DOMESTIC ANIMALS – AnaStpaul

Against EPIDEMICS, DOMESTIC ANIMALS, EPILEPSY, Of ANIMALS / ANIMAL WELFARE, Of GARDENERS, Horticulturists, Farmers, Of UNDERTAKERS, Morticians, Catholic Cemetaries, PALLBEARERS, PATRONAGE - of BASKET-WEAVERS, CRAFTSMEN, SAINT of the DAY, SKIN DISEASES, RASHES

Saint of the Day – 17 January – St Anthony Abbot (251-356)

Posted on January 17, 2024January 16, 2024 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 17 January – St Anthony Abbot (251-356) Hermit, Founder of Monasteries, Abbot and Spiritual Guide, Mystic and Miracle-Worker, beloved of all animals. Born in 251 at Heracleus, Egyptand died on 17 January 356 at Mount Colzim of natural causes. Also known as – Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Anthony the Hermit, Antonio Abate, Father of All Monks, Father of Western Monasticism. His Patronages are numerous – against eczema, skin diseases and rashes, pestilence, Saint Anthony’s Fire, of firefighters, of wild animals, amputees, anchorites, basket weavers and makers, bell ringers, brushmakers, domestic animals, butchers, cemetery and funeral workers and gravediggers, epileptics, farmers, hermits, monks, pigs, livestock, Hospitallers, of 29 Cities in Europe.

The Roman Martyrology says: “In Thebais, St Anthony, Abbot and Spiritual Guide of many Monks. He was most celebrated for his life and miracles, of which St Athanasius has written a detailed account. His holy body was found by divine revelation, during the reign of the Emperor Justinian and brought to Alexandria, where it was buring in the Church of St John the Baptist.”

St Anthony unknown artist Italian School

St Anthony’s Vocation
Anthony was born in 251 to a wealthy family of farmers in the village of Coma, now Qumans, in Egypt. Around the age of 18-20, he was left an orphan with a rich estate to manage and with a younger sister to educate.
Attracted by the evangelical teaching “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have, give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven, then come, follow me” and by the example of some Anchorites who lived nearby in prayer, poverty and chastity, Anthony’s heart was drawn to choose this path. He, therefore, sold his goods, entrusted his sister to a community of virgins and dedicated himself to an ascetic life in front of his house and then outside the town.

Seeking a penitential and isolated life, he prayed to God for enlightenment. Not far away he saw a Hermit, like himself, who sat and worked, weaving a rope, then stopped, stood up and prayed; immediately after, he went back to working and praying again. This Anchorite was an Angel of God showing Anthony the path of work and prayer which, two Centuries later, would form the basis of the Benedictine Rule “Ora et labora” and Western Monasticism. Part of Anthony’s work was used to obtain food and part was distributed to the poor. St Athanasius asserts that he prayed continually and was so attentive to reading the Scriptures that he trained them verbatim in his memory oand he no longer needed scrolls.

From the Sienese Altarpiece (1425-50) depiciting the Life of St Anthony – this image shows him as a little boy on the right and as a young adult on the left, after hearing the Gospel of the rich young man

St Anthony’s Temptations
While still very young, after a few years of his solitary life, very difficult trials began for him. Impure thoughts tormented him, doubts assailed him about the advisability of such a solitary life. The instinct of the flesh and the attachment to material goods which he had tried to suppress, returned in overbearing and uncontrollable force.
He, therefore, asked for help from other Hermits, who told him not to be afraid but to move forward with confidence because God was with him. They also advised him to get rid of all ties and material possessions and retreat to a more solitary place.
Thus, barely covered by a rough cloth, Anthony took refuge in an ancient tomb dug into the rock of a hill, aurrounding the village of Coma. A friend brought him some bread every now and then; for the rest, he had to make do with wild berries and herbs growing around him.
In this place, the first temptations were replaced by terrifying visions and noises. Furthermore, he went through a period of terrible spiritual darkness. All this Anthonye overcame by patiently persevering in faith, carrying out the will of God, day by day, as his teachers had taught him.
When Christ finally revealed Himself to him as the Hermit, he asked: “Where were Thou? Why did Thou not appear from the beginning, to put an end to my sufferings?”. He heard Him reply: “Anthony, I was here with thee and witnessed thy fight”…

On the Mountains of Pispir
Discovered by his fellow citizens, who, like all Christians of those times, flocked to the Hermits to receive spiritual advice, prayer and consolation but, at the same time, disturbed their solitude and meditation, forced Anthony to move further away. In the Pispir mountains there was an abandoned fortress, infested with snakes but with a spring source and in 285 Anthony moved there and remained there for 20 years.
Twice a year, bread was dropped to him from above. In this new solitude he followed the example of Jesus, Who, guided by the Spirit, retreated into the desert “to be tempted by the devil,”

St Athanasius tells of the many times when St Anthony struggled against devils, not only by resisting temptations but also suffering bodily harm which they were permitted to inflict upon him. On one such occasion, “a multitude of demons … so cut him with stripes that he lay on the ground speechless from the excessive pain.” He was discovered unconscious by the local villagers, who thought him dead and brought him to their Church, here depicted in the background. (Life of Anthony 8 and 9)

The First Communities of disciples
Then came the time when many people who wanted to dedicate themselves to the solitary eremitcal life arrived at the fort. Anthony went out and began to console the afflicted, obtaining cures from the Lord, freeing the possessed and instructing the new disciples.
Two groups of Monks were formed who gave rise to two Monasteries, one east of the Nile and the other on the left bank of the river. Each Monk had his own solitary cave but obeyed a brother more experienced in spiritual life. Anthony gave everyone his advice on the path towards perfection of the spirit and union with God, thus operating as their Abbot from his cave.

In the Thebaid
Once again, to escape the many curious people who went to the fortress, Anthony decided to retreat to a more isolated place. He, therefore ,went to the Thebaid desert, in Upper Egypt, where he began to cultivate a small garden to support himself and those disciples and visitors, who followed him.
He lived in the Thebaid region until the end of his very long life. He was able to bury the body of the Hermit Saint Paul the Hermit, with the help of a lion — for this reason he is considered the Patron Saint of wild animals, of cemeteries, gravediggers and funeral workers.
In his last years he welcomed two Monks who looked after him in his extreme old age. He died at the age of 106, on 17 January 356 and was buried in a secret place.

The Spiritual Inheritance
His presence had also attracted many people to the Thebaid eager for a more spiritual life. Many chose to follow his style, thus Monasteries arose among those mountains. The desert was populated by Monks, the first of that multitude of consecrated men, who in the East and the West, continued the path he had begun, expanding it and adapting it to the needs of the times.
His disciples handed down his wisdom to the Church, collected in 120 sayings and 20 letters. In Letter 8, Saint Anthony wrote: “Ask with a sincere heart for that great Spirit of fire which I myself have received and it will be given to you.”

Protection against Shingles (Herpes Zoster)
In 561 his tomb was discovered and the Relics began a long journey through time and space, from Alexandria to Constantinople, until arriving in France, in the 11th Century, in Motte-Saint-Didier, where a Church was built in his honour.
Crowds of sick people flocked to venerate his Relics in this Church, especially those suffering from skin eruptions, caused by the poisoning of a fungus present in rye, used to make bread (or so it was thought).
The disease, now scientifically known as herpes zoster, was known since ancient times as ‘ignis sacer’ (sacred fire) due to the burning sensation it caused. Also for this reason, our Saint is invoked against skin diseases in general.
To house all the sick people who arrived, a hospital was built and a brotherhood of religious people was founded, the ancient hospital order of the ‘Antoniani.’ Hence the Patronage of Hospitallers.
The village took the name of Saint-Antoine de Viennois.

The Tau Staff is visible in St Anthony’s hand

The Pig, the Fire, the “Tau”
The Pope granted the Antonians the privilege of raising pigs for their own use and at the expense of the community, so the piglets could move freely between courtyards and streets; no-one touched them, if they wore an identification bell.
Their fat was used to treat ergotism, which was called “sickness. Antonio” and then “fire of St Anthony.” For this reason, in popular religiosity, the pig began to be associated with the great Egyptian Hermit, later considered the Patron Saint of pigs and by extension, of all domestic and stable animals.
In his iconography, in addition to the pig with the bell, there also appears the T-shaped Hermits’ staff, the “tau” the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet and, therefore, an allusion to the last things and destiny.
A popular legend which connects his iconographic attributes, narrates that Saint Anthony went to hell to contend with the devil for the souls of the dead. While his little pig, sneaking in, created havoc among the demons, he lit his tau-shaped stick with infernal fire and took it out together with the recovered little pig — he gave fire to humanity, lighting a pile of wood.

Popular devotion
On the day of his liturgical memory, the stables are blessed and the domestic animals are brought to be blessed. In some countries of Celtic origin, Saint Anthony took on the functions of the divinity of rebirth and light, Lug, the guarantor of new life, to whom wild boars and pigs were consecrated. Therefore, in various works of art, there is a boar at his feet.
Patron of all those involved in processing pigs, alive or slaughtered, he is also the Patron of those who work with fire, such as firefighters because he cured that metaphorical fire which was Herpes Zoster.
Even today, on 17 January, especially in agricultural villages and farmhouses, it is customary to light the so-called “St Anthony’s bonfire which had a purifying and fertilising function, like all the fires which marked the transition from winter to the imminent spring. The ashes, then collected in the home braziers of the past, were used to heat the house and, using a special bell made with wooden slats, to dry damp clothes.
Venerated throughout the Centuries, his name is among the most widespread in Catholicism. Saint Anthony of Padua himself, precisely to indicate his desire for greater perfection, chose to change the name received at his Baptism to that of our Saint today.

The Life of St Anthony by St Athanasius:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=XiKDl_lOb74&list=PL5_ax08Z6UX9h2VWw84sk4zcAQUliDUo7

DOMESTIC ANIMALS, Of ANIMALS / ANIMAL WELFARE, PATRONAGE - HEADACHES, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 23 April – Saint William Firmatus (1026–1103)

Posted on April 24, 2021April 22, 2023 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 23 April – Saint William Firmatus (1026–1103) Priest, Pilgrim Hermit, Physician, miracle-worker. He had a great infinity with and love for, all animals, who were tame and docile in his hands. Born as Guillaume Firmat in 1026 and died in 1103 of natural causes. Patronages – against headaches, of animals. Also known as William Firmatus of Tours.

William Firmatus was a Canon and a Physician of Tours, France. Following a spiritual prompting against greed, he gave away all his possessions to the poor. He lived a reclusive life with his mother until he entered a hermitage near Laval, Mayenne. He spent the rest of his life on pilgrimages and as a hermit at Savigny and Mantilly.

According to legend, he saved the people of Choilley-Dardenay during drought by striking the ground with his pilgrim’s staff, which caused a spring of water to bubble up. He died in 1103 of natural causes.

William is especially noted for his love of wildlife and the unusual level of communication he seemed to have had with animals. This was so much so, that the local people used to ask his help with animals that raided their crops. One particular miracle involved a wild boar, which William led by the ear from a farmer’s plot, instructing it to fast for the night in a solitary cell.

The Little Bollandists go on to record, along with the boar miracle:

It is said of him, that even the wildest birds would approach him without fear and come and eat out of his hand and take refuge under his clothes from the cold. When he sat by a pond near his cell, the fish would swim to his feet and readily allow themselves to be taken up by the Servant of God, who put them back into the water, without hurting them.

Upon William’s death, three townships disputed possession of his remains. The winner was Mortain, which, to procure the relics, used the full force of “its entire clergy and an innumerable crowd of its people”.

Saint William is also venerated at Savigny and Mantilly. The Catholic Encyclopedia mentions William in its article on Coutances, which accords him special honour as well and, mentions his Patronage of the collegiate Church of Mortain. He is a Patron against headaches and of all wild and domestic animals.

Against EPIDEMICS, DOMESTIC ANIMALS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 5 January – Saint Gerlach (c 1100-c 1170)

Posted on January 5, 2021January 4, 2023 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 5 January – Saint Gerlach (c 1100-c 1170) Hermit – born in c 1100 at Valkenburg, Netherlands and died in 1172 – 1177 at Houthem, in the Province of Limburg in the Kingdom of the Netherlands of natural causes. Also known as Gerlac von Houthem, Gerlac of Maastricht, Gerlac of Valkenberg, Gerlach, Gerlache, Gerlacus, Gerlachus, Gerlak. Patronages – against cattle disease, against plague/epidemics, of domestic animals.

The Vita Beati Gerlaci Eremytae, written around 1227, describes his legend and life. Originally a licentious soldier and brigand, Gerlach became a pious Christian upon the death of his wife and went on pilgrimage to Rome and Jerusalem. At Rome, he performed rites of penance for the sins of his youth, made a general confession of his sins to Pope Eugene III and then proceeded to Jerusalem where the latter had sent him. There he tended the sick, which he did for seven years.

Upon returning to the Netherlands, he gave up all of his possessions to the poor and took up residence in a hollow oak on his former Estate near Houthem. He ate bread mixed with ash and travelled by foot, each day on pilgrimage to Maastricht, to the Basilica of Saint Servatius.

Neighbouring Monks wished to see him enter their Monastery, especially since they were convinced that Gerlach was very rich and hid his treasure in the hollow of the tree where he lived. The local Bishop, therefore, intervened and ordered that the oak be felled. When he saw that there was no hidden treasure, he ordered that the tree be made into boards and be used to build a new hermitage for Gerlach.

The people of the neighbourhood already considered him a saint and he also enjoyed the protection of great figures, such as Hildegard of Bingen .

Legend states that when Gerlach had done enough penance, water from the local well transformed itself into wine three times, as a sign that his sins had been forgiven. He died shortly after, barely fifty and legend has it that the last rites were administered to him by the Saint Servatius himself.

The Order of Premontre (Norbertines) claims his as one of theirs, due to his “rough white habit” and has him on its liturgical calendar as a “Blessed.” Below is the Church of St Gerlac in Houthem where his relics now rest. The Abbey of St Gerlac, which was named after him, is now a hotel.

DOMESTIC ANIMALS, EYES - Diseases, of the BLIND, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 14 January – St Felix of Nola (Died c 253)

Posted on January 14, 2019January 13, 2023 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 14 January – St Felix of Nola (Died c 253) Priest, Confessor, Apostle of Charity – born in the 3rd century at Nola, near Naples, Italy and died c 253 of natural causes. Patronages – against eye disease, against eye trouble, against false witness, against lies, against perjury, domestic animals, of Nola, Italy.

The Roman Martyrology states of him today: “At Nola in Campania, the birthday of St Felix, Priest, who (as is related by Bishop, St Paulinus of Nola), after beomg subjected to torments by the persecutors, was cast into prison and extended, bound hand foot, on (snail) shells and broken earthenware. During the night, however, his bonds were loosened and he was delivered by an Angel. The persecution over, he brought many to the Faith of Christ by his exemplary life and teaching and renowned for many miracles, he rested in peace.”

Much of the little information we have about Felix comes from the letters and poetry of Saint Paulinus of Nola (354-431), written 100 years after St Felix’s death.

Felix was the elder son of Hermias, a Syrian centurion who had retired to Nola, Italy. After his father’s death Felix sold off most of his property and possessions, gave the proceeds to the poor and pursued a clerical vocation. After Felix divested himself of all his possessions, St Maximus, the bishop of Nola, a town near Naples, Italy, ordained him a priest and made him his assistant. In 250, when Emperor Decius decreed a ferocious persecution, Maximus installed himself in a desert hiding place from which he safely governed the church. Because soldiers could not find Maximus at Nola, they tortured and jailed Felix in his place. However, just as St Peter had had a miraculous escape from prison, an angel is said to have released Felix. Then the angel guided Felix to rescue Maximus, who was near death.

The persecution subsided in 251. Upon the death of Maximus the people wanted to name Felix as bishop but he declined. Instead he retired to a small farm, where for the rest of his life he raised crops to feed himself and provide alms for the poor. St Felix died around 260.

Every year Paulinus wrote a poem to celebrate Felix’s feast day. In one he said that while Felix did not die a martyr he was willing to offer his life as a sacrifice to God. Paulinus thus provided one of the earliest definitions of a “confessor”:

“This festive day celebrates Felix’s birthday, the day on which he died physically on earth and was born for Christ in heaven, winning his heavenly crown as a martyr who did not shed his blood. For he died as confessor, though he did not avoid execution by choice, since God accepted his inner faith in place of blood. God looks into the silence of hearts and equates those ready to suffer with those who have already done so, for He considers this inward test as sufficient and dispenses with physical execution in case of true devotion. Martyrdom without bloodshed is enough for Him if mind and faith are ready to suffer and are fervent towards God.

Paulinus adopted Felix as his patron saint, a custom that had its roots in the early church. But for Paulinus, a patron was more than a namesake. Felix not only interceded for him in heaven. He also accompanied him spiritually as an encourager, guide, and protector, as Paulinus explained in the following passage:

Father and lord, best of patrons to servants however unworthy, at last our prayer is answered to celebrate your birthday within your threshold. . . .You know what toils on land and sea have . . . kept me far from your abode in a distant world, because I have always and everywhere had you near me and have called on you in the grim moments of travel and in the uncertainties of life.. . . I never sailed without you, for I felt your protection in Christ the Lord, when I overcame rough seas. On land and water my journeying is always made safe through you. Felix, I beg you, address a prayer on behalf of your own, to that Embodiment of the calm of eternal love and peace, to Him on whose great name you depend. Amen

Five churches have been built at, or near the place, where St Felix was first interred, which was without the precincts of the city of Nola. His precious remains are kept in the cathedral but certain portions are at Rome, Benevento, and some other places. In time a new church in Nola was dedicated in the name of St Felix. People travelled from far away to see the burial place of this revered saint. St Paulinus, who acted as porter to one of these churches, testifies to numerous pilgrimages made in honour of Felix.

st felix wall mural — An ancient mural of St Felix in one of these Churches

The poems and letters of Paulinus on Felix are the source from which St Gregory of Tours, Venerable Bede, and the priest Marcellus have drawn their biographies. There is another Felix of Nola, bishop and martyr under a Prefect Martianus. He should not be considered to be the same as the above.

Burial place of Felix of Nola in Cimitile

One of the most well-known legends of St Felix relates to a spider. It goes as follows:
Shortly following the imprisonment of Bishop Maximus, Felix was taken into custody by Roman soldiers, imprisoned, scourged and tortured and wrapped with heavy chains in his prison cell. He miraculously escaped from his cell, following visitation from an angel who instructed him to go to the aid of his ailing bishop. As the angel encouraged Felix, his chains fell off and his prison cell was opened. Felix rescued Maximus, bearing him on his back (despite weakness and small stature) and effectively hiding both men from Roman authorities until the end of Decius’ reign.
The second attempt to imprison Felix and Maximus was miraculously prevented by a spider! Upon hearing Roman soldiers approaching, Felix crawled into a small hole in the building he was staying, where it is said a spider immediately spun a web over the opening. The guards saw the spider web and ceased searching for the men, assuming that the room had been undisturbed for some time.

DOCTORS of the Church, DOMESTIC ANIMALS, FATHERS of the Church, Of BISHOPS, Of Catholic Education, Students, Schools, Colleges etc, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 7 December – St Ambrose (c 340-397) – Father and Doctor of the Church

Posted on December 7, 2018December 6, 2022 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 7 December – St Ambrose (c 340-397) – Father and Doctor of the Church

Today the Catholic Church celebrates the memory of St Ambrose, the brilliant Bishop of Milan who influenced St Augustine’s conversion and was named a Doctor of the Church.

Like Augustine himself, the older Ambrose (born around 340) was a highly educated man who sought to harmonise Greek and Roman intellectual culture with the Catholic faith. Trained as a lawyer, he eventually became the governor of Milan. He manifested his intellectual gifts in defence of Christian doctrine even before his baptism. st ambrose

While Ambrose was serving as the governor of Milan, a bishop named Auxentius was leading the diocese. Although he was an excellent public speaker with a forceful personality, Auxentius also followed the heresy of Arius, which denied the divinity of Christ. Although the Council of Nicaea had reasserted the traditional teaching on Jesus’ deity, many educated members of the Church – including, at one time, a majority of the world’s bishops – looked to Arianism as a more sophisticated and cosmopolitan version of Christianity. Bishop Auxentius became notorious for forcing clergy throughout the region to accept Arian creeds.

At the time of Auxentius’ death, Ambrose had not yet even been baptised. But his deep understanding and love of the traditional faith were already clear to the faithful of Milan. They considered him the most logical choice to succeed Auxentius, even though he was still just a catechumen. With the help of Emperor Valentinan, who ruled the Western Roman Empire at the time, a mob of Milanese Catholics virtually forced Ambrose to become their bishop against his own will. Eight days after his baptism, Ambrose received episcopal consecration on 7 December 374. The date would eventually become his liturgical feast.

St. Ambrose ordained as Bishop. Painting by Juan de Valdés. — St Ambrose consecrated as Bishop

Bishop Ambrose did not disappoint those who had clamoured for his appointment and consecration. He began his ministry by giving everything he owned to the poor and to the Church. He looked to the writings of Greek theologians like St Basil for help in explaining the Church’s traditional teachings to the people during times of doctrinal confusion.

Like the fathers of the Eastern Church, Ambrose drew from the intellectual reserves of pre-Christian philosophy and literature to make the faith more comprehensible to his hearers. This harmony of faith with other sources of knowledge served to attract, among others, the young professor Aurelius Augustinus – a man Ambrose taught and baptised, whom history knows as St Augustine of Hippo.

STS AUGUSTINE AND AMBROSE — St Augustine and St Ambrose

Ambrose himself lived simply, wrote prolifically and celebrated Mass each day. He found time to counsel an amazing range of public officials, pagan inquirers, confused Catholics and penitent sinners. The people of Milan never regretted their insistence that the reluctant civil servant should lead the local church. His popularity, in fact, served to keep at bay those who would have preferred to force him from the diocese, including the Western Empress Justina and a group of her advisers, who sought to rid the West of adherence to the Nicene Creed. Ambrose heroically refused her attempts to impose heretical bishops in Italy, along with her efforts to seize churches in the name of Arianism. st ambrose 1435

Ambrose also displayed remarkable courage when he publicly denied communion to the Emperor Theodosius, who had ordered the massacre of 7,000 citizens in Thessalonica. The chastened emperor took Ambrose’s rebuke to heart, publicly repenting of the massacre and doing penance for the murders.

“Nor was there afterwards a day on which he did not grieve for his mistake,” Ambrose himself noted when he spoke at the emperor’s funeral. The rebuke spurred a profound change in Emperor Theodosius. He reconciled himself with the Church and the bishop, who attended to the emperor on his deathbed.

St. Ambrose died in 397. His 23 years of diligent service had turned a deeply troubled diocese into an exemplary outpost for the faith. His writings remained an important point of reference for the Church, well into the medieval era and beyond. st ambrose

At the Catholic Church’s Fifth Ecumenical Council – which took place at Constantinople in 553, and remains a source of authoritative teaching for both Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians – the assembled bishops named Ambrose, along with this protege St Augustine, as being among the foremost “holy fathers” of the Church, whose teaching all bishops should “in every way follow.” 4 original latin fathes - jerome, gregory, ambrose, augustine - 3 sept 2018

4 ORIGINAL LATIN FATHERS - JEROME, AMBROSE, GREGORY & AUGUSTINE

DOCTORS of the Church, DOMESTIC ANIMALS, For FAITH in the BLESSED SACRAMENT, FRANCISCAN OFM, Of ANIMALS / ANIMAL WELFARE, Of BEGGARS, the POOR, against POVERTY, PATRONAGE - LOST KEYS/LOST ARTICLES, PATRONAGE - of MOTHERS, MOTHERHOOD, PATRONAGE - THE ELDERLY, OLD AGE, PATRONAGE-INFERTILITY & SAFE CHILDBIRTH, PREGNANCY, SAILORS, MARINERS, NAVIGATORS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 13 June – St Anthony of Padua O.F.M! Evangelical Doctor – Hammer of Heretics – Professor of Miracles – Wonder-Worker – Ark of the Testament – Repository of Holy Scripture

Posted on June 13, 2018June 13, 2023 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 13 June – St Anthony of Padua OFM (1195-1231) Evangelical Doctor – Hammer of Heretics – Professor of Miracles – Wonder-Worker – Ark of the Testament – Repository of Holy Scripture.

St Anthony of Padua is one of the most famous disciples of St Francis of Assisi. He was a famous preacher and worker of miracles in his own day and throughout the eight centuries since his death, he has so generously come to the assistance of the faithful who invoke him, that he is known throughout the world amongst many who are not Catholics too. st-anthony-info

The gospel call to leave everything and follow Christ was the rule of Anthony’s life. Over and over again, God called him to something new in his plan. Every time Anthony responded with renewed zeal and self-sacrifice to serve his Lord Jesus more completely.

His journey as the servant of God began as a very young man when he decided to join the Augustinians in Lisbon, giving up a future of wealth and power to be a servant of God. Later when the bodies of the first Franciscan martyrs went through the Portuguese city where he was stationed, he was again filled with an intense longing to be one of those closest to Jesus himself: those who die for the Good News.
HEADER 2 - Tanzio SantAntonio

So Anthony entered the Franciscan Order and set out to preach to the Moors. But an illness prevented him from achieving that goal.

He went to Italy and was stationed in a small hermitage where he spent most of his time praying, reading the Scriptures and doing menial tasks.

The call of God came again at an ordination where no one was prepared to speak. The humble and obedient Anthony hesitantly accepted the task. The years of searching for Jesus in prayer, of reading sacred Scripture and of serving him in poverty, chastity and obedience had prepared Anthony to allow the Spirit to use his talents. Anthony’s sermon was astounding to those who expected an unprepared speech and knew not the Spirit’s power to give people words.

Recognised as a great man of prayer and a great Scripture and theology scholar, Anthony became the first friar to teach theology to the other friars. Soon he was called from that post to preach to the Albigensians in France, using his profound knowledge of Scripture and theology to convert and reassure those who had been misled by their denial of Christ’s divinity and of the sacraments..

St. Anthony Preaching, detail from the Miracle of St. Anthony of Padua, from the cupola, 1798 (fresco)

The number of those who came to hear him was sometimes so great that no church was large enough to accommodate and so he had to preach in the open air. Frequently St Anthony wrought veritable miracles of conversion. Deadly enemies were reconciled. Thieves and usurers made restitution. Calumniators and detractors recanted and apologised. He was so energetic in defending the truths of the Catholic Faith that many heretics returned to the Church. This occasioned the epitaph given him by Pope Gregory IX “the ark of the covenant.”

In all his labours he never forgot the admonition of his spiritual father, St Francis, that the spirit of prayer must not be extinguished. If he spent the day in teaching and heard the confession of sinners till late in the evening, then many hours of the night were spent in intimate union with God before the Blessed Sacrament. toledo-gerard-st-anthony-padua

After he led the friars in northern Italy for three years, he made his headquarters in the city of Padua. He resumed his preaching and began writing sermon notes to help other preachers. In the spring of 1231 Anthony withdrew to a friary at Camposampiero where he had a sort of treehouse built as a hermitage. There he prayed and prepared for death. After receiving the last sacraments he kept looking upward with a smile on his countenance. When he was asked what he saw there, he answered: “I see my Lord.” He breathed forth his soul on 13 June 1231 being only thirty six years old. Soon the children in the streets of the city of Padua were crying: “The saint is dead, Anthony is dead.”

Once a man, at whose home St Anthony was spending the night, came upon the saint and found him, in ecstasy, holding in his arms the Child Jesus, unspeakably beautiful and surrounded with heavenly light. For this reason St Anthony is often depicted holding the Child Jesus. padua13-6 anthony

Pope Gregory IX enrolled him among the saints in the very next year. At Padua, a magnificent basilica was built in his honour, his holy relics were entombed there in 1263. From the time of his death up to the present day, countless miracles have occurred through St Anthony’s intercession, so that he is known as the Wonder-Worker. In 1946 St Anthony was declared a Doctor of the Church and titled “The Evangelical Doctor. For more on St Anthony, including why he is invoked for the finding of lost articles, here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/06/13/saint-of-the-day-13-june-st-anthony-of-paduao-f-m-evangelical-doctor-hammer-of-heretics-professor-of-miracles-wonder-worker-ark-of-the-covenant/ Assumption-of-St.-Anthony-of-Padua-Thomas-Willeboirts-Bosschaert-Oil-Painting

DOMESTIC ANIMALS, Of BEGGARS, the POOR, against POVERTY, Of GARDENERS, Horticulturists, Farmers, Of HOSPITALS, NURSES, NURSING ASSOCIATIONS, Of PILGRIMS, Of the SICK, the INFIRM, All ILLNESS, Of TRAVELLERS / MOTORISTS, PATRONAGE - MENTAL ILLNESS, PATRONAGE - PRISONERS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 17 March – St Gertrude of Nivelles O.S.B. (626-659)

Posted on March 17, 2018March 15, 2023 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 17 March – St Gertrude of Nivelles O.S.B. (626-659) was a 7th-century Religious Abbess who, with her mother Itta, founded the Abbey of Nivelles located in present-day Belgium. She was born in 626 at Landen, Belgium and died on 17 March 659 at Nivelles, Belgium of natural causes. Patronages – against fear of mice and rates, against suriphobia, fever, mental disorders, insanity, of cats, of gardeners, innkeepers, hospitals, the mentally ill, pilgrims, travellers, suriphobics, sick, poor, prisoners, Landen, Belgium, Nivelles, Belgium, Wattenscheid, Germany. Attributes – a nun with a crosier, with cats, with mice, a woman spinning. st gertrude of nivelles - patron of cats.2 Nivelles_JPG00_(1)

Our Saint was born at Landen, Belgium in 626 and died at Nivelles, 659; she was just thirty-three, the same age as Our Lord. Both her parents, Pepin of Landen and Itta were held to be holy by those who knew them; her sister Begga is numbered among the Saints. On her husband’s death in 640, Itta founded a Benedictine monastery at Nivelles, which is near Brussels and appointed Gertrude its abbess when she reached twenty, tending to her responsibilities well, with her mother’s assistance and following her in giving encouragement and help to monks, particularly Irish ones, to do missionary work in the locale.

Saint Gertrude’s piety was evident even when she was as young as ten, when she turned down the offer of a noble marriage, declaring that she would not marry him or any other suitor: Christ alone would be her bridegroom.

She was known for her hospitality to pilgrims and her aid to missionary monks. She gave land to one monk so that he could build a monastery at Fosse. By her early thirties Gertrude had become so weakened by the austerity of abstaining from food and sleep that she had to resign her office and spent the rest of her days studying Scripture and doing penance. It is said that on the day before her death she sent a messenger to Fosse, asking the superior if he knew when she would die. st-gertrude-of-nivelles6x gertrude nivelles

His reply indicated that death would come the next day during holy Mass-the prophecy was fulfilled. Her feast day is observed by gardeners, who regard fine weather on that day as a sign to begin spring planting.

Devotion to St. Gertrude became widely spread in the Lowlands and neighbouring countries.

Commonly seen running up her pastoral staff or cloak are hopeful-looking mice representing Souls in Purgatory, to which she had an intense devotion, just as with St Gertrude the Great. Even as recently as 1822, offerings of mice made of gold and silver were left at her shrine. Another patronage is to travellers on the high seas. It is held that one sailor, suffering misfortune while under sail, prayed to the Saint and was delivered safely.

Just before her death in 659, Gertrude instructed the nuns at Nivelles to bury her in an old veil left behind by a travelling pilgrimess and Gertrude’s own hair shirt. Gertrude’s choice of burial clothing is a pattern in medieval hagiography as an expression of humility and piety. Her death and the image of her weak and humble figure is in fact a critical point in her biographer’s narrative. Her monastery also benefited from this portrayal because the hair cloth and veil in which Gertrude was interred became relics. At Nivelles, her relics were only publicly displayed for feast days, Easterand other holy days.

s. 220px-0_Gertrude_de_Nivelles_-_JPG (1)

220px-Gertude_nivelle_shrine02 — Shrine of St Gertrude of Nivelles, originally made in 1272-1298; this reproduction, in the Pushkin Museum, was cast from the original. In 1940, a German bomb smashed the original reliquary into 337 fragments. It was subsequently rebuilt.

DOMESTIC ANIMALS, EPILEPSY, Of ANIMALS / ANIMAL WELFARE, Of GARDENERS, Horticulturists, Farmers, SAINT of the DAY, SKIN DISEASES, RASHES

Saint of the Day – 17 January – St Anthony Abbot (c 251-356)

Posted on January 17, 2018January 16, 2023 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 17 January – St Anthony Abbot (c 251-358) Also known as: • Abba Antonius • Anthony of Egypt• Anthony of the Desert• Anthony the Anchorite• Anthony the Great• Anthony the Hermit• Antonio Abate• Father of Cenobites• Father of All Monks• Father of Western Monasticism. PATRONAGES – against eczema/skin diseases/skin rashes, epileptics; against ergotism, against pestilence, , of amputees, anchorites, animals, basket makers and weavers, brushmakers, butchers, cemetery workers, domestic animals, farmers, gravediggers, graveyards, hermits, pigs, monks, relief from pestilence, swineherds, Hospitallers, Tempio-Ampurias, Italy, Diocese of 9 Cities.

The biography of Anthony’s life by Athanasius of Alexandria helped to spread the concept of Christian monasticism, particularly in Western Europe via its Latin translations. He is often erroneously considered the first Christian monk but as his biography and other sources make clear, there were many ascetics before him. Anthony was, however, the first to go into the wilderness (about ad 270), which seems to have contributed to his renown. Accounts of Anthony enduring supernatural temptation during his sojourn in the Eastern Desert of Egypt inspired the often-repeated subject of the temptation of St Anthony in Western art and literature. St Anthony is appealed to against infectious diseases, particularly skin diseases. In the past, many such afflictions, including ergotism, erysipelas, and shingles, were referred to as St Anthony’s fire. HEADER - ST anthonyab

Anthony was born in Egypt in 250. At age 20, when his parents died, Anthony made sure his younger sister’s education could be completed in a community of holy women. He then sold all his possessions and left for a life of solitude in the desert. There an elderly hermit taught him about prayer and penance. For 20 years, he lived in isolation. Anthony wanted to know God deeply. He did penance by taking only bread and water once a day at sunset. The devil appeared to him in terrible shapes to tempt him. But Anthony had great confidence in God. Anthony’s unusual life did not make him harsh but radiant with God’s love and compassion.

Annibale_Carracci_-_The_Temptation_of_St_Anthony_Abbot_(detail)_-_WGA4426 — The Temptation of St Anthony (detail) – Carracci

Stories of Anthony’s holiness spread and people came to learn from him how to become holy. Some admirers wanted to stay, so Anthony—at age 54—founded a type of monastery consisting of hermitages near one another. Anthony wrote a rule that guided the monks. Later when Anthony heard of the persecutions of the Christians, he wanted to die a martyr. At 60, he left the desert to minister to the Christians in prisons, fearlessly exposing himself to danger. He came to realise that a person can die daily for Christ by serving him in ordinary ways with great love. st-anthony-abbot-LARGE - 1519 Martín_Bernat_-_Saint_Anthony_the_Abbot_and_Donors_-_Google_Art_Project anthony - LARGE

So he returned to the desert to his life of prayer and penance. His life of solitude was again interrupted, however, when at age 88 he had a vision in which he saw the harm Arian followers were doing to the Church by denying the divinity of Christ. Anthony left for Alexandria to preach against this heresy. At age 90, another vision sent Anthony searching the desert for Saint Paul, the first hermit. These two holy men met and spoke of the wonders of God. Anthony is said to have died peacefully in a cave at age 105. SAVOLDO-Giovanni-Girolamo-St-Anthony-Abbot-And-St-Paul.jpg

The life of Anthony will remind many people of St Francis of Assisi. At 20, Anthony was so moved by the Gospel message, “Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor” (Mark 10:21b), that he actually did just that with his large inheritance. He is different from Francis in that most of Anthony’s life was spent in solitude. At 54, he responded to many requests and founded a sort of monastery of scattered cells. Again like Francis, he had great fear of “stately buildings and well-laden tables.” Like Francis and of course, many saints, Anthony too desired martyrdom.
Anthony is associated in art with a T-shaped cross (which St Francis adopted), a pig and a book. The pig and the cross are symbols of his valiant warfare with the devil—the cross his constant means of power over evil spirits, the pig a symbol of the devil himself. The book recalls his preference for “the book of nature” over the printed word. ST ANTHONY ABBOT AND ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI

ADVENT, DOCTORS of the Church, DOMESTIC ANIMALS, FATHERS of the Church, Of BISHOPS, Of Catholic Education, Students, Schools, Colleges etc, SAINT of the DAY

More on today’s Saint – 7 December – St Ambrose (c340-397) Confessor, Bishop, Father and Doctor of the Church

Posted on December 7, 2017December 6, 2022 by AnaStpaul

More on today’s Saint – St Ambrose (c 340-397)Confessor, Bishop, Father and Doctor of the Church – Theologian, Apostle of Charity, Writer, Musician, Preacher, Reformer and protector – all-in-all a brilliant, charismatic, vibrant man. Patronages – • bee keepers• bees• Bishops• candle makers• chandlers• domestic animals• French Commissariat• geese• honey cake bakers• learning• livestock• police officers • students, school-children• security personnel• starlings• wax melters• wax refiners• Archdiocese of Milan, Italy• 8 Cities.

Traditionally, Ambrose is credited with promoting “antiphonal chant”, a style of chanting in which one side of the choir responds alternately to the other, as well as with composing Veni redemptor gentium, an Advent hymn. Ambrose is one of the four original Doctors of the Church and is the Patron saint of Milan. He is notable for his influence on St Augustine, whom he Baptised.

This politician-turned churchman was profoundly aware of his lack of preparation for this great responsibility as Bishop and so set himself immediately to prayer and the study of Scripture. His deep spirituality and love of God’s Word married together with the oratorical skill acquired in law and politics made St Ambrose one of the greatest preachers of the early church.

His feast day in the Roman calendar is 7 December, the day he was Ordained Bishop. From the Roman liturgy for the Feast of St. Ambrose: “Lord, you made Saint Ambrose an outstanding teacher of the Catholic faith and gave him the courage of an apostle. Raise up in your Church more leaders after your own heart, to guide us with courage and wisdom. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.”

Early mosaic of Ambrose that might be an actual portrait.

Here is Jimmy Akin’s article “St Ambrose: Strangest Life Story Ever?”
1) Who was St Ambrose?

St Ambrose of Milan was born around A.D. 338 and died in 397.
He was the bishop of Milan, Italy.

2) What makes is his life story so strange?

Originally, he was a government official, he became bishop in a most extraordinary way.
After the death of the local bishop, the Catholics and Arians got into a vehement conflict about who should be the new bishop.
Ambrose was trying to keep the peace and settle the two groups down when someone—allegedly a small boy—began chanting “Ambrose, bishop!”
Soon the two groups began chanting together that Ambrose should be the new bishop.
(The Arians, apparently, felt that although Ambrose was Catholic in belief he would be a kinder bishop than they otherwise would likely get.)
This set of circumstances is extraordinary enough, but what’s even more extraordinary is that Ambrose wasn’t even a Christian yet. He was an unbaptised catechumen!

3) Can it get any stranger?

Ambrose did not want to be bishop and so he went into hiding.
The Emperor Valentinian then got word of all this and declared severe penalties on anyone who would give Ambrose shelter.
He was thus forced to come out of hiding and accept his ordination as bishop.
They quickly ran him through the preliminary grades of orders and he was consecrated a bishop about a week later.

4) How did he do as bishop?

He was great! That’s part of why he ended up as a doctor of the Church.
He left many wonderful writings. He helped convert St Augustine. And he combated heresy.
He also introduced a practice into the West that has remained with us to this day.

5) What practice was that?

Lectio Divina. Pope Benedict XVI explained:
Culturally well-educated but at the same time ignorant of the Scriptures, the new Bishop briskly began to study them.
From the works of Origen, the indisputable master of the “Alexandrian School”, he learned to know and to comment on the Bible.
Thus, Ambrose transferred to the Latin environment the meditation on the Scriptures which Origen had begun, introducing in the West the practice of lectio divina.
The method of lectio served to guide all of Ambrose’s preaching and writings, which stemmed precisely from prayerful listening to the Word of God.

6) How did Ambrose help with Augustine’s conversion?

That also involved a rather dramatic story, in which Ambrose stood up to the emperor at the risk of his own life.
Pope Benedict explained:
A passage from St Augustine’s Confessions is relevant.
He had come to Milan as a teacher of rhetoric; he was a sceptic and not Christian. He was seeking the Christian truth but was not capable of truly finding it.
What moved the heart of the young African rhetorician, sceptic and downhearted and what impelled him to definitive conversion was not above all Ambrose’s splendid homilies (although he deeply appreciated them).
It was rather the testimony of the Bishop and his Milanese Church that prayed and sang as one intact body.
It was a Church that could resist the tyrannical ploys of the Emperor and his mother, who in early 386 again demanded a church building for the Arians’ celebrations.
In the building that was to be requisitioned, Augustine relates, “the devout people watched, ready to die with their Bishop”.
This testimony of the Confessions is precious because it points out that something was moving in Augustine, who continues: “We too, although spiritually tepid, shared in the excitement of the whole people” (Confessions 9, 7).

7) Was Ambrose remarkable in other ways?

He was remarkable in many ways, one of them we today would find quite surprising.
Pope Benedict explained:
[Augustine] writes in his text that whenever he went to see the Bishop of Milan, he would regularly find him taken up with catervae [Latin, “crowd”]of people full of problems for whose needs he did his utmost.
There was always a long queue waiting to talk to Ambrose, seeking in him consolation and hope.
When Ambrose was not with them, with the people (and this happened for the space of the briefest of moments), he was either restoring his body with the necessary food or nourishing his spirit with reading.
Here Augustine marvels because Ambrose read the Scriptures with his mouth shut, only with his eyes (cf. Confessions, 6, 3).
Indeed, in the early Christian centuries reading was conceived of strictly for proclamation and reading aloud also facilitated the reader’s understanding.
That Ambrose could scan the pages with his eyes alone suggested to the admiring Augustine a rare ability for reading and familiarity with the Scriptures.

Got that?

Ambrose was known for the ability to read with his mouth shut, not using his voice or moving his lips.
We’re all taught to do this today, but it was rare in the ancient world! Back then, if you even could read, you usually had to at least move your lips.
Ambrose also passed on to Augustine a very famous piece of advice, that many people quote today without even knowing where it comes from.

8) What advice was that?

Augustine noted that the liturgical customs in Rome were different than those used in other places and Ambrose told him something we still quote today.

We paraphrase it in English, but it’s the same thought: “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Some-Advice-On-Prayer-2-saint-ambrose-of-milan-1 St_Ambrose Some-Advice-On-Prayer-2-St.-Ambrose-Stained-Glass

Against Unexplained FEVER or HIGH Temperatures, DOMESTIC ANIMALS, EARACHE, EAR disorders, EPILEPSY, Of ANIMALS / ANIMAL WELFARE, SAINT of the DAY

Saints of the Day – 16 September – St Pope Cornelius and St Cyprian of Carthage – Martyrs

Posted on September 16, 2017September 15, 2023 by AnaStpaul

Saints of the Day – 16 September – St Pope Cornelius and St Cyprian of Carthage – Martyrs. St Pope Cornelius – Papal Ascension: 251. He was Martyred in 253 and his remains were buried at the Cemetery of Saint Callistus Rome. “Cornelius” means ‘battle horn.‘ Patronages – • against earache; earache sufferers• epileptics; against epilepsy• against fever• against myoclonus• cattle• domestic animals• Kornelimünster, Germany. St Cornelius was a Bishop becoming ar reluctant 21st Pope, elected after a 1 1/2 year period, during which the persecutions were so severe that Papal ascension was an immediate death sentence. He worked to maintain unity in a time of schism and apostasy and fought Novatianism. He also called a Synod of Bishops to confirm him as rightful Pontiff, as opposed to the anti-pope Novatian. He had the support of Saint Cyprian of Carthage and Saint Dionysius. He welcomed back those who had apostacised during the persecutions of Decius – the documents which settled this matter prove the final authority of the Pope. Exiled to Centumcellae in 252 by Roman authorities to punish Christians in general, who were said to have provoked the gods to send plague against Rome. Martyr. A document from Cornelius shows the size of the Roman Clergy during his Papacy – 46 Priests, 7 Deacons, 7 Sub-deacons, approximately 50,000 Christians. His name is in the Communicantes in the Canon of the Mass.

St Cyprian of Carthage – (Died in 190 in Carthage, North Africa – Bishop and Martyr, learned Rhetorician, Teacher, Writer, Theologian – beheaded 14 September 258 in Carthage, North Africa). Patronages – • Algeria (proclaimed on 6 July 1914 by Pope Pius X)• North Africa (proclaimed on 6 July 1914 by Pope Pius X, on 10 January 1958 by Pope Pius XII and on 27 July 1962 by Pope John XXIII NOTE – no, I don’t know why it was done so many times).

St Cyprian was born to wealthy pagan parents. He taught rhetoric and literature. He was adult convert in 246, taught the faith by Saint Caecilius of Carthage. He was ordained in 247 and became the Bishop of Carthage in 249. During the persecution of Decius, beginning in 250, Cyprian lived in hiding, covertly ministering to his flock; his enemies condemned him for being a coward and not standing up for his faith. As a writer he was second only in importance to Tertullian as a Latin Father of the Church. Friend of Saint Pontius. St Cyprian was involved in the great argument over whether apostates should be readmitted to the Church; Cyprian believed they should but under stringent conditions. He was supported St Pope Cornelius against the anti-pope Novatian. During the persecutions of Valerian he was exiled to Curubis in 257, brought back Carthage and then martyred in 258. His name is in the Communicantes in the Canon of the Mass. CORNELIUS POPE Sts. Cornelius and Cyprian

An excerpt written to Cornelius, Bishop of Rome condemned to martyrdom for his faith, from his brother Bishop Cyprian of Carthage, himself to give his witness as a Martyr a few years later. Read on the feasts of Sts Cornelius and Cyprian, Martyrs, on 16 September.

Cyprian to his brother Cornelius.

My very dear brother, we have heard of the glorious witness given by your courageous faith. On learning of the honour you had won by your witness, we were filled with such joy that we felt ourselves sharers and companions in your praiseworthy achievements. After all, we have the same Church, the same mind, the same unbroken harmony. Why then should a priest not take pride in the praise given to a fellow priest as though it were given to him? What brotherhood fails to rejoice in the happiness of its brothers wherever they are?

Words cannot express how great was the exultation and delight here when we heard of your good fortune and brave deeds: how you stood out as leader of your brothers in their declaration of faith, while the leader’s confession was enhanced as they declared their faith. You led the way to glory, but you gained many companions in that glory; being foremost in your readiness to bear witness on behalf of all, you prevailed on your people to become a single witness.

We cannot decide which we ought to praise, your own ready and unshaken faith or the love of your brothers who would not leave you. While the courage of the bishop who thus led the way has been demonstrated, at the same time the unity of the brotherhood who followed has been manifested. Since you have one heart and one voice, it is the Roman Church as a whole that has thus born witness.

Dearest brother bright and shining is the faith which the blessed Apostle praised in your community. He foresaw in the spirit the praise your courage deserves and the strength that could not be broken; he was heralding the future when he testified to your achievements; his praise of the fathers was a challenge to the sons. Your unity, your strength have become shining examples of these virtues to the rest of the brethren.

Divine providence has now prepared us. God’s merciful design has warned us that the day of our own struggle, our own contest, is at hand. By that shared love which binds us close together, we are doing all we can to exhort our congregation, to give ourselves unceasingly to fastings, vigils and prayers in common. These are the heavenly weapons which give us the strength to stand firm and endure; they are the spiritual defenses, the God-given armaments that protect us.

Let us then remember one another, united in mind and heart. Let us pray without ceasing, you for us, we for you; by the love we share we shall thus relieve the strain of these great trials.

DOMESTIC ANIMALS, For FAITH in the BLESSED SACRAMENT, FRANCISCAN OFM, Of ANIMALS / ANIMAL WELFARE, Of BEGGARS, the POOR, against POVERTY, PATRONAGE - LOST KEYS/LOST ARTICLES, PATRONAGE - of MOTHERS, MOTHERHOOD, PATRONAGE - THE ELDERLY, OLD AGE, PATRONAGE-INFERTILITY & SAFE CHILDBIRTH, PREGNANCY, SAILORS, MARINERS, NAVIGATORS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 13 June – St Anthony of Padua O.F.M! Evangelical Doctor – Hammer of Heretics – Professor of Miracles – Wonder-Worker – Ark of the Testament – Repository of Holy Scripture

Posted on June 13, 2017June 13, 2023 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 13 June – St Anthony of Padua OFM (1195-1231) Evangelical Doctor – KNOWN AS THE Hammer of Heretics – Professor of Miracles – Wonder-Worker – Ark of the Testament – Repository of Holy Scripture (1195 at Lisbon, Portugal – 13 June 1231 of natural causes). Religious Priest and Friar of the Franciscan Order, Evangelist, Preacher, Teacher, Apostle of Charity, Apostle of the Holy Eucharist, Scriptural expert, Miracle Worker, Teacher, Confessor, Defender of the Faith. He was buried on the Tuesday following his death in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, Padua, Italy and legend says that all the sick who visited his new grave were healed. Also known as St Anthony of Lisbon. Patronages – against sterility, against shipwreck, against starvation, American Indians, amputees, animals – both wild and domestic, asses, mariners, elderly people, expectant mothers, for faith in the Blessed Sacrament, fishermen, for good harvests, horses, lost articles, seekers of lost articles, posted articles, oppressed people, poor people, swineherds, travel guides, travellers, Brazil, Portugal, Tigua Indians, 4 Diocese, 17 Cities.

St Anthony of Padua/Lisbon, was a Portuguese Priest and Friar of the Franciscan Order. He was born and raised by a wealthy family in Lisbon, Portugal and died in Padua, Italy. Noted by his contemporaries for his forceful preaching, expert knowledge of scripture and undying love and devotion to the poor and the sick, he was one of the most-quickly Canonised Saints in Church history. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XII on 16 January 1946.

St. Anthony’s Youth & Conversion

St Anthony was born in the year 1195at Lisbon (Portugal) where his father was a captain in the royal army. Already at the age of fifteen years, he had entered the Congregation of Canons Regular of St Augustine and devoted himself with great earnestness both to study and to the practice of piety in the Monastery at Coimbra (Portugal).

About that time some of the first members of the Order of Friars Minor, which St. Francis has founded in 1206 came to Coimbra. They begged from the Canons Regular a small and very poor place, from which by their evangelical poverty and simplicity they edified everyone in the region. Then in 1219 some of these friars, moved by divine inspiration, went as missionaries to preach the Gospel of Christ to the inhabitants of Morocco. There they were brutally martyred for the Faith. Some Christian merchants succeeded in recovering their remains and so brought their relics in triumph back to Coimbra. The relics of St Bernard and companions, the first martyrs of the Franciscan Order, seized St. Anthony with an intense desire to suffer martyrdom in a like manner. So moved by their heroic example he repeatedly begged and petitioned his superiors to be given leave to join the Franciscan Order. In the quiet little Franciscan convent at Coimbra he received a friendly reception and in the same year his earnest wish to be sent to the missions in Africa was fulfilled.

St Anthony’s Arrival in Italy

But God had decreed otherwise. And so, St Anthony scarcely set foot on African soil when he was seized with a grievous illness. Even after recovering from it, he was so weak that, resigning himself to the will of God, he boarded a boat back to Portugal. Unexpectedly a storm came upon them and drove the ship to the east where it found refuge on coast of Sicily. St Anthony was greeted and given shelter by the Franciscans of that island and thus came to be sent to Assisi, where the general chapter of the Order was held in May, 1221. Since he still looked weak and sickly,and gave no evidence of his scholarship, no one paid any attention to the stranger until Father Gratian, the Provincial of friars living in the region of Romagna (Italy), had compassion on him and sent him to the quiet little convent near Forli (also in Italy). There St Anthony remained nine months as chaplain to the hermits, occupied in the lowliest duties of the kitchen and convent and to his heart’s content he practiced interior as well as exterior mortification.

St Anthony, Preacher and Teacher

But the hidden jewel was soon to appear in all its brilliance. For the occasion of a ceremony of ordination some of the hermits along with St Anthony were sent to the town of Forli. Before the ceremony was to begin, however, it was announced that the priest who was to give the sermon had fallen sick. The local superior, to avert the embarrassment of the moment, quickly asked the friars in attendance to volunteer. Each excused himself, saying that he was not prepared, until finally, St Anthony was asked to give it. When he too, excused himself in a most humble manner, his superior ordered him by virtue of the vow of obedience to give the sermon. St Anthony began to speak in a very reserved manner; but soon holy animation seized him and he spoke with such eloquence, learning and unction that everybody was fairly amazed.

When St Francis was informed of the event, he gave St Anthony the mission to preach throughout Italy. At the request of the brethren, St. Anthony was later commissioned also to teach theology, “but in such a manner,” St Francis distinctly wrote, ” that the spirit of prayer be not extinguished either in yourself or in the other brethren.” St Anthony himself placed greater value in the salvation of souls than on learning. For that reason he never ceased to exercise his office as preacher despite his work of teaching.

The number of those who came to hear him was sometimes so great that no church was large enough to accommodate and so he had to preach in the open air. Frequently St. Anthony wrought veritable miracles of conversion. Deadly enemies were reconciled. Thieves and usurers made restitution. Calumniators and detractors recanted and apologised. He was so energetic in defending the truths of the Catholic Faith that many heretics returned to the Church. This occasioned the epitaph given him by Pope Gregory IX “the ark of the covenant.”

Once a man, at whose home St Anthony was spending the night, came upon the saint and found him holding in his arms the Child Jesus, unspeakably beautiful and surrounded with heavenly light. For this reason St. Anthony is often depicted holding the Child Jesus.

St Anthony’s Death

In 1227 St Anthony was elected Minister Provincial of the friars living in northern Italy. Thus he resumed the work of preaching. Due to his taxing labours and his austere penance, he soon felt his strength so spent that he prepared himself for death. After receiving the last sacraments he kept looking upward with a smile on his countenance. When he was asked what he saw there, he answered: “I see my Lord.” He breathed forth his soul on June 13, 1231 A. D., being only thirty six year old. Soon the children in the streets of the city of Padua were crying: “The saint is dead, Anthony is dead.” Anthony is buried in a chapel within the large basilica built to honour him, where his tongue is displayed for veneration in a large reliquary. For, when his body was exhumed thirty years after his death, it was claimed that the tongue glistened and looked as if it was still alive and moist; apparently a further claim was made that this was a sign of his gift of preaching.

Pope Gregory IX enrolled him among the saints in the very next year. At Padua, a magnificent basilica was built in his honour, his holy relics were entombed there in 1263. From the time of his death up to the present day, countless miracles have occurred through St. Anthony’s intercession, so that he is known as the Wonder-Worker. In 1946 St Anthony was declared a Doctor of the Church.

church-s-antonio-476776_1280 — Basilica of St Anthony in Padua

Why do we ask St Anthony to help us find lost things?

St. Anthony had a book of psalms that was quite special to him. It was special because in those days before the printing press, books were rare and expensive. But it was also special because it contained many notes Anthony had made to help him in his preaching and teaching.

Late one night, a young Franciscan decided to leave the community. He’d had enough of that life, so he made plans to just sneak out in the middle of the night. He saw Anthony’s book of psalms on his way out and he snatched it up and ran. He knew that he could sell this precious book for a good deal of money.

Of course, Anthony was quite upset. He prayed that God would change the young man’s heart and bring him back to the Franciscan life. He also hoped that while God was at it, he would return Anthony’s book too. The next day, the young man returned, tired and ashamed, with Anthony’s book. He also brought back his own gifts and talents, which he decided once more to offer to the Franciscan community.

So that’s why we like to ask St Anthony to help us find lost things. He was an extraordinary man who can still help us from heaven, even in the most ordinary ways.

456px-Marcantonio_Bassetti_-_St_Antony_Reading_-_WGA01483

Vicente_Carducho_-_The_Vision_of_St_Anthony_of_Padua_-_WGA4211

DOMESTIC ANIMALS, EPILEPSY, Of ANIMALS / ANIMAL WELFARE, Of GARDENERS, Horticulturists, Farmers, SAINT of the DAY, SKIN DISEASES, RASHES

Saint of the Day – 17 January – St Anthony Abbot t (c 251-358)

Posted on January 17, 2017January 16, 2023 by AnaStpaul

The life of Anthony will remind many people of St Francis of Assisi. At 20, Anthony was so moved by the Gospel message, “Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor” (Mark 10:21b), that he actually did just that with his large inheritance. He is different from Francis in that most of Anthony’s life was spent in solitude. He saw the world completely covered with snares and gave the Church and the world the witness of solitary asceticism, great personal mortification and prayer. But no saint is antisocial and Anthony drew many people to himself for spiritual healing and guidance.

At 54, he responded to many requests and founded a sort of monastery of scattered cells. Again like Francis, he had great fear of “stately buildings and well-laden tables.”

At 60, he hoped to be a martyr in the renewed Roman persecution of 311, fearlessly exposing himself to danger while giving moral and material support to those in prison. At 88, he was fighting the Arian heresy, that massive trauma from which it took the Church centuries to recover. “The mule kicking over the altar” denied the divinity of Christ.

Anthony is associated in art with a T-shaped cross, a pig and a book. The pig and the cross are symbols of his valiant warfare with the devil—the cross his constant means of power over evil spirits, the pig a symbol of the devil himself. The book recalls his preference for “the book of nature” over the printed word. Anthony died in solitude at age 105.

	Thought for the Day… on Thought for the Day – 27 April…
	AnaStpaul on Quote/s of the Day – 27 April…
	AA1C on Quote/s of the Day – 27 April…
	Quote/s of the Day –… on Quote/s of the Day – 27 April…
	La Moreneta / Our La… on Saint of the Day – 27 Ap…

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

An excerpt written to Cornelius, Bishop of Rome condemned to martyrdom for his faith, from his brother Bishop Cyprian of Carthage, himself to give his witness as a Martyr a few years later. Read on the feasts of Sts Cornelius and Cyprian, Martyrs, on 16 September.

Cyprian to his brother Cornelius.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: