St. Anthony

St. Anthony of Padua

IN 1221 St. Francis held a general chapter at Assisi; when the others dispersed, there lingered behind, unknown and neglected, a poor Portuguese friar, resolved to ask for and refuse nothing. Nine months later Fra Antonio rose under obedience to preach to the religious assembled at Forli, when, as the discourse proceeded, 'the Hammer of Heretics,' ' the Ark of the Testament,' ' the eldest son of St. Francis,' stood revealed in all his sanctity, learning, and eloquence before his rapt and astonished brethren. Devoted from earliest youth to prayer and study among the canons regular, Ferdinand de Bulloens, as his name was in the world, had been stirred by the spirit and example of the first five Franciscan martyrs to put on their habit, and preach the Faith to the Moors in Africa. Denied a martyr's palm, and enfeebled by sickness, at the age of twenty-seven, he was taking silent but merciless revenge upon himself in the humblest offices of his community. From this obscurity he was now called forth, and for nine years France, Italy, and Sicily heard his voice, saw his miracles, and men's hearts turned to God. Suddenly, in 1231, this brief apostolate was closed, and the voices of children were heard crying along the streets of Padua, ' Our father, St. Antony, is dead.' The following year the church-bells of Lisbon rang without ringers, while at Rome one of its sons was inscribed among the Saints of God. Ω

St. Anthony's Bread
The excellent expression of devotion to St. Anthony, known as St. Anthony's Bread, goes back to the Thirteenth Century. It has been a source of many favors and graces, and has also been of great aid to the poor and the needy.
According to the most ancient chronicles, a child of Padua, even while the great basilica was building, fell into a barrel of water, and was drowned. In her grief the mother called on St. Anthony for help, and promised she would donate the child's weight in grain for the poor if she were restored to life.
While the mother was still praying, the child arose as if from sleep. This miracle gave rise to the pious practice of giving alms to the poor as a petition or in return for favors received through St. Anthony's intercession.
The practice received its present name from a favor received by a pious girl named Louise Bouffier at Toulon in France in the last century. One morning she came to open her shop, but the lock would not move. Not even a locksmith could open it. Finally when he had gone for tools to break the lock, she thought of St. Anthony, and promised him bread for the poor if the lock was opened without breaking it. St. Anthony granted her favor. From that day, Louise and all her friends brought their troubles to the saint, promising bread for his poor. The back of her shop became a shrine where people knelt in earnest prayer and from which they went out zealously to spread the devotion. Sailors prayed for a safe voyage, mothers prayed for the health of their children, others prayed for the conversion of dear ones who have been away from the sacraments. They always remembered to give bread to the poor in their gratitude to this good saint.
The Franciscan Order encourages this act of charity to the afflicted and those in want everywhere. It is a laudable method of sacrifice and of thanksgiving to St. Anthony. The St. Anthony’s Bread makes it possible to feed the destitute whom St. Anthony so loved.

Happy feast day of St. Anthony, everyone!!!




Anthony of Padua wasn't always a Franciscan. His early days in religion were spent as a Canon Regular of St. Augustine. As guest master in the Abbey of Holy Cross outside Coimbra in Portugal, he met the first Franciscan missionaries who were passing through on their way to Morocco. The enthusiasm with which the friars spoke of the possibility of martyrdom among the infidels was catching. Anthony, or Ferdinand, as he was then known, would have gone with the missionaries if he could have done so.
The Franciscan missionaries were martyred and their relics brought back to the Abbey of Holy Cross. Ferdinand spent a whole night in prayer before the precious relics of those first martyrs of the Order. In the morning his decision had been made. He too would be a Franciscan. With the consent of his superior Ferdinand the Canon Regular became Anthony the Franciscan.

SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI died the evening of Oct. 3, 1226. But shortly before his death, Francis appeared in silent testimony of the work of his glorious son, Anthony of Padua. During the last days of September the friars had assembled at Arles for a Chapter. Anthony preached, taking as text, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews."
In the midst of Anthony's sermon, one of the friars noticed the presence of st. Francis in the room. The Seraphic Saint, suspended in air, stood with hands raised in blessing over the friars assembled there in solemn session. At that moment all present were filled with a great peace, so that they wondered what had happened. When the friar told of the vision he had seen, they knew that Francis had come to bless especially the work of Anthony, their conferere. He would truly be the Ark of the Testament and the Hammer of Heretics.



A YOUNG man, Leonard by name, came to confession to St. Anthony. As part of his confession, Leonard told that he had quarreled with his mother and kicked her. Anthony did not realize that his penitent was a simple soul, likely to take things too literally. So when his confessor told him, "A foot that would kick a mother, deserves to be cut off." Leonard went home, took an axe from the cupboard and did that very thing.
When Leonard's mother saw what her son had done, she went screaming to St. Anthony. He had told her son to do this foolish thing, now it was up to him to remedy the situation. So the puzzled friar went back to the house with the anxious mother. Anthony took the detached foot, fitted it on to its bleeding stump, then made the sign of the Cross over it. In an instant the bones knit together, the flesh became firm, and Leonard was well as ever.



THE last days of St. Anthony were spent near Padua, on the estate of his friend, Count Tiso. On June 13, 1231 he took lunch as usual with his confreres. In the midst of their repast, Anthony was taken violently ill. Realizing his condition, the dying Saint asked to be taken to St. Mary's in Padua that he might die in the city he loved so dearly.
On the way Anthony grew visibly weaker. By the time they had reached the convent of the Poor Clares at Arcella, just outside Padua, the little procession had to stop. Anthony was taken inside, made his confession and was annointed. As he awaited Sister Death, his lips burst forth in a hymn of praise to Our Lady, Queen of the Franciscan Order. Shortly before nightfall Mary did come. Anthony closed his eyes to earth, to open them in the presence of God.

EVEN though he was an eloquent preacher, St. Anthony wasn't always able to get an audience. Such was the case one day in Fimini. Undaunted by the refusal of the heretics of Rimini to listen to the word of God, the Saint was determined to preach to those who would listen. So he walked to the seashore and took his stand at the water's edge. As the saintly friar began to preach, the surface of the water was broken by the heads of countless fishes which rose to listen.
St. Anthony preached to the fishes of the glory of God and the goodness of their Creator. He bade them be grateful and thus confound the coldness of the people of Rimini who had no place for the word of God in their hearts. Not a fish moved as St. Anthony went on with his sermon to his quite unusual congregation. When he had finished, the Saint blessed the fish with the Sign of the Cross. Then they left.



CERTAIN heretics of Rimini decided to end the meddlesome interference of Anthony in their sinful lives. His sermons had turned the attention of the people to their sinful excesses and the only solution was to get rid of the friar. Poison was the easiest way. So they invited the Saint to dinner, planning to poison his food. But God revealed their plans to their intended victim.
Anthony still came to dine. Before he sat down at table he told his enemies of their plot. But they only laughed at him, reminding Anthony of Christ's promise to His disciples, "And if they drink of any poisonous drink, it shall not harm them." If he would eat the poisonous food without harm, they would return to the Faith. Anthony blessed the food and ate it without harm. The heretics confessed their sins and made good their promise.



IN the Church of St. Pierre-du-Queyraix in Limoges, an incident took place which more than ever showed the extraordinary favors granted by Heaven to St. Anthony of Padua. It was Easter and Anthony was preaching the sermon of the day. Suddenly he remembered that he had been appointed to chant the Aleluia at the Convent Mass in the local friary. And he had failed to arrange for a substitute.
Anthony stopped short in his sermon and remained silent for some time. To the congregation it appeared that the preacher was merely gathering his thoughts. What they did not know was that Anthony, during that period of silence, had appeared in the convent choir to fulfill his assignment. A few moments later Anthony took up the thread of his interrupted sermon as if nothing had occured. A miracle of bilocation had been worked in his behalf.

THE Provincial Chapter of September 1226 appointed Anthony as Custos of the Province of Limoges. Shortly after taking over his new duties in the Order, it was brought to the attention of Anthony that one of the novices was thinking of leaving the community. God revealed the temptation of the young friar so that Anthony might help him in his hour of need.
The novice was called into the presence of his superior. Anthony first embraced the youth with all the tender affection of a father. Then he revealed all that had been troubling the young Franciscan. When he had finished, Anthony breathed on the novice and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit!" In a moment the troublesome temptation to return to the world had vanished completely. The novice Peter took his vows and presevered in the religious vocation that had been saved for him through the help of St. Anthony.




WHILE preaching at Limoges in France St. Anthony attracted such large crowds that the churches there were not large enough to hold those who came to hear this famous Franiscan. So Anthony preached out in the open, a field for his pulpit. One day, in the midst of his sermon, a violent storm arose. When the good people saw the blackened sky, they became uneasy and made ready to leave for their homes. But Anthony assured them that God would not permit harm to come to them if they would only stay.
Lightning flashed, thunder rolled, rain and hail fell in torrents. But not a drop fell on those who had stayed to listen to St. Anthony. On their way home the townspeople saw the flooded streets and piles of hail which still remained. The miracle of protection promised by Anthony had come to pass exactly as he had said.



SOME of the best known miracles of St. Anthony took place in France. At St. Junien in Limoges Anthony was once preaching on an improvised platform in the town square. But before he began his sermon, Anthony paused for a moment to warn his audience, "Whilst I am speaking to you, the devil will cause this platform to collapse. But no one will be injured."
The sermon had hardly begun when Anthony's prediction was fulfilled. With a splintering crash the platform collapsed. Undaunted by his rather embarrassing tumble, Anthony picked himself up, brushed the dirt off his habit, and went on with his sermon. Satan would have to do a great deal more than this to prevent a zealous Franciscan like Anthony of Padua from preaching the word of God.

A CERTAIN woman of Limoges had planned to hear St. Anthony preach. In her rush to finish the housework she failed to notice what time it was. A neighbor passed by and told her to hurry. Quite foolishly, the woman rushed out of the house, leaving her infant son playing on the floor near the fireplace on which stood a pot of boiling water.
When the sermon was over and the mother had come home, she stopped at the door in utter horror. Her little one was inside the steaming caldron. Her terror turned to joy when she came closer. The baby was standing in the water, laughing and having a grand time. He was not the least bit harmed. Then the careless mother knew that the safety of her child had been assured through the intercession of St. Anthony. The mother's desire to hear the word of God had saved her from being punished as she might have deserved.



BECAUSE his wife was kind to the friars, a jealous husband ordered her to stop giving them alms. The woman knew her husband's orders were unreasonable, so she ignored them. The next time he found she had been giving things to the friars he became quite furious. He laid hands on his wife and beat her unmercifully. He even dragged the poor woman around by the hair so that a good part of it was pulled out by the roots.
When the woman saw this, she went to St. Anthony for help. Anthony asked the rest of the friars to pray with him. By the time their prayers had come to an end, the woman's hair had been restored, even more lovely than before. When the husband saw the miracle worked through St. Anthony, he was throughly ashamed. He begged his wife's forgiveness and never more interfered in her works of charity towards the Franciscan friars.

St. Anthony of Padua, after whom my city is named, please pray us!

Here's more!



A NOBLEMAN of Ferrara was so jealous of his wife that he refused to recognize his first born child as his own. The foolish husband had no reason to doubt his wife's fidelity but he would still have nothing to do with his infant son.
In her desperation the wife and mother came to St. Anthony for help. The Saint talked to the nobleman for hours and finally succeeded in making him see the unreasonableness of his jealousy. Just then a nurse brought in the infant. In an instant, his old frame of mind returned. Then Anthony turned to the child and said, "In the name of Jesus Christ, speak and tell who your father is!" The infant pointed to the nobleman and, in a voice of a child years older, he said, "There is my father!" With that the father broke down and took the child in his arms. Anthony had helped to save a family and a marriage.



WHILE St. Anthony was at Padua, a man was killed in Lisbon and the corpse buried in the garden of Anthony's father. Try as he might to prove his innocence, the grisly evidence found in the family garden was enough to convict the poor man of the murder. Just when things were at their worst, God revealed to Anthony the plight of his father.
Immediately, the Saint obtained permission to go to Lisbon. Padua was days away from Lisbon but Anthony was there in a matter of hours. In the court room he asked that the body of the murdered man be produced. Anthony approached the corpse and, in a firm voice, bade the man speak and tell who had killed him. To the amazement of all, the corpse sat up and clearly attested the innocence of the accused. Anthony's father was freed and the next day the Saint was back in Padua. After all, he had asked permission to be away only over night.



A WOMAN of Padua went looking for sticks one day so that she might make a fire in her house. On the way back, the woman passed a pond by the roadside. She looked in the pond and what she saw made her scream in horror. On the bottom of the pond lay the body of her own daughter. Somehow the girl had slipped into the water and drowned. The mother waded in and dragged the body up onto the road. But she was too late.
In her anguish the mother remembered St. Anthony and the miracles which had been worked at his tomb. Full of trust in the power of the Saint, she promised to being a remembrance to the Basilica of the Saint if life would only be restored to her daughter. As soon as the mother had finished her prayer and made her vow, the daughter started to give signs of life. With proper care the young girl recovered completely in a very short time.

WHILE preaching in France, Anthony accepted the invitation of a nobleman to dine and spend the night in his mansion near Limoges. After the evening meal Anthony excused himself and retired to his room to pray. Some time later the lord of the house passed the friar's room and noticed a brilliant light streaming from beneath the door. When he looked through the grill in the door, the nobleman saw the vision taking place within the room.
A beautiful Child was standing on the bench at which Anthony had knelt to pray. The Infant held out His arms to the Saint. Anthony returned the invitation by clasping the Child to his heart, crying over and over, "My God! My God!" The next morning Anthony asked his host not to reveal what he had seen as long as Anthony was alive. The secret of that night was kept for ten years.



The last days of St. Anthony were passed with his friend, Count Tiso,at Camposampiero. There, on the wooded estate of the nobleman, Anthonychose a giant walnut tree as the spot where he would rest. His faithfulcompanions, Friars Roger and Luke Belldi, built a cell of twigs in thebranches of the tree as a shelter for the Saint. People came to hear St. Anthony. To get to his cell they tramped through the property of a neighboring farmer who had planted the field in grain. The press of many feet were ruining the almost ripened grain. The farmer complained to the Saint who comforted him, and told him to come back the next day to harvest his grain. The farmer did as he was told. When he returned the next day, he saw with amazement every bit of grain quite erect and fully ripe for the harvest.



DURING 1228 Anthony was busy in the Province of Venice. It was at this time that a distinguished Florentine gentleman died and his relatives planned an elaborate funeral for the deceased. Anthony was in the neighborhood and was asked to preach the funeral sermon. Little did the mourners know what Anthony's sermon really would be.
As his text Anthony chose, "Where thy treasure is, there is thy heart, also." In the midst of his sermon, he came to an abrupt pause. Then in solemn tones, he went on, "This man is dead, and his soul is buried in hell! Go! Open his coffers, and you will find his heart!" The astonished relatives did as Anthony bade them. The treasure chest was opened. There, in the midst of all the gold pieces, was the heart of the man who, although rich in earthly treasures, had died poor in the things of heaven.

THERE was a certain heretic at Rimini who refused to believe in the Real Presence. He made this proposition to St. Anthony. The unbelieving heretic would starve his mule for three days. If the hungry animal would prostrate before the monstrance, then the heretic would confess the reality of the Blessed Sacrament.
On the appointed day the heretic appeared in the town square with his beast. St. Anthony approaced from the opposite side with the Sacred Host. A curious group of believers and unbelievers alike watched to see just what would happen. A large pan of oats and a bundle of fragrant hay were placed before the hungry animal. But all this was ignored. Instead, the mule approaced our Saint and fell on her knees before the Blessed Sacrament. True to his promise, the heretic made a profession of faith in the Real Presence.



ANTHONY the priest spent long hours in the confessional. There he was brought face to face with strange and sorrowful problems of all kinds. One penitent in particular found that, when he knelt at the feet of this young Franciscan priest, he was unable to confess his sins. The sorrow which filled his heart was so great that he simply could not speak. Anthony read that heart and and knew that it was sincerely penitent. so he said to the man, "Go home, write your sins on a piece of paper, then bring the paper back to me."
The man did so. Anthony bade him read the list. Obediently the penitent started with the first. To his astonishment he saw that, as soon as he had told it, the name of each sin disappeared from the paper. So it went on. When the last sin had been confessed, the paper was perfectly blank.