Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And St. Anthony Of Padua

 Stand In The Gap With Us And  St. Anthony Of Padua 6/13/2024.  Like St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony was born into a wealthy family, he would give all that up to follow Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  From age 15, he would learn the importance of finding the riches that God offers.

Psalms 45:13 teaches that the rich (in spirit) seeks Our Lady’s favor, where Our Lady is, there also is Our Lord.  Throughout the life of St. Anthony, he first sought to obey Jesus out of love for Jesus.

St. Anthony would join the Canons Regular of St. Augustine.  In 1220 A.D., five Franciscans that St. Anthony knew, were martyred by Muslims in Morocco which led St. Anthony’s desire to become a Franciscan.

Once a Franciscan, it didn’t take long before St. Francis would recognize the gifts that God was working through St. Anthony.

SAINT FRANCIS died on October 3, 1226. But shortly before his death, Francis appeared to St. Anthony. In September, 1226, at an assembly of Franciscan friars at Arles, St. Anthony was preaching “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”. As St. Anthony was speaking, St. Francis appeared in the room suspended in the air.

St. Francis was blessing the Franciscans gathered and blessed the work of St. Anthony. St Anthony became known as one of the chosen disciples and companions of St Francis. He would refer to St. Frances as his “Vicar”, “was preaching one day before the Pope and the Cardinals in Consistory, there were therefore present at that moment men of different countries- Greeks and Latins, French and Germans, Slavs and English and men of many other different languages and dialects.