About a year ago, I wrote an article on Catholic Stand about Saint Anthony of Padua and can honestly say that my friendship and trust in his intercession has grown wonderfully. Saint Anthony of Padua is a great listener. I place my trust in him, and he answers my prayers one way or another. Whenever I end my prayers with the Sign of the Cross, I feel comforted knowing that he has heard me and has taken my petitions to Jesus and will eventually give an answer to me. He will tell me what the God of the universe has to say about my prayer request. Sometimes, it is answered in the silence of my heart. Other times, I can see a huge shift in my life that I know was caused by the answering of a prayer through the intercession of Saint Anthony of Padua.
Truly, there is something beautiful about having a special friendship with a saint who speaks personally to your heart. For me, Saint Anthony of Padua is one of those saints. He has shown me that God brings about miracles every day, big and small and all around me, if only I have the eyes of faith to see them. After all, many miracles are attributed to this saint.
For instance, one miracle I find to be very fascinating about the life of Saint Anthony of Pauda is the mule that knelt before the Eucharist. For those of you who have not heard of this miracle, I’ve written a short summary of what happened.
Saint Anthony of Padua once met a heretic who did not believe in the Real Presence of the Eucharist. The saint asked the heretic if he would believe in the True Presence if the heretic’s mule kneels before the Blessed Host. The man agreed. Then, the man tried to trick Saint Anthony of Padua by starving his mule. However when the time came, the starving mule chose to kneel in front of the Sacred Host instead of eating his own food. A true miracle occurred, because the heretic converted. How amazing is that?
Along with his many inspiring miracles that have brought about the conversion of many people, the following quotes are a few examples of his words.
“Actions speak louder than words; let your words teach and your actions speak.”
“Our thoughts ought by instinct to fly upwards from animals, men and natural objects to their Creator. If created things are so utterly lovely, how gloriously beautiful must He be who made them! The wisdom of the worker is revealed in his handiwork.”
“The birds are the saints, who fly to heaven on the wings of contemplation, who are so removed from the world that they have no business on earth. They do not labor, but by contemplation alone they already live in heaven.”
I have included below a couple of prayers that I recite often to St. Anthony of Padua. I find them to be comforting to my soul. I hope you will find these prayers to be comforting as well.
“O Holy St. Anthony, gentlest of Saints, your love for God and Charity for His creatures, made you worthy, when on earth, to possess miraculous powers. Encouraged by this thought, I implore you to obtain for me (request). O gentle and loving St. Anthony, whose heart was ever full of human sympathy, whisper my petition into the ears of the sweet Infant Jesus, who loved o be folded in your arms; and the gratitude of my heart will ever be yours. Amen.”
“O Loving St. Anthony, you responded to the needs of the sick and the troubled with countless miracles of healing and hope. Hear my prayers for your heavenly intercession. Comfort me when I am ill. Stay by my side when I am afflicted with worry and anxiety. Help me to experience God’s healing power through your prayers, as well as my own. If I am burdened with suffering, lead me to unite myself to the cross of Jesus Christ, so that my pain and sorrow can be of spiritual benefit to me and others. Pray for me, O good St. Anthony! Help me to realize that Jesus is with me every step of the way, every day of my life, and that in the strength of His gracious love, I will overcome life’s fears and difficulties. Amen.”
I hope that reading this article about Saint Anthony of Padua inspires you and that you also discover a saint or saints who want to build a relationship with you here on earth and to praise God with you for eternity in Heaven. So, open your eyes to Christ’s miracles through the saints, and open your heart to a saint with which you personally feel a connection to have a friendship that will truly last forever.
9 thoughts on “Find That Saint Who Speaks to You: Saint Anthony of Padua”
well, i was in puttaparthi,andhra pradesh, after a devotional singing to sathya sai, i came back and saw my mom worried, the crowds huge in the ashram and she lost her flip flops, i prayed to sai baba and for the first time i asked st anthony to intercede and lemme tell you,after praying to both of em, i saw the flip flops and i swear i looked there 1000 times, thank you sai baba and st anthony. your devotion never fails
Thank you, Diana, for this beautiful article about St. Anthony. It is a wonderful testament to the intercessory power of the saints and the friendship that can be experienced between the pilgrims of this earth and the residents of Heaven. I particularly enjoyed your inclusion of the prayer,” “O Holy St. Anthony, gentlest of Saints…”, as this prayer is prayed as part of a weekly novena each Tuesday after the daily Mass at the local Franciscan parish. Afterwards, parishioners are able to venerate a first-class relic of St. Anthony. You articulate very well the importance and benefits of having close relationships with the saints in our lives. I am sure the saints enjoy having earthly friends as well, as we are all connected in the body of Christ – the Church triumphant as well as Church militant, and also the souls in Purgatory, the Church suffering. Your articles are always a delight to read. Thank you!
Thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful comment, AW! It is truly beautiful to think that, “the saints enjoy having earthly friends as well.” God bless!
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Thank you, Ida! That is very beautiful. I’m glad you have a special connection with St. Anthony of Padua as well.
This saint has been special to me since I was a student at Saint Anthony Seminary, twice, for a total of 5 years. He is the patron saint for those who have lost something – and He has never – never – failed me when I have asked for his help. The most dramatic time was when a little two year old girl was lost in our neighborhood and many, many people were frantic and running around, some fearing the worst. I first went an checked a park near our house, taking my binoculars and found nothing-then I realized I had not yet prayed to St Anthony. I then went back to our block and started off in a direction I had not yet been, up a hill. As I passed a house, a little boy came out and told me “There’s a girl in our back yard.” Without even asking permission of anyone, I literally ran through the house, following the little boy, into the back yard. There was no little girl. Then a cat ran around a corner and I heard a little girl saying “kitty, kitty, kitty,” and she came around the corner following the cat. I picked her up, walked out of the house and down the street to where people had gathered, when the girl’s grandmother saw me coming and saw I had the girl, she lost it, running to me and crying as she took the girl and hugged her. Thank you, St Anthony! And I can tell you many less poignant stories about him helping me find things. I am now 75, and he has NEVER failed me. Guy, Texas
St Anthony, St Anthony,
Look around
Something’s lost
And must be found.
Wow what an interesting story! Thanks for sharing. St. Anthony of Padua is a true miracle worker. God bless.
Wonderful article! I’m a convert to Catholicism and got to know about the saints late in life. My patron saint is St. Anthony of Padua and I must admit I picked him because of a brother I adored, named Anthon.
Thanks again for sharing.