SAINT ANTHONY June 13

For some, being devoted to a saint means invoking him in preference to others when they need some grace. From this point of view, St. Anthony is unrivaled. A brother composed a famous hymn a year after the saint’s death. It is still recited on the eve of the festival; it begins with an invitation to resorting to the saint: ‘If you want to get miracles…’ and, after listing the extraordinary wonders that he has accomplished, concludes by quoting the witnesses: ‘… ask the people of Padua.’ However, the request for grace and miracles is a relatively insignificant sign (and not always correct) of devotion to the saints. A true devotee is fascinated by the heroic manner in which the saint has followed Christ and feels committed to imitating him.

Anthony was proclaimed a saint in record time (less than a year after his death). It is not because of the many wonders that—it is said—he had performed when he was still alive, but because he was a model to be followed by those who wished to embody in their lives the evangelical beatitudes.

Today’s readings orient us toward true devotion to St. Anthony. He is great not for the graces that, with his powerful intercession, he can implore from God, but because, in his lifetime, he had the gospel as the only point of reference. He studied and preached the word of God, and following the example of the Master, he loved and defended the poor. He has never bowed down to the powerful and boldly denounced hypocrisy, scandals, and little exemplary lives of many Christians and their pastors. A very contemporary saint, Anthony, for a world in which only possession, power, and appearance count and a church that always needs to be reminded of the Gospel.

• To internalize the message, we will repeat:

“Teach us, Lord, to cultivate St. Anthony’s love

 for the Sacred Scriptures and for the poor.”

First Reading: Sirach 39:8-14

The manual works were not appreciated in the ancient world. An echo of this mentality is also found in the Bible. In the chapter which immediately precedes our passage, Sirach takes into account some of these menial jobs and introduces them with a provocative question: “How can the man who guides a plow can become wise, he whose pride lies in snapping a whip and driving a bullock, who works continually and talks of nothing but cattle… all his attention is given to fattening heifers? It is the same for all craftsmen…. So, too, is the smith standing beside the anvil… it is the same with the potter seated at his work” (Sir 38:25-30).

A grain of contempt for the most menial professions could be grasped in these words—as verified in other texts of the ancient Middle East—but it is not so. In fact, Sirach concludes his discourse with a very balanced observation: “All these craftsmen depend on their hands for gaining skill in their different crafts. Without them, a city could not be built” (Sir 38:31-32). Sirach wrote this page not to mortify the artisans, but to emphasize the importance and the honor due to one who “spends his life reflecting on the Law of the Most High. He examines the wisdom of the sages in times past and in his free time he studies prophecies” (Sir 39:1).

The passage proposed by today’s feast begins at this point. If we re-read it slowly, savoring every sentence, in the end, it is natural to conclude: ‘It seems that the author intends to introduce the figure of St. Anthony.’

He will meditate on the mysteries of God (vv. 8,10).

Popular devotion, exacerbating the miraculous aspect of St. Anthony, has distorted his image and caused people to forget and neglect the essential features of his person. If we want to recover the true St. Anthony, we have to point out that he was, first of all, one in love with the word of God, one filled—as today’s reading tells—with the spirit of intelligence (v. 8), one who dedicated his life to the reflection on the mysteries of God (v. 10).

At a young age, he was transferred to the monastery of the Holy Cross in Coimbra, a major cultural center of Portugal, to study theology. His teachers were predicting him a brilliant career as a philosopher and theologian. Still, he was too disappointed by the behavior of so many monks and canons of the time, moved only by pride and greed. One day, discouraged, he noted: ‘As soon as they took the habit and pronounced the vows, they put themselves directly to the study of law, to plead cases before the court and collect handsome profits.’ The worldly sciences, ‘aimed at a profit’ are ‘the old song that many prelates sing.’

He aspired only to live authentically the Gospel he had learned. Often he drew on the Gospel story of Martha and Mary (Lk 10:38-42) to recall the need to precede every decision, every action, every charitable commitment by hearing the word of God.

His wisdom will scatter like the rain (v. 9,11).

Whoever approaches the sacred texts first learns humility. He becomes aware of his distance from the wisdom of God and understands that he cannot glorify his own erudition but only the humble adherence to the Law of the Covenant of the Lord (v. 11). Anthony had decided to announce the Gospel, not in the renowned universities but in Morocco. However, a storm drove his ship on the coast of Sicily, where the Franciscans welcomed him. No one was aware of his theological training, for which he was sent to a convent in Forlì where he did nothing but wash dishes and clean floors for a year and a half.

One day, new priests had to be ordained in the city’s cathedral. At the last moment, the preacher failed to come, and the superior of the Franciscans had to look for a replacement. He asked the monks of his order and implored the Dominicans there, but none of them felt ready to improvise the sermon in the presence of bishops, nobles, and ladies of high society. Eventually, he turned to Anthony and practically forced him to rise to the pulpit.

The saint explained the gospel so eloquently and showed the culture he possessed that the Franciscans present were pleased that at last one of them could compete with the scholarly Dominicans. They assigned him the task of preaching in the style of St. Francis. They wrote him a letter telling him to devote himself full time to the study and proclamation of the gospel, only advising him not to lose the spirit of holy prayer and devotion. Anthony began thus—as today’s reading says—to pour out words of wisdom, like rain (v. 9).

The favorite themes of his preaching were the love of God, prayer, and love for the poor. He used scorching words against the moral corruption of the people and that of the hierarchy. He denounced the selfishness of the rich, usury, and the exploitation of the workers. It is worth quoting a famous passage of his sermons: ‘Woe to those who have cellars full of wine and wheat, and two or three pairs of clothes, and meanwhile the poor of Christ, on an empty stomach or dressed in rags, begging at their doors; to whom, if reluctantly they give something, they give little and not the best. The time will come, will come when they, too, will cry out, standing outside the door, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’ And it is they, who do not give ear to the pleas of the needy, who will hear: ‘Truly I tell you: I do not know you.’’

Tied to his love for the poor is the popular tradition of the ‘bread of the poor’: to thank the saint for a favor received one offers help to those in need.

In his short life—36 years only—Anthony was tireless in making the doctrine shine (v. 11).

He will never be forgotten (vv. 12-14).

The reading ends with a solemn promise: the one who cultivates the wisdom of God and announces it to people will always be remembered. ‘His name will live on from generation to generation. The people will speak of his wisdom, and the assembly will proclaim his praises.’

The immense number of devotees of St. Anthony testifies how true that when the brief lights of the world’s stages go out, the real honor is awarded to whoever has cultivated and embodied the wisdom of the Gospel. We would do a disservice to this holy man if we remembered and celebrated him as a ‘miracle worker’ and not assimilate his message of love to God, the Holy Scriptures, and the poor.

Gospel: Matthew 5:13-19

We approach this Gospel passage considering how St. Anthony has embodied it in his short life.

You are the salt of the earth (v. 13).

Salt has many functions, and Jesus probably intended to refer to all. The first and most immediate is that of giving flavor to foods. Since ancient times, salt has become the symbol of ‘wisdom.’ Even today, it is said that a person has “salt in his head” when he speaks wisely, or that a conversation has ‘no salt’ and when it is boring, devoid of content. Paul knows this symbolism. He recommends to the Colossians: “Let your conversation be always pleasant, seasoned with salt” (Col 4:6).

Understood as such, the image indicates that the disciples must bring to the world a wisdom capable of giving flavor and meaning to life. Anthony was ‘salt of the earth’ with his preaching—always inspired by the Sacred Scriptures. He was extremely fond of the word of God, so much so that they said: ‘He always has in hand the Old and the New Testaments and studied them by heart.’ He announced that Word that—as he often repeated—inebriates the heart; it is sweet and comforting in times of trial: Word of blessed hope, fresh water for the thirsty soul, a pleasing message that brings joyful news of faraway land.

Salt is not only used to give flavor to foods. It is also used to preserve food, to prevent them from becoming damaged. This fact recalls the moral corruption and, by the association of ideas, the opposing forces, evil spirits. Against them, the ancient Orientals fortify themselves by using salt. In this naïve belief, even today, the ritual of spreading salt to immunize from the wicked and evil is connected.

The Christian is salt of the earth: with their presence, they are called upon to prevent corruption, not to allow society guided by wicked principles to rot and go into decay. It is not difficult to see, for example, that, where no one reminds or presents the gospel values, evil, hatred, violence, and oppression propagate.

Anthony often adopted severe and energetic tones when it was about denouncing vices. His words blaze like salt on wounds against the misers, the lustful, the robbers who ‘oppress and milk the poor and the needy, flay them and reducing them to gnawed bones, eating the meat of God’s people, skinning and breaking the bones.’

The ‘parable’ of the salt ends with a call to the disciples not to become ‘tasteless.’ The Gospel has its own taste, and if it is denaturalized, it loses its genuine taste and is useless. The disciple is salt if they accept in full the proposals of the Master, without additions, changes, without the ‘however,’ ‘if’ and ‘but’ with which one tries to soften them, to make them less demanding, more workable.

You are the light of the world (vv. 14-16).

The rabbis said, ‘As oil brings light to the world, so Israel is the light of the world’ and also “Jerusalem is light for the nations of the earth.” They were referring to the fact that Israel believed itself the depositary of the wisdom of the law that God had revealed to his people by the mouth of Moses. A certain rabbi had an insight that the words of Holy Scripture and the works of mercy were light. He claimed that the first order was given by God at the beginning of creation, “Let there be light!” referred not to a material light but the works of the righteous.

Calling his disciples ‘light of the world,’ Jesus declares that the mission entrusted by God to Israel was destined to continue through them. It would have appeared in all its glory in their works of concrete, verifiable love. These are works that Jesus recommends to ‘show.’ He does not want his disciples to limit themselves to proclaiming his word without engaging, compromising themselves, and without committing their lives to his word.

The proof that this light has caught people will be when they give glory to the Father who is in heaven. The disciples are called to do good without expecting any praise, admiration, “their right hand should not know what the left is doing” (Mt 6:3). Praises should not be addressed to them but God. Anthony had always feared that someone admired by his oratory ability would fix his gaze on him instead of on Christ. For this, he did what is possible not to be the center of attention. The example of the Saint is a very actual reminder for today’s Christian, always tempted to attract the recognition of people to themselves.

The poor approached Anthony because they didn’t feel offended by his wisdom or by his virtue. He noted: ‘Today they are the poor, the simple, the humble who thirst for the word of life and the water of wisdom. On the contrary, the worldly, those who are intoxicated with the chalice of gold of vices, the knowledgeable, the counselors of the powerful, believe me, they do not allow the proclamation of the divine message.’

The last image that we find in today’s gospel is delightful: we are introduced to the humble home of an upper Galilee peasant where a lamp of clay in oil is lighted. It is put on an iron stand and placed on top to illuminate even the most hidden corners of the house. No one would think of hiding it under a bowl. With this image, Jesus invites not to conceal or cover the most challenging parts of his message.

Anthony was well aware of this danger and denounced it vigorously: ‘Those who keep silent about the truth in their preaching deny Christ. The truth generates hatred, and therefore some, to not incur the hatred of certain people, cover their mouths with the veil of silence. If they were to preach the truth, if they were to tell the truth as it is, as the truth itself demands and as sacred Scripture expressly commands, they would—if I am not mistaken—incur the hatred of the sensual, and perhaps the latter would expel them from their synagogue; since these renegade preachers regulate themselves according to the example of men, consequently they fear the scandal of men, whereas it is not lawful to renounce the truth for fear of scandal.’

The fulfillment of the ‘law’ (vv. 17-19).

‘They preach well, but they do evil’—is one of the many catchphrases. We hear it repeated, and it also sounds a bit hypocritical: it is often used to draw attention to the errors of others and divert it from our own. The call made by Jesus in the final part of the Gospel passage is not an invitation to point out the inconsistency of others but to be vigilant about our own. To be great in the kingdom of heaven, that is, to truly enter into the new condition of children of God, a profession of faith made with one’s tongue is not enough; a coherent life is necessary.

Also, on this aspect of spirituality insisted St. Anthony. He repeated to the priests of his time: ‘To preach holily it is necessary to live holily. Whoever speaks of heavenly things must live heavenly. If the preacher is to instill compunction in the heart of the sinner, he must first cultivate in himself detachment from earthly and superfluous things; he must mortify his affections, guard his senses, practice virtue, live purely, be merciful and paternal.’

Anthony was not only an excellent preacher; he was a saint who bore witness with his life to the faith he proclaimed.