52. St. Anthony of Padua

St. Anthony of Padua

 

St. Anthony of Padua 

Anthony was born in 1195 (13 years after St. Francis) in Lisbon, Portugal and given the name of Fernando at Baptism. At the age of 15 he entered the religious order of St. Augustine.

Miracles and Traditions of St Anthony

Finding things…

The reason for invoking St. Anthony’s help in finding lost or stolen things is traced back to an incident in his life. Anthony had a book of psalms that was very important to him. A novice who had already grown tired of living religious life decided to depart the community. Besides going AWOL he also took Anthony’s psalter! Upon realizing his psalter was missing, Anthony prayed it would be found or returned to him. And after his prayer the thieving novice was moved to return the psalter to

St. Anthony Bread…

is a term used for offerings made in thanksgiving to God for blessings received through the prayers of St. Anthony. Sometimes the alms are given for the education of priests. In some places parents also make a gift for the poor after placing a newborn child under the protection of St. Anthony. It is a practice in some churches to bless small loaves of bread on the feast of St. Anthony and give them to those who want them.

St Anthony and the Child Jesus

St. Anthony is shown with the child Jesus in his arm or even with the child standing on a book the saint holds. A story about. Anthony was praying far into the night when suddenly the room was filled with light more brilliant than the sun. Jesus then appeared to St. Anthony under the form of a little child. Chatenauneuf, attracted by the brilliant light that filled his house, was drawn to witness the vision but promised to tell no one of it until after St. Anthony’s death.

St Anthony and the Mule (A Eucharistic Miracle)

There was a man in Rimini who refused to believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. St Anthony could not convince the man by his words alone. The man made this deal with St. Anthony: That he would believe if his mule would. The unbelieving man would starve his mule for three days, he would then bring his mule to the town square, Anthony, would bring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. If the hungry animal would come to Jesus in the monstrance rather than a bucket of food, then the man would accept the Church’s teachings and believe that Jesus was truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.

On the third day the man came into the town square with his very hungry mule. St. Anthony approached from the other side of the square with the Sacred Host. Many people, both believers and unbelievers alike watched to see what would happen. A large bucket of oats and a bundle of fragrant hay were placed before the hungry animal. But all this was ignored by the mule. Instead, the mule approached our Saint and fell on her knees before the Blessed Sacrament to adore Jesus. True to his word, the man made a profession of faith in the Real Presence because his mule had believed first.