Saint Anthony of Padua: Saint of Miracles

This upcoming Friday the Thirteenth, we have no reason to be superstitious, because that day is the FEAST OF SAINT ANTHONY!

Saint Anthony is widely known as the “Saint of Miracles,” and that is certainly not a misnomer! Immediately after his death, St. Anthony began granting miracles to those persons who prayed for his intercession- so much to the point that he was very quickly canonized!

In many areas of our lives, we are told to “aim high.” If that is the case, why should we not “aim high” in our spiritual life and ask for a miracle? If we ask God for a miracle in good confidence, our great faith will surely be to His delight, even if he might answer our prayers in a way that is different from what we expected. To reflect the importance of putting great faith in God’s power and the intercessions of His Saints, St. Anthony wrote the following hymn. This hymn is sung in his Basilica on the Feast of Saint Anthony:

If then you ask for miracles,
Death, error, all calamities,
Leprosy and demons fly,
And health succeeds infirmities.

The sea obeys and fetters break,
And lifeless limbs you do restore;
While treasures lost are found again,
When young and old your aid implore.

All dangers vanish at your prayer,
And direst need does quickly flee;
Let those who know your power proclaim,
Let Paduans say: these are yours.

To Father, Son may glory be
And Holy Spirit, eternally.

This is a link to a wonderful website dedicated to Saint Anthony. There you can read about the many prayers that were answered by this great Saint, including some of the miracles that are attributed to him!