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I do not live for thrills. I will never jump out of an airplane or squeeze my way through an intricate cave system or climb a large rock. I do not come alive in these moments. Friends have pestered me for years to join them in their adventures, but I always decline. Adrenaline, for me, should not be triggered: I like my feet firmly on the ground. I’ve always been this way.
My sister, Lauren, was born fearless. When she was first learning to walk, mom would steady her and then, like a pinball, she’d fly: little legs charging, arms akimbo. Not me. When I was learning my steps, I’d always have one hand on something to stabilize me. Balance is my goal. As I have aged, that need for stability is even stronger. And nothing right now in our culture is steady.
When I survey the American landscape, I still see a nation divided. When I consider the world at large, it’s even more dispiriting. Over 700 million live below the poverty line. Over 122 million are displaced and are seeking asylum. Economic strife, a rise in mental health challenges, and general malaise seem commonplace. If I stare at it all for too long, I am dizzy. I’m like that baby learning to walk who wanted a hand to give him stability.
A quote attributed to St. Anthony of Padua gives me a measure of steadiness: “We are formed by environment and grace, by politics and prayer, by church and conscience. All God’s creatures conspire to teach us as well. We stumble. We stutter. We rise. We are lifted.”
Powerful words! They give me the permission to exhale and leave my worries to God.
God’s Preacher, Our Teacher
Poor St. Anthony. He’s never had quite the same emotional draw as his brother-in-alms, St. Francis of Assisi. When you are a doctor of the Church and known as the “Hammer of Heretics,” it’s little wonder. But this Franciscan saint has met with worldwide popularity in his own right. Beyond the “finder of lost objects,” Anthony can, through meditation and prayer, help us find a sense of calm long enough to hear God’s voice.
When I take real inventory of my internal life, I understand now that I haven’t been OK, really, since COVID—and that’s been over five years. I’m a step slower than I used to be. I look down now as I walk instead of looking up. I suppose I’m less whole in some way, unhealed. Our roller coaster of a political ride in this country hasn’t helped. Like the quote from Anthony, I feel we as a nation and a Church have stumbled and stuttered. We aren’t as kind as we should be. We lash out before we reach out; we harm when we should heal. Cruelty is a sport now.
That’s why I look to the saints to help me in my own struggles. What I admire about the “holy trio” of Franciscan saints—Clare, Francis, and Anthony—is that they each led different ministries, and yet they never lost touch with their shared central mission: to be the living face of Christ to everybody.
Anthony himself was no stranger to a shifting political landscape and a world hurting for grace. He likely saw firsthand civic aggression, disease, poverty, and closed borders in his travels. That’s why we cherish the saints: They lived the human condition. They endured what we are enduring—and it many cases far worse—so they have pearls of wisdom for us to cherish. We are never alone on this journey.
For my own mind and heart, I pray for stillness, for a minute of quiet, and, yes, stability. While I appreciate his assistance in finding keys, wallets, and glasses, I think St. Anthony prefers to help us find the intangibles: grace, healing, wholeness. I pray that St. Anthony, who not only understood Scripture but could translate the love behind the words, brings me into closer union with the divine, where every journey ends.
I pray that he can find me in this large crowd of hurting people and bring me the stillness I can’t locate myself. I pray that St. Anthony continues to remind me of God’s love when I stumble and when I stutter. Because I will. But I will rise. I will be lifted.
Questions for Reflection
✦ How do you use prayer and meditation to stabilize your emotions when you are upset? How can prayer bring you to a place of peace and stillness?
✦ St. Anthony can do more than find our lost items. What else can he do to bring you closer to God? How can we lean upon his intercession to help us do that?
✦ St. Anthony was known as a Scripture expert. What passage in Scripture speaks most to your heart? Why?
