Happy Feast Day of St. Anthony!
If you ever loose an item, don’t hesitate to invoke St. Anthony! Even if you don’t have a prayer at hand and you are in the middle of your house – with your children already in their car seats – unable to find your house and car keys to lock up…and even if you are also dangerously late to drop your children off to school… pray to St. Anthony a simple improvised prayer. He will listen to you!!
St. Anthony has helped me find so many things. I’ve lost keys, the charger of my vacuum, a valuable Christmas ornament, my car Rego papers on the day my Rego expired… oh so many little miracles for this Giant worker of God.
One day, I couldn’t find the house keys that I JUST had in my own hands… so, in desperation, I urgently begged St. Anthony to help me… but nothing happened. I kept looking and the desperation intensified by the second without finding it! Then, I added to my prayer a promise and not even 15 seconds after this “agreement” something “click” in my brain and I retraced my steps into the Red Bin where I dropped a bag of rubbish just before puting my children on the car… and there they where: my keys. What a relief was that!
…
This episode reminded me of when my 5 years old daughter lost a very precious – $1- plastic ring that she carries everywhere. She was crying because she couldn’t find it, so I told her to pray to St. Anthony. I never mentioned St. Anthony at home before and it turned into a lesson on how Saints are God’s friends. I also explained to her that St. Anthony was good at finding stuff. So, without further adieu, and with that certainty and blind faith so unique in children, she proceeded to pray… and she started to look around again.
After a few minutes she stopped and put a face of thinking and positioned her hand on her forehead, and after a few seconds she said to me: “Mummy, maybe Jesus can send a message into my brain to find it.”… I was shocked. She was still trying to process how a Saint will help her find something.
I smiled and I said to her that I was certain He would do that. 30 seconds after, she found a Christmas Ornament that I lost back in January (and we were in March already). She was excited and surprised because she knew I’ve being looking for it for months!
After a while she did find her ring. So the communication lines between St. Anthony, Jesus and her brain were very well tunned. Since then, she has had St. Anthony as her best friend and everytime she looses something she immediately stops and prays… and she finds what she was looking for.
This scientific evidence and analysis from a 5 years old about how Saints can intercede for us is irrefutable!!! Jesus himself has told us that THEY – children – are the way to heaven.
“Blessed are the pure in heart: they shall see God.” Matthew 5, 8.
“But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children alone, and do not stop them from coming to me; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of Heaven belongs.’” Matthew 19, 14.
Truly it is. I could’ve explained to her how in the Spiritual Life St. Anthony might guide her to the bedroom and guide her to where exactly she could find her lost item… because I think like a grown up, because in my own faith I always, somehow, try to rationalise it and make it “credible” even though Faith is blind and you can’t explain the inexplicable… so God, once again, gave me an important lesson through my daughter.
Our duty is to raise our children to be disciples of Christ… to be a Saint of God… but it looks like they are teaching us the same in their simplicity and humility.
Thank you Lord always for all you have given us.
St. Anthony, pray for us.
God bless you,
Liza, a Maronite Mum
Maronite Mum 