ST. ANTHONY
Daniel, Chapter 10, Verse 7
What have you to fear with God at your back? We as the
heirs of God’s promises to the Hebrews must have the courage to support and
defend Israel at each threshold of change that God brings about. Yes, there
will be suffering, and we must be up to the challenge; to carry our cross, as
God wills it. The Lord is patient and kind yet He is also just. He will right
the evil of man. When man goes too far God intervenes. Is another intervention
coming? Is there a breach in the lines of defense against the forces of
darkness? Have we become fat and gross and gorged with secularism? Have we
forsaken the God who made us and scorned Him? Have we sacrificed to demons, to
“no-gods,”?
Good men heed the
message and seek the Divine Mercy of God while there is still time and then
join the battle of God coming into the breach. Read the online message of the
Bishop of Phoenix and be prepared to fight and defend our church.[1]
St.
Anthony[2]
Anthony
is one of the most popular saints in the Church. He is the patron of lost
things and numerous other causes. In Brazil, he is considered a general of the
army; he is the patron of the poor and has been recognized as a wonderworker
from the moment of his death. He was born in Portugal and entered the
Augustinian monastery of Sao Vicente in Lisbon when he was fifteen. When news
of the Franciscan martyrs in Morocco reached him, he joined the Franciscans at
Coimbra. At his own request, he was sent as a missionary to Morocco, but he
became ill, and on his return journey his boat was driven off course and he
landed in Sicily. He took part in St. Francis' famous Chapter of Mats in 1221
and was assigned to the Franciscan province of Romagna. He became a preacher by
accident. When a scheduled preacher did not show up for an ordination ceremony
at Forli, the Franciscan superior told Anthony to go into the pulpit. His
eloquence stirred everyone, and he was assigned to preach throughout northern
Italy. Because of his success in converting heretics, he was called the
"Hammer of Heretics" and because of his learning, St. Francis himself
appointed him a teacher of theology. St. Anthony of Padua was such a forceful
preacher that shops closed when he came to town, and people stayed all night in
church to be present for his sermons. He became associated with Padua because
he made this city his residence and the center of his great preaching mission. After
a series of Lenten sermons in 1231, Anthony's strength gave out and he went
into seclusion at Camposanpiero but soon had to be carried back to Padua. He
did not reach the city but was taken to the Poor Clare convent at Arcella,
where he died. He was thirty-six years old, and the whole city of Padua turned
out in mourning for his passing. He was canonized within a year of his death
and was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XII in 1946.
Patron: Against shipwrecks; against
starvation; against starving; American Indians; amputees; animals; asses;
barrenness; boatmen; Brazil; diocese of Beaumont, Texas; domestic animals;
elderly people; expectant mothers; faith in the Blessed Sacrament; Ferrazzano,
Italy; fishermen; harvests; horses; Lisbon, Portugal; lost articles; lower
animals; mail; mariners; oppressed people; Padua, Italy; paupers; poor people;
Portugal; pregnant women; sailors; seekers of lost articles; shipwrecks;
starvation; starving people; sterility; swineherds; Tigua Indians; travel
hostesses; travellers; watermen.
Things to
Do
·
St.
Anthony was a great lover of the poor. Deprive yourself of some treat and put
the money saved in the poor box.
·
St.
Anthony's Bread refers to an episode told in the Rigaldina, the oldest
life of St. Anthony. A Paduan mother, who lived near the Basilica during its
construction, had left little Thomas, her 20-month-old son, alone in the
kitchen. The little boy, while playing, ended up headfirst in a tub of water.
His mother found him lifeless. She screamed desperately but she didn't give up.
She called on the Saint. She made a vow: if she obtained the blessing of her
child back to life, she would donate to the poor bread equal to the weight of
her son to the poor. Her prayer was answered. Read more about
St. Anthony's Bread
and consider donating to St. Anthony's charities.
·
St.
Anthony is invoked by women in search of good husbands, so if you're single and
in search of a spouse, today is a good day to make a visit to a church or
shrine dedicated to St. Anthony to make your petition to this generous saint!
·
Because
St. Anthony was buried on a Tuesday and many miracles accompanied his funeral,
Tuesdays are special days of honoring him throughout the year. It is customary
to pray a Novena to him on thirteen
consecutive Tuesdays.
Daily
Devotions
·
If someone causes you trouble,
think what good you can do for the person who caused you to suffer. Being
a vessel of divine mercy is a weapon for good and for defeating evil. Returning
a blessing breaks curses.
·
Saturday Litany of
the Hours Invoking the Aid of Mother Mary
·
Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
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