Friday, June 13, 2025

 

Memory of Saint Anthony of Padua, priest and Doctor of the Church

(II Corinthians 4:7-15; Matthew 5:27-32)

It is said that early images of St. Anthony were made with him holding a book of Scripture.  In time, however, the Christ-child replaced the book as most images of Anthony depict him today.  The change is quite sensible since Jesus is the word of God.  In any case, Anthony knew, like St. Paul in today’s first reading, that Christ was the treasure within him.

Paul could not but preach Jesus Christ.  The Lord’s glory worked within Paul so that nothing stopped him.  As he will say later in this letter, he preached despite the fact that “(F)ive times at the hands of the Jews I received forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I passed a night and a day on the deep; on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own race, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many sleepless nights, through hunger and thirst, through frequent fastings, through cold and exposure.”

Christ did not live exclusively in Anthony or Paul.  He lives within most of us. As with them, Christ wants us to show him to others.  By our words and actions we are to give glory to Jesus Christ.

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, priest

(II Corinthians 2:18-22; Matthew 5:13-16)

St. Anthony of Padua achieved fame in his day as a preacher.  Evidently for this reason early images of him were depicted with a Scripture in hand.  Curiously over time that Scripture has been replaced with an image of the child Jesus.  Like St. Paul in today’s first reading Anthony’s familiarity with the word of God has been rightly associated with a close relationship with the Lord himself.

Paul wants to assure the Corinthians of Christ’s love.  He is afraid of a misunderstanding because he has changed his plan to visit them.  So that they do not think that Christ is a fickle Lord because of his messenger’s change of plan, he asserts here that he did it with good reason.  He did not visit them so that God’s design could be fulfilled. 

Sometimes we too have to break a promise.  It may cause disappointment, but if done with good reason and sincere apology it is neither sinful nor ultimately hurtful. Those to whom the promise is made should be able to see that we still care for them. 

Friday, June 13, 2014

Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, priest

(1 Kings 19:9a.11-16; Matthew 5:27-32)

This year Billy Graham will turn ninety-six years old.  When he eventually dies, he will be duly remembered as the greatest preacher of his time.  His world-wide “Crusades” helped thousands of people come to a personal relationship with Jesus.  He became known as a social reformer and a friend of presidents.  What Billy Graham was to the twentieth century, St. Anthony of Padua was to the thirteenth.

Anthony of Padua was actually Anthony of Lisbon, the place of his birth, and is evidently called so in his native Portugal.  As an adolescent, he joined a religious society and studied theology.  Later he was ordained and transferred to the Franciscan Order.  Then he was sent to Italy to become one of the most illustrious preachers of his time.  He died at only thirty-six years of age but by then had earned the reputation not only of a master preacher but also of a champion of the poor and a tireless worker among heretics.

Most people think of St. Anthony as the patron of finding lost objects.  We would be better to think of him as a searcher of the Word of God.  Although legends vary, it is said that he is often pictured with the Christ Child in his arms as a substitute for the Scriptures which he studied fervently.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, priest and doctor of the Church

(II Corinthians 3:15-4:1.3-6; Matthew 5:20-26)

Although only thirty-six years old when he died, Anthony of Padua was declared a saint within a year of his demise.  He was recognized as one of the greatest preachers of his time, so strong that heretics converted after hearing him.  In surprising contrast, St. Paul was evidently not a forceful preacher.  He hints at this in the reading from II Corinthians that we hear today.

When Paul writes that “our gospel is veiled” but “we are not discouraged,” he is referring to his inability to convert the whole of Corinth.  Later on in the letter he reiterates a criticism that “’his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible’” (2 Cor 10:10).  But his defects as a speaker do not bother him as long as he remains loyal to his commission.  Indeed, he will write of enduring hardship as testimony to the legitimacy of his message about Jesus Christ.

We too testify to Christ by deeds of love.  But let us not be silent about our motives.  An age that speaks sophomorically about an “altruism gene” needs to hear that if it were not for Jesus Christ, we would likely behave very differently.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, priest and doctor of the Church

(I Kings 18:20-39; Matthew 5:17-19)

“Dear St. Anthony, look around,” Catholics have long prayed for lost objects. Theologically, the prayer requests the saint's intercession with God so that in His Providence they may locate whatever has been misplaced. Most often, it seems, the objects are indeed found. Such a beneficent force is at work in the first reading today.

Elijah is contemptuous of the indigenous god Baal precisely because the god has no real existence. The prophet’s aim is to reconnect the people with their true God. Because their enchantment with falsity runs deep, the antidote must be strong. Elijah first allows Baal’s own prophets to come out in force and exhort their god to act. When Baal fails to produce the desired fire, Elijah has both his sacrifice and the wood to burn it doused with water before he singlehandedly calls on Israel’s Lord to send a thunderbolt. The prayer is answered, and the people return, at least for a while, to worship the true God.

We may feel silly praying for an incidental object that we cannot find. But is it not sillier to curse the object because we do not know what we have done with it? Such prayers turn us to God whom we need more than air or water. And, yes, it is hardly a coincidence that after such prayers we almost always find what we are looking for.