By Anne Metz
St. Anthony of Padua is a well-known saint all over the world, especially in my own home, owing to my tendency to misplace things! My children all learned very quickly how to say the “Saint Anthony Prayer” at an early age from hearing me say it over and over again. Soon they were asking St. Anthony to intercede for them as well to help them find a misplaced shoe or video game. If you’re unfamiliar, here is probably the most common prayer to Saint Anthony:
“Saint Anthony, Saint Anthony, please come around. Something is lost and cannot be found.”
Yes, Saint Anthony is indeed the patron saint of lost things, but he is so much more than just that!
Saint Anthony was born to a wealthy family in Portugal on August 15, 1195. He entered the priesthood and was put in charge of hospitality for his order. When friars settled in a hermitage nearby, Saint Anthony asked to leave his order to join them in their simple life. Eventually Anthony joined the Franciscans and traveled Morocco to spread the Good News of Christianity there. He later became ill and was sent back to Portugal, but the ship went off course and he ended up in Italy. During his long recovery, he spent many hours in prayer and study.
While in Italy, a group came to visit his order, and Saint Anthony was asked to preach a homily. He was not happy that he was chosen and was unprepared. But the Holy Spirit spoke through him and he delivered a powerful and engaging homily. This was how his ability to preach and teach was discovered.
After meeting Saint Francis of Assisi, the founder of the order, Anthony was put in charge of teaching the younger friars. Francis was impressed with Anthony’s ability to speak about and teach the faith, and he hoped that this would be passed down to the other friars.
The Miracles of St. Anthony
In the time before the invention of the printing press, you can imagine just how rare and precious books must have been. So, when a young student stole St. Anthony’s book of Psalms with irreplaceable notes in it, he must have been distraught. Instead of being overcome with sadness, St. Anthony prayed to our Lord to ask that the book would be returned and it was! The student came back to the hermitage, returned the book, and rejoined the order.
This wasn’t the only miracle attributed to Anthony. Once when he was meant to be preaching to some heretics, they ignored him completely. Instead of becoming angry, he went to the water’s edge to “preach to the fish” instead. A great multitude of fish gathered at the shore. The people took notice and were convinced to come back to listed to his words.
Saint Anthony: A Great Role Model
St. Anthony is not only a great first saint to introduce to our children, but a great inspiration for us as parents as well. When kids lose things (as they often do!), we can reach out to Saint Anthony for help. In this way, we are teaching our children that there are saints in Heaven who can intercede on our behalf. When we need help, we have some powerful prayer partners in Heaven that we can lean on. We are also showing them that what might seem like a small problem, a lost shoe perhaps, is a big deal to God. God is interested in every detail of our lives and wants us to share everything with Him.
Saint Anthony: A Reminder of the Value of Simplicity
St. Anthony gives us a roadmap for a life of teaching and simplicity, a perfect combination for this season of parenting. The day-to-day life of raising children can feel small, with most of our tasks involving cooking, cleaning, and caretaking. It sometimes feels as if the world is going on without us, with other adults making the big decisions, while we solve catastrophes at home with band aids and hugs.
But the simple life is not a lesser life. St. Anthony chose a simple life, and even when he began to teach and preach, St. Francis encouraged him to prioritize the simple way as the path to holiness. We are also the first and most important teachers of our children. Let us follow the example of St. Anthony, by teaching our kids the very simple and very powerful lessons of the Gospel by the example of our actions, and by reading them the stories of Jesus in the Bible.
If you don’t know where to start, check out the Brother Francis Store. We have many books, coloring sheets, videos, songs, and games to teach your child the Good News in a simple yet profound way. There is a St. Anthony prayer card with a prayer printed on the back. We even have St. Francis and St. Anthony Bath Set. You can use the characters to re-tell the story of preaching to the fish.
The next time you reach out to St. Anthony to help you find a lost item, ask him to intercede on behalf of your parenting as well. Implore him to ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit and to help you teach your children well. Ask him for the virtues of peace and fortitude so that you may embrace this seemingly small and simple season of parenting.
When she’s not writing about faith, Anne Metz works for Growing Catholics, whose mission is to bring Scripture to all, especially tweens and teens.
