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One of my favorite stories of St. Anthony is the one about how, during the final years of his life, the friars built Anthony a treehouse in a large walnut tree not far from the friary.
One day, when Anthony came down from the tree to join the other friars for lunch, he became seriously ill.
Jesus challenged the man with paralysis with the words, “Pick up your mat and walk” (Jn 5:1–8). To have abundant life, he needed to act.
St. Anthony can, through meditation and prayer, help us find a sense of calm long enough to hear God’s voice.
In canonizing Anthony in 1232, Pope Gregory IX spoke of him as the “Ark of the Testament” and the “Repository of Holy Scripture.”
Many years ago, a priest gave me advice in confession that ruffles my feathers. He told me that I did too much talking to God—and that I needed to shut up and learn to listen better.
St. Anthony’s peaceful way of being still impresses after 800 years.
Pentecost: the day the Church caught fire—literally and figuratively. Tongues of flame, a rushing wind, and suddenly a band of bewildered disciples became bold proclaimers of the Gospel.
We live in a broken reality, and a lot of times there isn’t anything we can do to fix it. This helplessness that we feel is a natural part of navigating this broken world.
I was looking forward to meeting a friend at a volleyball game. It had been a disturbing week. When I looked up in the stands, there he was chatting with the source of my disturbance.
