St. Anthony was born into a wealthy family in Lisbon, Portugal in 1195 and died 36 years later in Padua, Italy as a Franciscan friar. After being ordained for the Canons of the Holy Cross he came to know a group of Franciscans who were visiting and preaching in his city. He was greatly impressed by their simple lifestyle and also by the martyrdom of a group of Franciscans in Morocco. He requested permission to join the Franciscans. His enthusiasm led him to volunteer for a mission to Morocco but because of bad weather and bad health he ends up in Italy. Normally having poor health and being blowen off course would be considered tragedies in anyone’s life. But here we see that those experiences helped shape Anthony and helped move him towards a bigger mission. In Italy the friars became aware of Anthony’s preaching skills.
The Franciscan order was only about 11 years old at the time and St Francis did not allow the friars to study to be priests or deacon. As a result, the friars could not officially preach or hold pastoral positions in parishes. Some men like Anthony came to the Franciscans already ordained. Francis met Anthony and recognized that Anthony had a similar spirit of dedication to fraternity, service, evangelical poverty as a lifestyle, and living among the poor. Francis entrusted to Anthony the supervision of studies for those friars who wanted to be ordained. This was a major change in the life of the Franciscan order.
While Anthony taught at some universities in Europe and was in charge of training the friars who wanted to be priests, it was his preaching that really made him popular. Comments from friars, common folks, and member of the papal court all testify that his was a magnificent preacher and that he had a gift for making the Gospel understandable and visible. His voice and simple style brought the Word of God to all around him. Anthony had courage and fortitude in the face of hostile heretics and difficult times.
The power of Anthony’s preaching and the example of his life as a friar were accompanied by marvelous events and miracles. The miracles grow out of his life dedicated to God and come as a reinforcement of his preaching.
Anthony’s life calls us all to preach, to share our faith, openly and constantly. A life lived truly dedicated to our faith is the best sermon. That is what the people saw in Anthony. That is the greatest miracle of all.
St. Anthony of Padua:
Actions speak louder than words;
Let your words teach and your actions speak.
Image: https://franciscanfriars.org/2023/06/12/saint-anthony-of-padua-feast-day/