June 13 is the memorial of St Anthony of Padua. I knew little about him, apart from the fact that he is the patron saint of my eldest daughter, and that he is often invoked to help find lost items. I watched 2 movies about him in 2 days - an old silent movie made in 1931 and a newer release just made available to watch for free on formed.org I admit I very much prefer the old movie, which gave a wonderful and I believe, more accurate, representation of his life. The old movie: The newer one: https://formed.org/catholic-movies/5810bb2090e3652419f41287
Yes, it's really amazing! And the actor that played St Anthony did a great job in conveying the saint's holiness. I never knew that St Anthony was such a great miracle worker. One thing that struck me when watching the movie is that people were generally so holy, reverent and modestly dressed in those days. How lovely. Another thing is I felt a sense of loss for the beautiful traditional masses said in those times - all unified in ad orientem worship.
I am inclined to believe that the old worship forms will be reinstated after all this is done. Though when the Protestant Sects return to the True Church I suppose they will have their own Rite, the same for the Jews, Islam, etc....
Oh, I pray that it will be so. Lord, please restore Your one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. Amen.
If everyone uses him it is a pure sign that he does the miracles. Why would everyone get into a car that does not work?
I think one thing strikes me about St Anthony of Padua is that there is such a thing about St Anthony of Padua and that there is such a thing as a Super Saint. He died several centuries ago at the age of just 36 years yet any Catholic Church you go into anywhere in the world there is a Devotion to him. Not only a Devotion but often not just a a statue but a a substantial shrine set apart. This tells us so much. I love the story of his first sermon. The Franscan brothers were looking for someone to preach on an important occasion and felt so stuck they placed Anthony forward having no idea he was very highly educated. The Franciscans had a bad rep as preachers being considered rather ignorant, but the saint shone like a star. It is very, very unusual indeed for an intellectual to hide there light under a bushel like this. Everyone was amazed. After he died only his tongue remained incorrupt.
I did the Tuesday perpetual novena to St. Anthony for many decades. I always do the nine day novena in June and actually started growing my own lilies to have them blessed on his feast day. If you're ever in Venice, it's only a short trip to St. Anthony's shrine in Padual - about 20 minutes by train. I went there a few years ago. Lovely church and magnificent shrine.
I think the Good Lord oftne uses incorruption as a little sign or message. Thus the visionaries at Lourdes and Fatima were all incorrupt a message that the apparitions ..and their message was sound. In the case of St Anthony, a Doctor of the CHurch that his message and life were fine. St Therese of Liseaux, A Doctor of the Church her body had totally rotted away. Which some folk think of as strange. But her message perhaps was all in her her little book and her cult had taken of like a rocket ship. So I suppose all we can say is that the Good Lord does as He pleases in His own House. The SPirit of God blows as it wills.
So sad, because when I visited Venice several years back, I hadn't known of the greatness of this Saint, and we gave Padua a miss
That's a pity. Maybe you'll get another chance to visit some time in the future. Strange how some saints become very popular. Perhaps that's because religious orders promoted novenas to them and it might explain why St. Anthony is so popular. It also might explain why St. Martin de Porres is so popular here . St. Martin was a Dominican: https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=306
