscan, doctor, preacher,
priest. Yet, St. Anthony is of course widely invoked as the patron saint of
lost things. The little jingle goes something like this: "St. Anthony,
please look around; something is lost and must be found." This attribution
comes from an incident from Anthony’s life.
As the story goes, Anthony had a
book of psalms that was very important to him. This was in a time prior to the
printing-press, so any book was of great value, but this book of Psalm in
particular had notes and comments Anthony had made to use in teaching young
novices of the Franciscan Order.
Upon realizing his psalter was
missing, Anthony prayed that it would be found or returned to him. A novice who
had decided to leave religious life had stolen the psalter. But after Anthony’s
prayer, the thieving novice was moved to repentance. He returned the psalter to
Anthony and returned to the Order, which accepted him back.
St. Anthony is invoked as patron of
lost things, yet, this story highlights a connection with a patronage toward
lost souls-- who have fallen to serious sin, like that young novice who had
stolen what was not his. We rightly invoke St. Anthony for all lost souls,
those who have abandoned the Church or have grown apathetic to the practice of
the faith. And for this we should invoke him more often than those rare times
when we lose our car keys!
When your heart is grieved over
family members who have left the Church, pray to St. Anthony! For those young
people who seem to be lost in a sea of sin, pray to St. Anthony! For those who
are angry at the Church or preach a false Gospel, pray to St. Anthony!
Maybe some of you here were at one
point lost—apathetic or hostile to religion, dabbling in the new age, or in a
state of mortal sin. The Church was praying for you, the saints were praying
for you. And thanks be to God, what was lost, has now been found. Stay that
way!
And yet, even those in a state of grace can always use the help of the saints
to find Christ in the poor, in our in our Sacred Worship, in our prayer, in our trials and
crosses. For those, it would be wise to invoke St. Anthony for ourselves, to
find and experience more deeply the depths of God’s love and the closeness of
God’s presence.
St. Anthony
himself no doubt had a great devotion to the Psalms, perhaps St. Anthony is
urging you to seek Christ in the praying of the Church’s liturgy of the hours,
in which the Psalm are offered to God throughout the day. Certainly, that great
preacher of God’s word, St. Anthony is urging you to seek Christ in the Sacred
Scriptures, through regular reading and reflection upon the bible.
May, the
same light of faith and truth and charity which shined in the life of St.
Anthony fill our lives, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
- - - - -
For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously
watch over her and care for her.
For the peoples of all the world, that the Lord may
graciously preserve harmony among them.
That the members of the Franciscan Order and all those
consecrated religious may inspire us to strive for greater holiness.
For the priests of the diocese who begin a new parish
assignment this week, especially for the newly ordained, that they may be
faithful Christ in every dimension of their ministry.
For all those who have led and taken part in this St.
Anthony Novena, that many graces may flow from this devotion for the good of
our families, our parishes, the Church and the world.
For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord
may graciously grant them relief, especially for the sick and victims of war
and terror and natural disaster.
For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, For the
deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased priests
and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, for the poor souls in purgatory, and
for those who have fought and died for our freedom.
O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your
Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray,
that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.
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