Today's Ornament of Grace for Thursday of the Fourth Week of Advent is St. Anthony of Padua.
1 Samuel 1:24-38
Once Samuel was weaned, his mother Hannah … presented him at the temple of the Lord in Shiloh, … approached Eli and said: “Pardon, my lord! … I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted my request. Now I, in turn, give him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the Lord.”
Fernando Martins de Bulhões, known as St. Anthony of Padua, was born in 1195 to a wealthy family in Lisbon, Portugal. Fernando dedicated himself to God from an early age. He joined the Canons Regular Order outside Lisbon around 1210. Well liked by family and friends, he found their frequent visits distracted him from prayerful study and asked to be transferred to the Order’s main house near Coimbra where he studied Latin and theology.
By 19, Fernando had been ordained a priest. As the one in charge of welcoming guests for the Canons Regular, he met Franciscans staying in the St. Anthony the Great Hermitage nearby. These Franciscans witnessed to God by their vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, by their simple lifestyle, and by their mission to share the Gospel with all people. While there, the Franciscans got news that five of their Order had been beheaded in Morocco, the first of the Franciscan martyrs. Such courage inspired Fernando, so he asked his superiors to leave the Canons Regular and join the Franciscans. Upon entering the small hermitage of St. Anthony the Great, Fernando took the name Anthony.
Shortly, Anthony set out for Morocco where he became seriously ill. Trying to return to Portugal by sea, his ship was blown off course, ending up in Sicily. From there, he went to Tuscany and joined a Franciscan Convent. Due to his frailty, he was assigned to a hermitage near Forli, Italy, where he prayed and studied. Many Dominican friars came to Forli to participate in an ordination. Dominicans, known for their excellent preaching, were expected to give the homily. But they, as guests of the Franciscans, assumed the Franciscan friars would preach. So, the head of the hermitage asked Anthony to say whatever the Holy Spirit directed him to say. With his in-depth knowledge of Scripture and an excellent voice, all present were moved by Anthony’s words.
From Forli, Anthony was sent to Bologna. There, the young priest met St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis entrusted the studies of young members of his Order to Anthony, whom he found shared his vision. In Bologna, Anthony had written his many teaching notes in a Book of Psalms which was stolen by a novice who left the Order. A poor Franciscan would have found it difficult to replace such a book, so Anthony prayed to God to help him find it. The novice returned the book and also returned to the Order. Probably this is why we pray to St. Anthony when things are lost or stolen.
Later, Anthony was chosen Superior of the Order in Northern Italy, and he chose the city of Padua as his base; hence his title as St. Anthony of Padua. He died at the age of 35 from accidentally eating fungus-infected grain. Amazingly, less than a year later, he was canonized because, even in his own day, he was loved as a saint.
Since the 17th century, Anthony is often shown holding up the Christ Child. Jesus gave up His appearance as God, becoming a humble child, in order to be one with us. He kept God’s promise to save us. Anthony, adopting a poor and humble life, held up
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