Saturday, June 13, 2020

Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua: Responding to a call



Fr Richard's words for the Memorial of St Anthony of Padua

Responding to a call


Elisha recognised it was God’s will that Elijah was calling him to be his disciple. Indeed, Elisha was later to succeed Elijah as the Lord’s Prophet. He worked miracles and worked great wanders, bringing justice to the people of Israel. But to have his prophetic mission bestowed upon him, the moment of his call and his response to it in today’s reading was decisive. His only delay was to enjoy one last meal with his family and friends before he followed behind Elijah.

St Anthony, like all holy pastors of the Church, also left everything to follow the Lord. His calling to be a priest and a saintly preacher was perhaps less immediate than Elisha’s. He will have developed a sense of a vocation at the Cathedral School in his home city of Lisbon and he will have been impressed by the Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross – whose abbey he joined at the age of 15. In fact, he was so dedicated to prayer and service of the Lord that he even found visits from his family and friends too distracting – and asked to be transferred to the Order’s mother house in Coimbra.

After his ordination, it was the life of the nearby Franciscans and the witness of the first five Franciscan martyrs in Morocco which inspired Anthony to follow the way of St Francis and set out for the mission in Africa. On the way he became ill and, attempting to sail back home, the ship was blown off course and ended up in Sicily. His mission was to be on the Italian peninsula, albeit with a short visit to France. He eventually settled in the beautiful city of Padua, becoming the provincial superior of northern Italy. He performed miracles and preached the Catholic faith with zeal. Many hearts turned to God by St Anthony’s words and example.

We’re very conscious of the powerful intercession of saints because of the popular cult associated with St Anthony, who was canonised just a year after his death. Whenever we misplace the car keys, whenever we lose something important – St Anthony always comes to our aid.

However, like Elisha and Anthony, saints can only become saints if they respond to the Lord’s call first. We might not know where our mission will take us, but we know we should follow the Lord’s will wholeheartedly. Let’s pray especially today for all young people discerning their vocation – that they may generously say yes to the Lord’s call. May the Lord send many priests and religious to evangelise our Diocese.

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