St. Anthony: The Preacher

The gospel scene given for the feast of St. Anthony of Padua is Jesus instructing the apostles before ascension, and what happened thereafter (Mark 16: 14-20). The eleven went forth, and preached everywhere. The lord continued to work with them. Preaching has been a continuous phenomenon in the Church: Peter, Paul, Augustine, Dominic, Anthony of Padua, Fulton J sheen, and list reaches people who stand among us—we have unbroken 2000 years of continuous preaching. If we do a little research into the history of Catholic preaching, and find out who were the best 10 catholic preachers of all time, we would definitely find the name, St. Anthony of Padua among the first ten. He is no small a man, it was not for fun he was called ‘hammer of heretics’. People were amazed at the comfort and confidence with which he preached that even the fishes listened to him.

How does one get this courage and confidence to stand up and preach? Of course the Lord continues to work with people; butt what is expected of the preachers? In the light of St. Anthony I would highlight two factors, of which at least one must be possessed by a preacher to have the confidence and comfort to stand and speak—education and compassionate being with the other.

Learning: Constant reading and studying, though which one processes and clarifies ideas, and become convinced of what one is saying is important to be comfortable in saying it. Do not underestimate the power of education. St. Anthony was a learned man, a theologian, and someone who has personally processed the scriptures.

St. Francis of Assisi and St. Anthony of Padua were contemporaries. While their lives didn't overlap for many years, they did share a period of time, particularly between 1220 and 1226, when they were both actively involved in the early growth of the Franciscan Order. In 1224, St. Francis sent a letter to St. Anthony, asking him to teach theology to the friars.

Compassionate being with people: His preaching has taken the sheen out of the compassionate being St. Anthony has done. He has demonstrated his unwavering faith and ability to intervene on behalf of others; his miracles are testament to it. Even him joining the Franciscan Order is strong emotion, empathetic feeling with the martyrs of Morocco. A Benedictine monk, associated St. Anthony with caring for those afflicted with ergotism disease.

A preacher must posses at least one of the above qualities, the rest we leave to God. But, interestingly, there are people who have a blend of both; they become a breed of their own. They become miracles. Ephesians 7: 15 names it as “growing to the full maturity of Christ the head.” Pope Francis’ charisma comes from this blend, Gandhi’s charisma comes from this blend, and we can identify many more there.

What has come down, as primary resources, about St. Anthony of Padua are his sermons; 1200 plus pages of collection of all his published sermons. Having read through some of its pages, to be honest, with the nuances that modern life has evolved into, the examples and context belongs to another time; and would speak less to our times. But the over arching themes are definitely relevant to our times; and they give us a glimpse of what kind of a person St. Anthony was. These sermons must have definitely been a guiding light for thousands through the dark ages.

I took the help of AI and asked it to study the 1200 page long text and give me the most overarching concepts and messages. It gave me four words: biblical concordance, compassion, humility, and obedience.

St Anthony ‘s preaching was a concordance of the scriptures; every paragraph and idea was supported with scriptures. St. Anthony's preaching was deeply intertwined with the scriptures, demonstrating a profound understanding and utilisation of biblical texts. It was hyperbolically said about St Anthony that, even if by chance we lose the entire bible, St. Anthony would be able to rewrite it from his sermons.

I have here taken a few passages of the scriptures that caught my spirit and attention, which because of the way St. Anthony the preacher has used them have broken its silence and muteness and spoke about compassion and humility.

“Mercy irrigates the heart” (Ecclesiasticus). Every act of compassion, thoughtfulness, mercy, forgiveness, inclusion would irrigate our heart to be become more and more human, and produce more and more fruits of mercy. Every act of mercilessness, revenge, thoughtlessness, exclusivity hardens the soil of our hearts. Remember the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, and the fate of seeds that fell on hard, shallow, rocky, and thorny ground.

His compassion was first evident in his radical decision to join the Franciscans to live among the poor and serve the marginalised. He was moved with unusual empathy to stand with the Franciscan martyrs of Morocco.

A family/community of indifferent people will never have enough.

People look up to us, counting on our compassion. A society with indifferent people will never have enough; a family/community with indifferent people will never have enough. Indifference is such a cruel term that indicates lack of interest, lack of empathy, and mediocrity. They just survive—some with plenty and wastefully, and others in poverty lacking even the basic necessities of life.

“Give alms; and behold, all things are clean to you” (Lk 11.41). Jesus explained to a group of Pharisees and their lawyers that their ceremonies are for show. Their ultimate purpose is to impress people. Their reputation does not reflect their hearts, which are full of greed and wickedness. They are like cups and plates cleaned on the outside but dirty on the inside. They forget that God expects internal holiness, not just external displays (Luke 11:37–40, 45). The true spiritual uncleanness is in the heart including theft, false witness, slander, evil thoughts, and murder are what defile a person. Giving alms is a cultural sign of a good heart.

In a sermon on humility, St Anthony borrows words from St. Gregory the Great, “Humility is such a precious thing, that even pride would like to be clothed in it, lest its own wickedness be seen.” St. Anthony used a scriptural image that speaks volumes on humility. The context is John 13, the last supper. Anthony quotes, “He laid aside his garments.” Humility is laying aside one’s garments of showing off, flaunting, boasting, bragging, and making a display of. Note that there are four strippings of Christ’s garments. At the supper, he laid them aside and resumed them; at the pillar of scourging he was stripped; at the soldiers’ mocking he was stripped and lots were cast for his garment, and at the Cross he was stripped, and was crucified naked. But once he had stripped himself of his garment as an act of humility.

St. Anthony was a radical preacher of his time. We have reduced him to a doll-looking image on the church and chapel niches and walls. We run to him only when we lose something. We don't realise that at times it is Jesus who makes us shed and let go a few things of gold and silver. Going back to today’s first reading from Book of

He has made St. Anthony too lose a few things which we think are precious. St Anthony, though died a natural death, the reason for his death at the young age of 35 must have been exhaustion; he could have had a better life in the noble family where he was born. Macarius, a desert father, announced that he is going to the desert to wrestle with God. His disciple with amusement asked him, “Do you hope to win?” “No,” he answered, “I desire and pray for the grace to lose.” It is by losing a few things for God we win a place in his household, we begin to work with him and for him.

St. Anthony was a learned man who compassionately moved around the people. He preached compassion, humility, and obedience. He is far from what we have made him—a money making machine. In fact, every occasion from Christmas of the Lord to his death and resurrection, and Ascension to Pentecost, have become occasions to make profit for the church.

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