Already in my second year of theological studies I am giving practice homilies (preaching based on the Scriptures enabling the congregation to celebrate more deeply, fully, faithfully). The week before this ‘travel-permitted’ weekend we were asked to pick a saint and pretend it is his/her feast day. I had plans to make a pilgrimage to Padua so I chose St. Anthony.
I had a fantastic time by myself in prayer with this Doctor of the Church (there are only 33 of them throughout the 2,000 years of Christianity – Doctors are based on their sanctity of life, Church approval and orthodoxy). He has a magnificent basilica in Padua filled with works by Donatello and other great Italian artists.
Below is my practice homily (for June 13th), which was based on insights by Fr. Rotzetter who wrote a short book on the saint:
Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Anthony of Padua or as the Portuguese insist on calling him St. Anthony of Lisbon because he was born in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Now, Padua is a city in Northern Italy where St. Anthony spent a good part of his life.
What happened throughout his life for him to be considered one of the most popular saints? It all has to do a lot more with surrender to God’s will, rather than his ability to help us find lost things.
St. Anthony was born in 1195, the house he was born in can still be seen today near the cathedral of Lisbon. He studied with the Augustian order at a young age in order to escape temptations dealing with chastity and then later he moved to Coimbra in order to escape his friends and the busy commotion in Lisbon near his home. Coimbra was at the time the capital of Portugal and it also had a world famous center for studies, which turned out to be very important for the theological methods he used later in his life both in preaching and teaching.
In 1220, in Morocco, Africa, six Franciscans were killed by Muslims. Their six bodies were brought to Coimbra and this made a profound impact on St. Anthony. These Franciscan martyrs died for their belief in Jesus Christ.
St. Anthony became a Franciscan and desired to go to Morocco also to die for Jesus but en route he caught malaria forcing a change in direction back to Portugal. It didn’t help that a violent storm blew them off course and he ended up in Italy.
For him and us this is a key event. For once in his life he had to be passive to God. He was in a sense forced to listen to God’s call (not that having the desire to be a martyr is a bad thing but God had different plans for him). Just like in today’s Gospel (Luke 10, 1-9), Jesus invites us to go with a simplicity of life, not carrying a walking staff or traveling bag; wearing no sandals. Everything we do through our own power, without God’s direction is nothing in comparison to what God can do through us with the little we bring on the journey.
St. Anthony wanted to escape the evil world so he became an Augustinian in Lisbon. Life was too hectic there so he moved to Coimbra. He wanted martyrdom so he became a Franciscan and attempted to go to Morocco but ended up in Italy due to illness and a storm. In Italy he was powerless and at the mercy of God. There he lost the drive of his inner pride.
The rest of St. Anthony’s life is based off of this key event and truly remarkable. It would be very good to learn more about him, especially on his feast day. Today, we especially ask for his intercession and assistance in listening to what wonderful things God wants to do with each of our lives once we put aside our own plans and the perseverance to follow Jesus wherever He leads of us.
|  | 
|
