"The Lord Opened His Mouth In The Assembly"

In traditional piety today is St Anthony's day - Tuesday. Like many others I light my candle at the statue of the Saint in the church here and say my prayers, invoking his help and, if I have time, I'll try and dip into his Sermons for some gems to ruminate on throughout the day - and there are always gems. As you know, for me Anthony is the great teacher in the way of the Scriptures - the Evangelical Doctor as Pope Pius XII designated him. 

As a man of the Word of God he was called by the Lord, through his superiors, to preach the Gospels, which he did with great eloquence and learning, drawing on images to keep his congregations engaged and offering practical means of living the Gospel, and so many turned back to God. Given that God used Anthony's preaching to touch the hearts of so many it was seen as appropriate that the Saint's tongue and vocal chords should be discovered to be incorrupt. Today both organs are preserved in reliquaries, and with one, the tongue, an interesting devotion has developed thanks to the piety of St Bonaventure.

When the remains of Anthony were first examined in 1263 St Bonaventure, when he saw the incorrupt tongue declared: "O blessed tongue, you who have always praised the Lord and made others praise Him, now it is clearly evident how much merit you have before the Lord!" It has become a pious invocation offered in honour of Anthony's eloquent preaching of the Word of God. Such invocations remind us of the power of the Gospel and how it should become a living reality in our lives. Anthony's tongue is a symbol of its proclamation in flesh, our lives should be a sign of its effectiveness, we are to become the Gospel in flesh. Like Anthony we should use our tongues in the service of the Gospel - the tongue is the most dangerous weapon known to mankind, it needs careful managing hence the psalm prays "keep watch over my mouth". 

So, for the day that is in it, I offer you some prayers in honour of St Anthony's tongue. There are different novenas and triduums, but this is one I found usually offered over thirteen days. I will post the whole prayer so you can copy it and use it as is convenient. 

Prayers In Honor Of The Blessed Tongue Of St. Anthony

(They can be recited for an exercise of thirteen Tuesdays in his honor, or during thirteen days in succession, or the first nine can be used for a nine day Novena.)

First Day

O Marvelous Saint, whose Blessed Tongue did always bless the Lord and cause others to bless Him! To reward thee God has glorified thy tongue by granting to it upon this earth the favor of incorruptibility which has continued for seven centuries. I bless thy tongue, I venerate it with the same sentiments of faith, devotion and love that animated Saint Bonaventure when he kissed it, praised it, blessed it and venerated it. I thank the Lord Who has sanctified thy tongue, rendering it miraculous and glorious on earth, and I beg Him to grant a true devotion toward thee, that I may merit thy protection during this life, in all my spiritual and corporal needs, and merit also to rise again with all the Saints.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

St Anthony, pray for us.

Second Day

O Blessed Tongue, which always did bless the Lord, and cause others to bless Him, now does it appear plainly how highly thou were esteemed by God. O marvelous Saint, whose Blessed Tongue did always bless the Lord and cause others to bless, praise, thank and pray to Him, I bless and venerate thee, I thank God Who created thy tongue and sanctified it by His grace, and I implore Him, through thy merits, to purify and sanctify my tongue, that by it I may continually praise, bless and thank the Lord, and never offend Him.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

St Anthony, pray for us.

Third Day

O Marvelous Saint, whose Blessed Tongue did always bless the Lord, and cause others to bless Him, without ever offending Him, by words or guilty conversations, I bless and venerate thee, and thanking God Who preserved thee from all sins of the tongue implore Him through thy merits, to preserve my tongue from every sinful word and discourse.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

St Anthony, pray for us.

Fourth Day

O Marvelous Saint, whose Blessed Tongue did always receive Jesus in His Sacrament worthily, I bless and venerate thee, thanking God Who has sanctified thee by His graces and His Most Holy Sacrament, I implore Him to pardon me for having so often profaned by sin my tongue, sanctified and consecrated so many times by contact with the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in my communions. O great Saint, obtain for me the grace to preserve my tongue pure and spotless from sin, that I may henceforth merit to receive Jesus Christ worthily in the Sacrament of His love.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

St Anthony, pray for us.

Fifth Day

O Marvelous Saint, whose Blessed Tongue did always bless the Lord, praying and singing to Him with devotion and attention, I bless and venerate thee. I thank God for giving thee the spirit of prayer and gift of contemplation, and through thy merits, I implore Him to grant me the grace that all the prayers my tongue shall recite may spring from an attentive and recollected heart.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

St Anthony, pray for us.

Sixth Day

O Marvelous Saint, whose Blessed Tongue did always bless the Lord, with Whom thou didst hold familiar conversation when He appeared to thee under the form of a graceful Child, I bless and venerate thee, and thanking God for the sweet apparitions and tender conversations with which He favored thee, I implore thee to obtain for me the grace to always converse devoutly and affectionately with Jesus in His Sacrament after Holy Communion.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

St Anthony, pray for us.

Seventh Day

O Marvelous Saint, whose Blessed Tongue did always bless the Lord, and cause others to bless Him, by teaching men the knowledge of their faith and duties by converting so many sinners, I bless and venerate thee. I thank God Who has given thee so much charity, wisdom and zeal, and I implore you to obtain from Him the same gifts for me, and for all, that we may labor, by our examples and words, to procure the glory of God, and the conversion of sinners.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

St Anthony, pray for us.

Eighth Day

O Marvelous Saint, whose Blessed Tongue did always bless the Lord, and cause others to bless Him, when in preaching and speaking in one language, thou were, by a miracle, heard, at a distance, and understood by people of every nation and language, I bless and venerate thee, and, thanking God for making of thee such a zealous workman and so admirable in the conversion of sinners, I implore thee, to attract the blessings of divine goodness on my tongue, that it may never do harm, and may always promote the glory of God and my neighbor's welfare.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

St Anthony, pray for us.

Ninth Day

O Marvelous Saint, whose Blessed Tongue did always bless the Lord, and cause others to bless Him, when they saw the fish themselves obey thee, and raise their heads from the water to listen to thy words, when they saw a common horse prostrate itself to adore Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament, I bless and venerate thee, I thank God for having worked such prodigies to confirm thy faith, thy sanctity and thy teachings; I implore thee to obtain for me the grace to hear with fruit, the word of God, and to be devout to the Holy Sacrament of the altar.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

St Anthony, pray for us.

Tenth Day

O Marvelous Saint, whose Blessed Tongue did always bless the Lord, and cause others to bless Him, even to obliging the infernal spirits to obey thee, and to quit the bodies which they possessed, by saying to them, "Behold the cross of the Lord! Fly, ye powers of darkness, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, has conquered. Alleluia." I bless, praise and venerate thee, and, thanking God for giving thee such power over hell, beseech thee to cause me to be delivered and preserved from the snares and temptation of the devil, as well as all those who recite with faith, and carry with confidence the words pronounced by thy tongue.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

St Anthony, pray for us.

Eleventh Day

O Marvelous Saint, whose Blessed Tongue did always bless the Lord, and cause others to bless Him, by reconciling enemies, converting malefactors and robbers, humbling a tyrant at thy feet, and humiliating hardened heretics, I bless, praise and venerate thee, I thank God for giving such strength and persuasion to thy words, and I implore thee to obtain for me grace and zeal to exercise fraternal correction with prudence and meekness, so as to prevent evil and effect good.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

St Anthony, pray for us.

Twelfth Day

O Marvelous Saint, whose Blessed Tongue did always bless the Lord, and cause others to bless Him, who has commanded with authority and faith, the unchained elements, disease and death itself, while God has worked through you as an instrument of so many astounding prodigies, prodigies which He still continues from day to day, I bless and venerate thee. I thank God for granting thee the privilege of distributing so many graces and working such wondrous miracles, and I implore thee to use it in my favor, and in favor of all those who have devotion to thee.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

St Anthony, pray for us.

Thirteenth Day

O Marvelous Saint, whose Blessed Tongue did always bless the Lord, and cause others to bless Him, thanks to all thy prerogatives, thanks to the veneration in which thou hast ever been held, thanks to thy powerful intercession, all can clearly see how great is thy merit before God, Who gives thee such glory in heaven, so much power and veneration on earth, I rejoice with thee, I venerate thee, and, thanking God for all thy virtues, merits and the glory which He gives thee, and will give thee in heaven and on earth, I promise to be truly devout to thee by imitating thy virtues as far as I am able, especially by keeping my tongue from sin, by employing it in praising and thanking God, and praying never more to offend Him. Obtain for me from our Lord, with the pardon of all the faults which my tongue has committed, or made others commit, the grace never more to make use of it to offend Him. For this intention, I will recite every day, or at least every Tuesday, the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be to the Father, thirteen times, to thank the Most Holy Trinity for the graces, glory and privileges which have been granted to thee, in order to be worthy of thy protection during this life, of thy assistance at the hour of my death, and of thy blessed company in heaven. Amen

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

St Anthony, pray for us.

Is This The End?

Back from Italy after a wonderful few days of prayer.  I have to say the north of Italy is a mine of gems when it comes to shrines and sanctuaries.  As you know we spent a few days in Padua, at the sanctuary of St Anthony - even in these cold weeks crowds of pilgrims throng the Basilica.  It was a great encouragement to prayer and meditation.  If you are planning a holiday or pilgrimage, consider Padua.

Over the week I was reading Michael O'Brien's novel Father Elijah.  I had heard about it when it first came out.  Earlier this year a friend of mine read it and was gushing praise: he bought me a copy for my birthday - I finally got time to read it.  What a read!  I was hooked from the first page.  I see from a brief google search that a few bloggers have reviewed it (good review here), so forgive me if I throw in my two-pence worth.  The story is good - it is a fictional account of what might happen at the end  when the Antichrist comes.  Reading it I see it is very close to Robert Hugh Benson's Lord of the World.   In literary terms, there are weaknesses, the first conversation between Fr Elijah and his prior in chapter one does not work, but there are also gems: the story of Fr Elijah and his wife in the chapter entitled "Ruth" is exquisite and tender.   I won't reveal what happens, but O'Brien avoids determinism when it comes to the one who becomes the Antichrist and reminds us we all have a choice.  If you have not read it, do (and I'm not on commission from the author).

The whole question of the Antichrist is one which pops up every now and again, usually accompanied by speculation as to who he (or she) will be, and if they are alive now.  Is this the end, many ask?  Well, it will be when you come to die!  During the last presidential election in the US many thought one candidate resembled the Antichrist.  I didn't go for that, although I have to admit when that candidate was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for doing nothing the word referring to the Antichrist: "And the whole world will fall down before him" immediately came to mind.  

Do I think Obama is the Antichrist?  No, I don't think so.  But like many before him, his rise and the worship he inspires in many stands as a warning to us that we fall for the image and the meaningless word all too often, and at times at our peril.  The Antichrist will be charming, kind, attractive and offer a new vision, a new hope, and people will fall for it hook, line and sinker.  Yet behind it all, there will be nothing but the devious machinations of the devil.  That is why we must stay close to Christ, to the Gospel and to prayer.  In O'Brien's book we see some people who do not fall for the charade, not all of them religious, but people of good will with their senses about them.  Interestingly, all of them have suffered and that suffering has brought wisdom.   Perhaps it is those who have come to recognise the face of Jesus Christ and truth through suffering, who will see through the Christ-mask the Antichrist will wear. 

So closeness to the Cross is important - it is wisdom, as St Paul tells us.  It also reminds us that when it comes to life, salvation and the difficulties we face, the easy solution, the simple answer, are not always the best - in fact the easy solution may well be the worst: we see that already as our secular governments peddle the easy solution as the most compassionate, but yet the most destructive and immoral.  Perhaps the Antichrist will be the man of easy solutions and many will think that is wisdom.

My friend suggested a movie based on the book would be brilliant: "The Fraternity can do something about that!" he said.  Well, that will be hard at the moment, we do not have a production company, but we can dream - and pray.  But, if you have read the book, any ideas for actors?  Who would play Fr Elijah, the humble Carmelite priest sent on a mission by the pope to stop the Antichrist?  Do I hear Michael Caine???  Robert de Niro??  Or Al Pacino???  Matt Damon...(The Elijah Ultimatum? No way!!).  Tom Cruise????   I think it's time for my Holy Hour!

Padova

Arrived in Padua today for a few days of prayer and retreat at the tomb of St Anthony.  Be assured that I will remember all those who read this blog in my prayer at his tomb.  If you have any petitions, send your Guardian Angel with them to me. You'd never think it, but you have to tread carefully when it comes to St Anthony: two countries claim him, and give him their own title.  His native Portuguese call him Anthony of Lisbon, and the Italians invoke him as Anthony of Padua and see him almost as a naturalised citizen.  Others know him as Anthony the Opportunist who hides what you are looking for, makes you promise cash to get them back, and then produces the lost object and, bingo!  Pay day!  That is extortion, and we all keep him in business.

Seriously, St Anthony is one of the most loved of all saints, and rightly so.  My devotion to him springs from my inheritance from my grandfather.  Though he had died years before I was born, my grandmother gave me a prayer card which he had cherished in life - it was of St Anthony.  I still have it, carefully preserved.  Apart from his prowess in finding the lost, he is one of the Church's great Scripture scholars and preachers, and as such encourages us to make Scripture part of our daily lives - reading it, meditating on it and living it.

For what it is worth, I am posting the homily I delivered in his Basilica, during the Fraternity pilgrimage to Turin and Padua.  Many of the pilgrims have requested a copy of it, so here it is.  Forgive the typos and mistakes.

Mass at the Basilica of St Anthony (Il Santo), Padua

13^th May 2010

When Friar Anthony from Portugal was asked to preach a sermon at an ordination because there had been confusion over who was to speak, the experience would prove to be much greater than anyone had anticipated.  They did not expect much – he was Portuguese – so not a native speaker of Italian; he had seemed rather quiet, and while faithful to his duties in the kitchen of the hospice of San Paolo, he did not give the impression of being very learned.  Besides, there would be a number of Dominicans present and with their being renowned for their ability to preach, the poor Friar Anthony would be a meagre offering: it would be down to Franciscan humility and spiritual poverty to excuse his efforts.  However, when Anthony began to speak, everyone was taken by surprise, not only was he eloquent, not only was he learned, but he knew the Gospels and Holy Scriptures so intimately that he seemed like a living icon of the Word of God himself.  When St Francis heard of it, he immediately wrote to Anthony, calling him “My bishop”, and asked him if he would become the theologian of the new Order, and devote himself to teaching and preaching. Francis who knew Christ intimately recognised another who knew Christ in the depths of his soul and could entrust to him the formation of the friars. Later, in 1946, when he was declared a Doctor of the Church, St Anthony was given the title Doctor Evanglicus – the Evangelical Doctor - the Doctor of the Gospel.

As we gather in his basilica, near the ark which contains his sacred remains, we come to honour one of the Church’s most popular saints, but also to listen to him as we continue on our pilgrimage-retreat towards the Solemn Exposition of the Holy Shroud.  To seek the Face of Christ – as this is our theme, indeed the desire of our lives, was also St Anthony’s desire.  As he opened the Holy Gospels, therein, living and breathing in the Spirit, he found the Face of Christ:, Jesus, the Word of God present in the Scriptures.  And so Anthony, on fire with this encounter, proclaimed he whom he had met in the Gospels to the world.  A man transformed by the One he met in Scripture, continues to preach right down to our day for all who are prepared to listen.     When he was canonised on the 30^th May 1232 he was not a year dead, such was the popularity and obvious sanctity of this humble friar. This popularity continues, yet for all of it, Anthony’s life and mission remains a mystery to many who see him as no more than an aid in finding lost objects.  The treasure which is St Anthony is not his ability to push the forgetful in the general direction of a lost possession, but rather his ability to lead the faithful on the path to Christ so they may find again the road to heaven and win the treasure which God has stored up for those who are faithful. 

Anthony was born in Lisbon, in Portugal, just beside the ancient Sé, the magnificent cathedral of the city.  In that holy place he was baptised, and in its shadow he grew up in a devout family, discerning a vocation to the priesthood and religious life.  He joined the Augustinian Order and was ordained.  In an attempt to escape the continual visits of his family, he asked to be sent to the Order’s community in Coimbra to dedicate his life to prayer, study and service.  It was there in 1219 that he met a group of five Franciscan friars going out to Morocco to reach the Gospel.   The following year, he was preset when the remains of the five who had been martyred were being brought to their resting place.  Their example inspired him to seek admittance to the Franciscan Order – to leave behind the ease of the Augustinian life and embrace the poverty and simplicity exemplified by the now famous Francis who was still living in Italy and inspiring a real reform in the Church.  Receiving the Franciscan habit in Coimbra, he set out for Morocco, to preach the faith and be martyred, but his health was bad, and he was sent back to Europe – to go Italy, making his way to Assisi for the General Chapter of 1221.  

Looking so sickly when he arrived, he found it difficult to get an appointment – they did not expect him to live long.  However, out of pity’s sake he was sent to work in the kitchens of the Hospice of San Paolo where his skills were discovered.  Once he was appointed theologian of the Order, he spent the rest of his life travelling around Italy and Southern France preaching against the heresies of the day, working miracles and astonishing all by his humility and obvious sanctity.  He drew huge crowds who came for many miles to hear him.  In early 1231 he had his famous vision of the Infant Jesus, and on the 13^th June of the same year, he died in the Poor Clare convent in Arcella at the age of 36.  After a row over where his holy body should be buried, he was brought back to Padua which he had made his base in the last years of his life.  A few years after his swift canonisation this magnificent basilica was built over the chapel in which his body was entombed.   St Bonaventure in 1263, when Minister General of the Franciscan Order, had the Saint’s body examined a few years after his death and found his tongue and vocal cords, the organs of his preaching, incorrupt.

St Anthony of Padua, the teacher of the Gospel urges his listeners, his brothers and sisters in the faith, to put the Holy Scriptures at the centre of their lives, just as he did.  If you wish to know God, if want to see his Face – go to the Holy Scriptures – this was his advice. “The Word of God is alive and active, it cuts more finely than a double edged sword”, so says the Psalmist, reminding us that the Scriptures are radical – that they are not ordinary literature, but the Word of the living God, the place where the Holy Spirit moves and works in a creative way, bringing the reader to an encounter with Christ who is the Word Incarnate.  As the Word of God, we see that between each word of Scripture there are great spaces within which our loving God is present and reaching out to us.   As we enter into the Scriptures, we encounter the living God who speaks to us, and so, if we allow him, he touches us, changes us, transforms us.  As a master of the Scriptures, St Anthony opened himself to the Holy Spirit working in the Word of God, and preaching them, touched the hearts and lives of those he preached to.  One primitive writer called him the “pen of the Holy Spirit”, Pope Gregory IX called him an “ark of the covenant”: Anthony was indeed an ark, because the Holy Scriptures had found a place in his mind and his heart and they led him to a deeper love and understanding of God.  He was a true servant of the Gospel.  The legacy of the Saint of Padua is one in which we are urged to go to the Scriptures and there to acquaint ourselves with the life and teaching of Jesus, with the Spirit moving through those sacred words, and come to see the meaning of our lives. 

St Jerome, another great Doctor of Church tells us that “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ” – Anthony wholeheartedly agreed with that.  Living in an age when most people were illiterate, and those who could read and write may not have had access to the Scriptures, now as we have now, Anthony’s sermons were completely based on the Word of God.   He told the stories from the life of Jesus, taught the Lord’s teachings, spoke of the Old Testament and led his listeners into a deep understanding of the prophets, all of Scripture pointing to Jesus, the Incarnation and his mission of saving souls through his death and resurrection.  His approach to the Scriptures was rich.  Drawing on the tradition established by the post-Apostolic writers and Fathers of the Church, he saw the hidden treasures of the Scriptures and he opened the vault to admit even the humblest of people to enter into the palace of God’s Word.   We know Anthony as the Saint of Miracles and the Wonder Worker, God gave him the gift of healing and miracles, not to make him a magician in the eyes of the people, but to assist him and to draw people’s attention to what he said: as in the public ministry of Jesus, they were signs.

What is the best way to honour St Anthony?  Do we have to give up our simple devotion to him, ignore him when we have lost something.  No, not at all.  He has already made it clear through his miracles and assistance that he is happy to continue to help us in this little things.   But we must also widen our devotion – make it greater so we will sit and listen to him, as did the people he preached to in life.  And how do we do that?  We may read his sermons – they are available and easy to read – we only have his notes written after his preaching, but they are enough.  But we must eventually – (sooner rather than later I hope) to the Holy Scriptures and put them at the centre of our lives with the Holy Eucharist.  Take your holy picture of St Anthony, and put it in your Bible, and allow him, in prayer, to lead you through the Sacred Words and then help you to meditate on them, to see your own life in them, and come to encounter the Hidden Face of Jesus, the Word of God Incarnate.  St Anthony is a great Doctor of the Church, not for the academics and theologians, but for us, for you: he can be, and should be our teacher in the Scriptures. 

Drawing on St Anthony’s own words, then.  He says that Scripture contains the knowledge that surpasses all knowledge: “Just as gold excels all other metals in excellence”, he writes, “so does the knowledge of Sacred Scripture surpass all other forms of knowledge”.  If we seek wisdom, then again, we will find it in Scripture: he says, “The plenitude of knowledge is found in the Old and New Testaments. Here also is the totality of knowledge which alone teaches wisdom and makes a person intelligent.”   If we wish to love God more, as he reflects on Moses receiving the two tablets of stone from God on Sinai, he says: “These two tablets symbolise knowledge of the Two Testaments… This is the one true knowledge which teaches the love of God, the contempt of the world, and the subjugation of the flesh.”  In his sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Easter, he compares Scripture to a mirror.  He says: “A mirror is a fitting symbol for Sacred Scripture, because in it all of us can see ‘the face with which we were born; whence we were born, as far as the baseness of our origin, what kind were we born, as far as the frailty of our existence, and why we were born, as far as the dignity of our future glory.”  As we find ourselves in Scripture, as we find the Lord, we must begin to listen to God’s word and live it.  In the same sermon, again using the image of the mirror, he warns, “A man who listens to God’s word, but does not put it into practice is like a man who looks into a mirror at the face with which he was born, then goes off and promptly forgets what he looks like”.  If we seek the Face of Christ, we need Sacred Scripture to assist us on our journey – it is the map, the blueprint, the Testament which will bring us to him.

An interesting miracle from his life serves as a good teaching about the life of a Christian.  During one of his preaching tours, a notorious miser and usurer died.  Teaching the necessity to put God at the centre of their lives, Anthony, in fulfilment of the Lord’s teaching that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Lk 12:34), predicted that the miser’s heart would not be in his body, but with that he treasured most in life.  When they opened his body, the corpse had no heart at all, when he opened his money chest, there was the heart lying in the midst of the miser’s carefully amassed coins.  If our hearts are truly in immersed in Christ, then they will be found in the midst of the Holy Scriptures. 

May the Holy Doctor of the Gospel, our dear St Anthony, the Saint of Miracles, help us keep Christ as the treasure of our lives and bring us to know and love him more.   St Anthony’s last words are appropriate for our theme of our reflections on this pilgrimage-retreat.  As he was dying, after he had received Holy Communion, he kept looking upward with a smile on his face.  When asked what he saw there, he answered, “I see my Lord”.   May that vision be ours also.