Posted on 06/13/2006 8:30:25 PM PDT by Pyro7480
Ping to post #20.
It's been almost two years since you moved? Sheesh, time does fly.
Of course, the altar itself hasn't changed much over the years. It is the sanctuary walls that have lost some of the art they used to have.
Today is the feast day of St. Anthony of Padua, called Ark of the Covenant for his profound knowledge of Scriptures and Hammer of Heretics for his skill in applying that knowledge in polemics. It is customary in the churches of many Western nations to place the statue of St. Anthony in a special place of honor to be venerated by the faithful on his feast day.
I also bought some other picture that represented St. Anthony that was sold at the door of the church. This one was not by Giotto, but by some unknown author who portrayed the common picture of St. Anthony. It showed a young man with soft skin, pink cheeks, and the mindless and somewhat foolish air of one who does not understand anything. In his arms he is holding a Child Jesus, who appears to not understand what he is doing in the arms of that man. He has the air of someone who says: I am sorry to be here, it probably happened by some mistake. But it seems that we will still have to bear this for a while. In St. Anthonys face, there is nothing that expresses the Doctor of the Church, the man who was considered the greatest expert in Scriptures of his time. He knew everything in Scriptures and used to quote it by heart; he knew even its most arcane and difficult passages. He was not only able to quote such texts, but used to comment on them and draw concrete consequences from them to smash the heretics and to encourage the faithful.
The militant St. Anthony is the authentic one, depicting the way he lived on earth in his times and the way he is now in Heaven. But today his true moral physiognomy, which the Church presents as a model, has almost completely disappeared. The figure that replaced him is a sentimental one only concerned about giving graces and favors. There is a fundamental difference in the physical figure, but most of all, there is a fundamental difference in the moral figure of St. Anthony. In addition to being honored with the aforementioned titles Ark of the Covenant and Hammer of the Heretics St. Anthony is also the Patron of the Army. The reason for that is linked to two incidents where, from Heaven, he intervened in a militant way. The first was when a Spanish fleet was besieging the Muslim city of Oram and facing a long and fruitless siege. In such circumstance, the Spanish Admiral went to a statue of St. Anthony to ask his intercession. He told St. Anthony that he, the Admiral, could do nothing more without some extraordinary help. Then he turned over his insignias of command to the statue and placed his Admirals hat on its head. Then he asked St. Anthony to take command of the siege against Oram and conquer the city. Soon after this, the Moors suddenly left the city. Some who were captured and interrogated related that they had seen a Friar coming from Heaven with an Admirals hat on his head. He threatened the Moors that he would send fire from Heaven upon them unless they left the city. In face of this peril, the Muslims found it more prudent to leave. The second incident took place in Rio de Janeiro when it was being attacked by the French Calvinist fleet. The Calvinists had a great advantage over the Brazilian Catholics, who could no longer offer an effective resistance. At that point, the Franciscan Friars took a statue of St. Anthony from their monastery to a central square in Rio and set it on a column.
The common devotion to St. Anthony normally does not mention things like this. He is presented as a sweet, foolish saint who only likes to arrange marriages and enjoy his feast day. This kind of sentimental piety distorted the physiognomy of the great St. Anthony to hide his militancy. I think that we have the obligation to correct this false piety and help restore the true moral physiognomy of the saints. For it is easy to see that this distortion has been effected not only with St. Anthony, but also with many other saints. Let us ask St. Anthony to give us the necessary graces to help extirpate this false piety and to become enthusiastic admirers of Catholic militancy, as he was. |
Saint Anthony of Padua,
Priest and Doctor of the Church
Memorial
June 13th
Filippino Lippi
Madonna with Child, St Anthony of Padua and a Friar
before 1480 -- Tempera on wood
Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest
Spanish Prayer:Saint Anthony was born in Lisbon, Portugal as Ferdinand de Bulhoes, he was a Franciscan known for his profound knowledge of theology and for his rhetorical skill. His preachings carried him from the north of Africa to Italy and France. He is known as the Evangelical Doctor because he based all that he said on the texts of the gospels. He died in Padua.
Source: Daily Roman Missal, Edited by Rev. James Socías, Midwest Theological Forum, Chicago, Illinois ©2003
Collect:
Almighty God,
You have given St. Anthony to Your people
as an outstanding preacher
and a ready helper in time of need.
With his assistance may we follow the Gospel of Christ
and know the help of Your grace in every difficulty.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.First Reading: Isaiah 61:1-3d
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion-- to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
Gospel Reading: Luke 10:1-9
After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them on ahead of Him, two by two, into every town and place where He Himself was about to come. And He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and salute no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house!' And if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages; do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you; heal the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'
Oración a San Antonio de Padua
Glorioso San Antonio que por tus
Milagros mereciste tener en tus brazos
Al infante Jesús: intercede de su
Misericordia el favor que
Fervorosament te pido. Tú eres tan
Bondadoso con los pecadores, no te
Fijes en mis faltas. Miro la grandeza y
La gloria del Señor, la salvación de mi
Alma y la necesidad de remediar mis
Aflicciones. Amen.
(Haga su petición)
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