Charles Warren Stoddard St. Anthony of Padua - lector, orator, contemplative, wonder-worker - is considered to be the most popular Saint in the Catholic Church. He was of French descent, from Portugal, but worked in Italy as a Franciscan priest. Renowned for his incredible miracles - including preaching to the fish when people would not listen to him - he is most famous as "The Patron Saint of Lost Objects," but he bears many other great titles, e.g., Doctor of the Church, Hammer of Heretics, Storehouse of Sacred Scripture, Father of Mystic Theology, Ark of Both Testaments, Champion of the Sacred Heart, Apostle of Mary's Assumption, Protector of Seafarers and Patron of a Bountiful Harvest. St. Bonaventure said of him that "He possessed the science of the Angels, the faith of the Patriarchs, the foreknowledge of the Prophets, the zeal of the Apostles, the purity of virgins, the austerities of confessors, and the heroism of martyrs." In all, one will search hard in the annals of the Saints to find a more fascinating and inspiring life than that of St. Anthony of Padua.
This attractive booklet tells the life story of the beloved Franciscan, St. Anthony of Padua -- finder of lost articles, helper in troubles, healer of bodies and spirits, and patron of lovers and marriage. Devotions to Anthony and legends about his life are included along with perspective on Anthony's meaning today.
A brief biography of the much-loved thirteenth-century priest who lived and taught in northern Italy and was recognised as a saint within a year of his death.
Excerpt: 2. S. Antony of Padua was not only one of the greatest, but, perhaps, the most popular, among the preachers of the Middle Ages. His extant Sermons, or, as they might rather be called, Sermon Notes, though coming down to us with all the disadvantages of their skeleton form, nevertheless evince a grasp of the Sacred Volume which well entitles him to the name bestowed on him by Gregory IX., -"The Ark of the Testament." That which he exemplifies in his discourses, he shows in a not less striking manner by the "Concordantiæ Morales," which are now, for the first time, presented to the English reader. 3. To enter into the question of the allegorical interpretation of Scripture in which the Middle Ages delighted, would require a volume instead of a preface. [Further remarks on this subject may be seen, if the reader wishes it, in the introduction to my Mediæval Preachers.] It is not denied that many of the passages adduced by S. Antony could scarcely be quoted to a modern audience in the sense in which he applies them. Nevertheless even from these, by way of illustration, if not by way of proof, a preacher of the present century might learn much, as a few examples, presently to be given will, perhaps, prove. 4. The "Moral Concordances" have come down to us in a very imperfect state. They were long supposed to be lost, and indeed considerable doubts were entertained whether such a book had ever existed. S. Antony died in 1231, and the manuscript was not discovered till about 1638, when it was disinterred in the library attached to the Church called Aracoeli, in Rome. It seems to have been published without very much attention to the correctness of its references; and as its author had, of course, merely referred to the chapter, without the verse, a great portion of the mistakes which occur may be owing to such (then necessary) vagueness of quotation. Further, it would seem that the subjects and the texts had been written in parallel columns, so that sometimes the verse which ought to have been last on one list, has found its way into the section which follows. The references are throughout most incorrectly given; one book even of Holy Scripture being sometimes substituted for another, while the chapters are very frequently wrong, and the verses in the later edition badly quoted in, perhaps, one instance out of three. 5. In the present edition all the references have been verified, and have been made to correspond with the authorised version
Guidelines, devotions, and prayers for growth in the spirit of the "Saint of the World." Contains a short biography of this great Saint together with the most popular prayers to him. Text is in large type. Printed and illustrated in two colors.
