Let us listen
“In the early morning, large processions of faithful arrived to Arcella to see the body of the most blessed Anthony, and anyone who was able to touch him in any way just once was considered lucky .”
(From The life of Saint Anthony)
Let us meditate
Anthony’s contemporaries did everything to touch or see his body, and many came back home changed. The encounter with death is always unsettling, especially when it deals with loved ones. That pain can open up a path of new light, inspire new feelings and behaviors. Isn’t this perhaps a conversion? Even today many peo- ple approach the tomb of the Saint or pray to him from home to ask for graces and, perhaps, precisely the grace of conversion. Anthony is the “Saint of miracles” and is happy when he is asked for the miracle of conversion, to be open to a truer, more evangelical life, like his.
Let us pray
Help us, O Lord, not to let ourselves be overcome by discouragement .
Help us to revive our faith in eternal life .
Make us aware that every gesture of love sown on this earth is already a “seed of heaven”
that makes us feel in advance a pinch of that joy that we will have fully when we are always with you .
Let us reflect
- Does the “perfume” of Anthony’s holiness inspire me to new and generous behavior?
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If I consider that my life will end, do I feel motivated to live with greater truth and fullness?
- What graces do I ask the Lord? Do I also pray for my conversion?
Prayer to St. Anthony
Saint Anthony we ask you to keep burning in us the longing for a holy life, given to others, and let the memory of you, in love with the Lord, guide us to choices that have the flavor of the eternal.