The secret of Saint Anthony of Padua according to Don Tonino Bello What is the secret that makes Saint Anthony of Padua such a venerated figure eight centuries later, capable of filling churches even today? The servant of God Antonio Bello, known to everyone as don Tonino, answers us in one of his marvelous homilies delivered in Molfetta Cathedral on June 13, 1987, the feast of Saint Anthony. We present it below, certain that his vibrant words will let us touch the heart of Saint Anthony of Padua firsthand. “Dearest brothers, it may also seem strange to you, after so many centuries, after 8 centuries, that we still venerate the figure of a man who died at the age of 36. It is incredible: he died at 36, yet his name still travels to every corner of the earth. Today I believe there is no village, city, or metropolis anywhere in the world where people do not gather in some church to honor the figure of Saint Anthony of Padua. Why? What is the secret? Why has the figure of this man crossed all these centuries and reached us as well? And today, even though we find ourselves on a weekday, a working day, we fill the church more than we do on Sunday. And I do not know; I want to offer my own interpretation: perhaps Saint Anthony converted to the people.” I will not tell you his life, […] I only want to remind you of what for me is the central episode: he was an intellectual, a university professor; he taught at the university. He was an Augustinian, having entered this religious order, heir to the culture, knowledge, and wisdom of Augustine of Hippo, the Church’s greatest luminary. And so he knew the Scriptures and theology very well; quotations sprang spontaneously from his lips, and his speeches and sermons that have come down to us clearly show this culture. He was an intellectual, an aristocrat of thought; he could have had any number of brilliant careers teaching in academies. Then this highly learned, cultured man was one day struck by the example and the images of some penniless little friars who had arrived from Morocco, followers of Francis of Assisi, who was still alive. You know that Anthony of Padua was a contemporary of Francis of Assisi, and they knew each other; Francis of Assisi called Anthony “my Bishop,” he loved him so dearly. Now what happened? Anthony was captivated by the figure of these simple little friars; he had realized that these people, in a century of so much sophistication, were seeking essential things. He made inquiries and heard that Francis of Assisi spoke of simple things: he called the sun brother, the moon sister; he loved the earth, plants, nature, men, people, but above all he loved God, loved Him unto death, and loved Jesus Christ. He had heard of this extraordinary man who knew how to get to the essential things, and so he too was captivated by the need to return to what is essential. It was a sudden surge of wisdom, a need to feel overwhelmed by the Wisdom of God - wisdom that means knowing how to give life flavor, to add salt to the soup of life. For me, this is conversion; so he left the Academy, the university lecture halls, and the great volumes on which he had spent so much time, and turned to the people. After a period of silence, because he burst onto the scene, one might say, all of a sudden, Anthony, in his wisdom, also went through the novitiate of starting from the bottom: he worked as a cook in the Franciscan friars’ convent, where they immediately welcomed him. He remained silent for a long time; it seemed that he knew only how to serve food and do a few things in the kitchen. Then one day, when a preacher was unavailable during a very important celebration, he was called upon because someone had heard him say very wise things, and that was when everyone came to know his wisdom. From that moment on, Anthony of Padua went from one place to another, through villages and cities, passing like Francis and proclaiming the Good Word, the glad tidings, the Word of God. He spoke about the Gospel, taught the Gospel and, like Francis of Assisi, asked people to put it into practice sine glossa, that is, without many annotations: the Gospel in its entirety, just as it is written. If someone takes your tunic, give him your cloak as well: really? Is that what we are supposed to do? And if someone forces you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Remember Saint Luke? Good grief, are we Christians really supposed to do this? This is the trouble, my brothers, who have come today to honor Saint Anthony: we do not put the Gospel into practice as it is written, because we have dumped tons of exegesis on it. “How many times must I forgive, Lord? Up to seven times?” Saint Peter thought he had said some incredible exaggeration. And Jesus says to him: “Up to seven times? Up to seventy times seven,” that is, always. We, instead, make accommodating interpretations: if someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the left one to him - it is a manner of speaking, but once, twice, then no more. And so, from one line of reasoning to the next, we even end up justifying absurd things, and it almost seems as though the conclusion is this: “If someone slaps you on the right cheek, hit him hard on the left.” Signed, Jesus of Nazareth. But Jesus does not say these things, He does not say them, and that is the trouble, my brothers. Now we have put the Gospel in a cast; we have strapped it down with all these things. Casts are used for protection, whereas the Word of the Gospel should be a boomerang that we throw and that comes back at us. My brothers, this is Saint Anthony. That is why he holds Jesus in his arms. He points us to Jesus Christ and gives us this gift. He holds the Book, which is precisely the sign of the Word of God that we must put into practice without making a big fuss. You see, Francis of Assisi, his teacher, did not even want the friars to have a rule: let your rule be the Holy Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Take the Gospel, my dear brothers, read it, study it, and put it into practice. “If you look at a woman with lust, you have already committed sin with her.” Really? Then what are we doing with all the billboards here? What are we doing with all the television? But the Lord was clear: this is Christianity, not lighting candles; when we do it out of love, that too is Christianity. But that is where it truly exists, not so much in organizing beautiful procession rites. That is why we defend ourselves against Jesus Christ, appease Him, and give Him gifts, like the gifts people give to buy others’ favor. This also happens to buy others’ votes, to buy others’ compliance. Can we do these things with God? What do we take Him for? An old man who lets himself be flattered by our cunning caresses? The Lord loves gestures of love. If they are calculations, He rejects them. My dear brothers, may the message of Saint Anthony reach all of you today: this conversion to the people, to the poor, to ordinary people. He shared the experience of suffering and tribulation with the people, defended them against tyrants, was always beside the weakest, and shared his bread and shelter with the poor. This was Saint Anthony; therefore, people today, especially the poor, love him. The poor love him. Today the poor take their revenge in a positive sense, surrounding him with praise; they love Anthony. This is why: because he was a witness to the Gospel, the one who presented Jesus Christ. My dear brothers, take courage, do not be afraid if life is difficult today. Do not say: “Yes, but today is different from his time.” Yes, it is different; today we have other tribulations: unemployment, drugs, and so much suffering, murder, violence against unborn life, but also against life that has grown and against dying life. We commit so much violence today; we are immersed in very different problems, but if we take on the spirit of Anthony of Padua, we will know how to face these difficulties of the contemporary world as well. And if above all we put the Gospel into practice in our lives, we would also find the strongest answers to today's existential problems: the problem of happiness; what is happiness? The problem of health, the problem of the meaning of life. The problem of friendship, the problem of relationships that are becoming wild, increasingly barbaric, new relationships with people, problems of communion that we all feel. People today want to be together, yet because of another hidden, mysterious force, they feel thrown into the bunker of their loneliness. Well, let us open the Gospel as Anthony shows us, and everything else? This is the Kingdom of God. Everything else, the graces we ask of him, will be given to us in abundance.” Ultimately, Saint Anthony of Padua, with his radical “conversion to the people,” teaches us that the true secret of faith lies in living the Gospel. The secret of Saint Anthony of Padua according to Don Tonino Bello https://hikamika.com/ https://www.drbobbymullins.com/ toto 4d toto slot 4d site martoto https://www.lpm-suam.com/
