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Puerile stuff.

Quite apart from the incontestable scriptural justification and the received tradition of the apostles and disciples of Christ you may wish to read this and in particular the story of Bononillo. This will get you off form following the likes of Benny Hinn, Rev Jeremiah Wright; Rev. Schuller, Tammy Faye Baker, and every neighborhood local pastor who poses off theologians.

St. Anthony of Padua: Doctor of the Church, Patron of the Poor, Italy (1195-1231)

Feast day—June 13

St. Anthony was devoted to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and Our Lady from his childhood, when he served Mass for his uncle who was a priest. St. Anthony is known for his defense of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, miracles and conversions. Before his death, St. Anthony received the last Sacraments and said “I see my Lord.” He proclaimed:

“Upon the Altar there takes place the transubstantiation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. That Body which the Virgin begot, which hung upon the Cross and was placed in the sepulchre, which rose again the third day, and ascended to the right hand of the Father, this Body the Church today and everyday presents and distributes to her faithful. When the priest speaks the words: This is My Body, the essence of the bread is changed into the Body of Christ.”

“Anthony was a friend of St. Francis and became a Franciscan priest. He was a great preacher on the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and told everyone he met about his love for Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. St. Anthony was also known as a great miracle worker who loved the poor and sick people very much. Wherever he went, St. Anthony performed many miracles to help feed the poor, heal the sick, and care for the needy. He is known as a great Doctor of the Church, patron of the poor, and finder of the lost.” (From our book Adoration for Children. See the Catalog section of our website for ordering information).

STORY of BONONILLO

There was a man named Bononillo who did not believe that the Eucharist is Jesus. He mocked of people who believed that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Christ at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

One day, St. Anthony challenged the man, saying, “If the mule you often ride were to adore the true Body of Christ under the appearance of bread, would you believe in the truth of the Lord’s Sacrament?” Bononillo said “Yes.” So, they made a bet. In a few days they would place both the Blessed Sacrament and a pile of hay in front of the mule, to see what he would do.

Bononillo told everyone about the event. Because he wanted to make sure to prove that he was right and St. Anthony was wrong, he didn’t give the donkey any food for two days before the test. Of course, he thought, the mule will be so hungry that he will not even look at the Eucharist, but run straight to his food.

On the day of the test Bononillo led the donkey toward where St. Anthony was standing with the Blessed Sacrament, in front of a great crowd. When they were a few steps away from the Holy Eucharist, Bononillo placed a bag of hay under the mule’s nose, but the mule turned his head. The mule walked over to St. Anthony, and when he was close, bent his front legs as if to kneel in Adoration! Even Bononillo saw that the Sacred Host is really Jesus—Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity—and believed in Him.

St. Anthony loved Jesus in the Holy Eucharist very much, so he told everyone he met about His Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. (From our book Stories of the Eucharist).

My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden,
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm:
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich He has sent empty away.
He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His posterity forever.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

Magníficat ánima mea Dóminum,
et exsultávit spíritus meus
in Deo salvatóre meo,
quia respéxit humilitátem
ancíllæ suæ.

Ecce enim ex hoc beátam
me dicent omnes generatiónes,
quia fecit mihi magna,
qui potens est,
et sanctum nomen eius,
et misericórdia eius in progénies
et progénies timéntibus eum.
Fecit poténtiam in bráchio suo,
dispérsit supérbos mente cordis sui;
depósuit poténtes de sede
et exaltávit húmiles.
Esuriéntes implévit bonis
et dívites dimísit inánes.
Suscépit Ísrael púerum suum,
recordátus misericórdiæ,
sicut locútus est ad patres nostros,
Ábraham et sémini eius in sæcula.

Glória Patri et Fílio
et Spirítui Sancto.
Sicut erat in princípio,
et nunc et semper,
et in sæcula sæculórum.

Amen.

She became the Mother of God, in which work so many and such great good things are bestowed on her as pass man’s understanding. For on this there follows all honor, all blessedness, and her unique place in the whole of mankind, among which she has no equal, namely, that she had a child by the Father in heaven, and such a Child . . . Hence men have crowded all her glory into a single word, calling her the Mother of God . . . None can say of her nor announce to her greater things, even though he had as many tongues as the earth possesses flowers and blades of grass: the sky, stars; and the sea, grains of sand. It needs to be pondered in the heart what it means to be the Mother of God.

(Commentary on the Magnificat, 1521; in Luther’s Works, Pelikan et al, vol. 21, 326)