June 13: Feast of St. Anthony of Padua, Confessor and Doctor
I doubt I could say much about the life of this, one of the most popular saints of all time. Yes, let’s get the obvious out of the way. He helps you find lost things. I almost hate mentioning this fact but boy is it true. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve called on him to find my lost keys and then later on to help find the perfect parking space. And he always delivers.
But there are two events in the life of this holy man that strike me as more beautiful than the rest of his adventures. And remember, the saints are indeed the heroes we should introduce our children to. They did indeed live adventurous lives.
Anthony was born Fernando in Lisbon in 1195. At the same time the young man was studying to be an Augustinian priest, Francisco was founding the Friars Minor – an order unlike any up to that time which, together with the other newly formed mendicant society, the Dominicans, would help reform the Church. Eventually, disgruntled with the Augustinians, Fernando would join the Franciscans as the first priest of the order. Francis was leery of clerics for good reason. Nonetheless, Fernando, now called Antonio after the great hermit saint of Egypt, would leave his mark on the order and the world.
The first instance of his life that moves me greatly is the thing that prompted him to join the Franciscans. The bodies of the first five Franciscan martyrs were brought back from Morocco and carried with great solemnity through the streets of Coimbra. Fernando was moved by their witness to the faith borne out in their love unto death of Christ Jesus.
There is a story that he pleaded, “I would gladly trade my habit for yours if I could go to Morocco to die as they did!”
The Church’s calendar used to be littered with feasts of the martyrs, in particular the martyrs of Ancient Rome. The traditional Roman calendar retains these feasts and most days I find myself amazed to read a blurb or two about them in my missal. Here we have men, women, and children – rich and poor, prince and pauper – who willingly died painful deaths for love of Christ. One has to wonder why so many were stripped out of the new calendar… Imagine if their inspiring witness were still widespread.
The second instance is the flip side of the coin of Fernando’s desire to die a martyr. Our Lord had other plans for him. He set off for Morocco and was shipwrecked. He never made it. Instead, he found himself in Italy where he took up the life of a preacher, hammering the heretics and championing the faith.
It all reminds me of the novelette The Song at the Scaffold by von le Fort. Two Carmelite nuns – one brave and one timid – each have different natural desires. The brave wants to die on the scaffold of French terror and anti-Catholic hatred. The timid wants to be left alone, afraid of her own shadow. However, in the end the roles are reversed. The bold nun, under obedience remains behind to redound the convent while the frightened Sr. Blanche loudly sings the Veni Creator Spiritus until her vocal cords are severed at the guillotine.
Funny how that works, isn’t it? I wonder if the desire to die for Christ isn’t simply the first step (and greatest mental act) of sacrificing one’s will to God.
Regardless, may your feast of St. Anthony be blest and may you find all your lost things. If you come across my mind, drop me a line. I haven’t seen it since my kids were born.
St. Anthony of Padua, pray for us!
Harvey Millican's Blog: Musings of a Trad Dad 