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.
-Taken from the Miracles of Saint Anthony of Padua
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.
-Taken from the Miracles of Saint Anthony of Padua
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.
-Taken from the Miracles of Saint Anthony of Padua
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.
-Taken from the Miracles of Saint Anthony of Padua
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