The miracle
This miracle took place in a city in Tuscany. There was a knight in the area who was outstanding for his nobility and his wealth, but he easily gave way to outbursts of anger. One day, his wife, a virtuous lady, probably replied to him harshly, and he was overcome with rage. He beat her, raining punches and kicks upon her; he dragged her by her hair all throughout the house; eventually he stabbed her, leaving her at the point of death.
Servants and family members picked the woman up and gently laid her down on her bed.
In the meantime, the knight began to regret his beastly behaviour, and ran to St. Anthony, who was living in the city in that period. The man fervently begged St. Anthony to come and help his poor wife. The saint hurried to the house together with the husband; he knelt down, asking God to give the dying woman life and health. When Anthony prayed over her, she rose up completely well again.
Meditation
finished by another artist.
The miracle invites us to reflect on the condition of women. We have to acknowledge that unfortunately we are still living in a society where women are discriminated against or undervalued solely on the ground of their gender. Certainly, not much is done to promote a culture that recognizes equality between men and women, in legal terms but also in our daily lives.
Of course progress has been made; we no longer live in St. Anthony's times, however, the world is still confronted with old and new forms of violence and slavery directed at women: human trafficking, kidnapping of young women, forced marriages, forced conversions and forced abortions.