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Friends of the Rosary,
Today is the Feast Day of St. Anthony of Padua (1195-1231), also known as St. Anthony of Lisbon, one of the most popular saints in the Church, patron of lost objects, the poor, and various other causes.
Born in Lisbon, Portugal, he was a forceful and eloquent preacher with a penetrating power of conviction.
Pope Gregory IX called him the Arca Testamenti, meaning “the living repository of the Holy Scripture,” and Pope Pius XII proclaimed him a Doctor of the Church.
Because of his success in converting heretics, he was called the “Hammer of Heretics,” and because of his learning, St. Francis himself appointed him a teacher of theology.
St. Anthony became associated with Padua because he made this city his residence and the center of his preaching mission.
From the day of his death in Padua in 1231, at the age of 36, he was invoked as a wonderworker, with numerous miracles attributed to him.
Considering the crucified Lord, Anthony writes: “Christ, who is your life, is hanging before you, so that you may look at the cross as in a mirror. There you will be able to know how mortal were your wounds, that no medicine other than the Blood of the Son of God could heal…. Nowhere other than looking at himself in the mirror of the cross can man better understand how much he is worth.”
On a day like this in 1917, when the feast of St. Anthony of Lisbon was celebrated — and it was the children’s feast in Portugal — Our Lady of Fatima appeared to the three shepherds for the second time. The Holy Virgin gave us the Fatima prayer:
“I want you to come here on the thirteenth of next month. I want you to continue saying the Rosary every day. And after each one of the mysteries, my children, I want you to pray in this way: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fire of hell. Take all souls to heaven, especially those who are most in need. I want you to learn to read and write, and later I will tell you what else I want of you.”
She also said,
“Jesus wishes also for you to establish devotion in the world to my Immaculate Heart.”
Sor Lucia related the scene this way,
“In front of the palm of Our Lady’s right hand was a heart encircled with thorns which appeared to pierce it.
We understood that it was the Immaculate Heart of Mary that was offended by the sins of mankind, craving reparation.”
The apparition then concluded as on the first occasion, with the Lady going off toward the east and disappearing in the “immensity of heaven.”
Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!
Come, Holy Spirit, come!
To Jesus through Mary!
Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Please give us the grace to respond with joy!
+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New York
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