Homily for Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua

Homily for the Memorial
of St. Anthony of Padua

June 13, 2019

Collect
Nativity, Washington, D.C.

St. Anthony was born in Lisbon—not in Padua—in 1195 and became an Augustinian priest and a Scripture scholar.  But when the relics of some Franciscans who’d been martyred in Morocco for preaching to the Muslims were brought to Lisbon, he was inspired to join the Franciscans and go to Morocco himself, hoping for the same fate.  He fell ill, however, and had to return home.  God had another plan for him.

He didn’t make it back to Portugal, tho.  His ship was blown off course, and it landed in Italy.  That must have been some storm!  So God had another plan for Anthony.

At a Franciscan general chapter Anthony met St. Francis himself, and the 2 quite impressed each other.  Nevertheless, Anthony was sent to an obscure friary and given very menial tasks to do like cooking and cleaning, in spite of his learning.  Apparently his brothers didn’t recognize that learning, or at least didn’t appreciated it, because of the Franciscans’ humble way of life.

But God had another plan.  One day when there were to be some ordinations, the Franciscans hosted a good number of Dominican friars.  The Dominicans assumed that the hosts would see to the preaching, while the Franciscans assumed the Order of Preachers would do so.  So no one was appointed, and no one was prepared.  (Does that sound like parish life?)  The local superior commanded Anthony to preach, tho obviously he wasn’t prepared either—except by his long study of and meditation upon the Bible.  He wowed the crowd with a learned yet simple sermon, so much that St. Francis commissioned him to go to southern France to preach against a widespread heretical movement there.

Anthony had great success and continued to preach in northern Italy, as well, eventually settling in Padua, where St. Francis appointed him the 1st Franciscan theology professor.  It had became evident that even the simple Franciscans required some learning in this new world of cities, universities, and the Renaissance.  God was developing a great plan not only for Anthony but for the entire Church.

Anthony became known as a man whose preaching could convert sinners as well as heretics and who could reconcile enemies.  His preaching style was simple and gentle but filled with knowledge of the Scriptures and the sound traditions of the Christianity.

Always in poor health, Anthony died in 1231 at the age of 36.  He was canonized just one year later!

Our prayer today referred to his preaching and to our desire to “follow the teachings of the Christian life,” which was the focus of Anthony’s preaching and of his own life, especially in his obedience to God’s will—to God’s plan as revealed in the events of his life.  There’s a lesson for us—to pay attention to how God speaks to us each day thru our interactions with people and thru events.

We also see in Anthony a love for the Bible and a thorough familiarity with it.  Thru the Scriptures he became familiar, intimate, with Christ.  You probably have noticed that most statues of St. Anthony, like ours over there (at left), depict him with a book in his hands—the Bible, of course—and sitting on the book, the infant Jesus.  Another lesson for us.

Finally, the Collect referred to St. Anthony as an intercessor for God’s people “in their need,” praying that thru his prayers we might know God’s “help in every trial.”  We always go to him in our minor trials of having lost something.  May St. Anthony intercede for us that we may never be blown off course, may never lose our way toward Christ.