Novena - Fr. Michael Briziofrmichaelbrizio.com/.../07/...Padua-novena-year-b.pdf · (Elisabetta...

Novena St. Anthony of Padua

Fr. Michael Brizio, IMC

www.frmichaelbrizio.com

(Anthony van Dyck, 1630-1632)

http://www.frmichaelbrizio.com/

Day 1 – June 4

()

(Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1668)

• In the Name of the Father…

• Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.

• Prayer

Almighty God and Father, today I give you thanks for St. Anthony of Padua and all your saints

who surround me like a great cloud of witnesses and make heaven a home for my heart.

May the lamp of faith by which he walked never be hidden under a multitude of worldly cares.

Help me to treasure the light and share it with those around me, and then pass it on for generations

that are to come.

By the enabling grace of the Lord Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit, please assist me to so

worship you here, and to love and serve you in all my daily affairs, that in the hour of my death I

may be gathered with St. Anthony of Padua and all your Saints to that choir of the redeemed whose

joy and praise is unending.

To you, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, be honor, glory and power through Christ

our Lord in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.

• St. Anthony’s Life

Born in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1195,

St. Anthony was given the

baptismal name of Fernando. At the

age of 15, he entered the religious

Order of the Canons Regular of St.

Augustine. At the Monastery of the

Holy Cross in Coimbra, in 1219, he

met a group of young Franciscan

Friars who were going on a

missionary expedition to Morocco.

Their zeal for the Gospel impressed

him. His holiness touched them.

• The Word of God: Luke 18:31-34

• St. Anthony Speaks to Me

“What will you give me,” Judas said, “if I hand Jesus over to you” (Matthew 26:15), asking that a

price be set in exchange for the Son of God.

“What will you give me?” Judas, do you want to offer Jesus to the highest bidder like a slave, or

sell him like merchandise in a store?

You ask, “What will you give me?” What can they give you? Were they to give you Jerusalem,

Galilee and Samaria, would these be a suitable price for the Son of God? Were they to give you

heaven with all its angels, the earth with all its peoples, the seas and all they contain, would all

these suffice in exchange for Jesus, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and

knowledge” (Colossians 2:3)?

Can the Creator of all things be bought and sold by his creatures? And you, Judas, say, “What will

you give me, and I will hand him over to you?”

Tell me, Judas, how did he hurt or harm you that you are so eager to betray him? Do you remember

this man’s love and goodness? Or his kindness and compassion? Can you no longer recall his

gentle words or his marvelous deeds? Can you no longer remember the tears he shed over

Jerusalem, or at the grave of his friend, Lazarus? Have you forgotten that he chose you as his

trusted friend and disciple? Do you still dare to ask, “What will you give me, and I will hand him

over to you?”

• Litany

Lord, have mercy on me. Christ, have mercy on me. Lord, have mercy on me.

Christ, hear me. Christ, graciously hear me.

God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on me.

God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on me.

God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on me.

Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on me.

Holy Mary, mother of God and of the Church, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

St. Anthony, glory of the Church, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

St. Anthony, preacher of the Gospel, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

St. Anthony, teacher of heavenly wisdom, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

St. Anthony, destroyer of worldly vanity, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

St. Anthony, conqueror of impurity, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

St. Anthony, example of humility, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

St. Anthony, lover of the Cross, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

St. Anthony, martyr of desire, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

St. Anthony, generator of charity, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

St. Anthony, zealous for justice, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

St. Anthony, model of perfection, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

St. Anthony, consoler of the afflicted, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

St. Anthony, restorer of lost things, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

St. Anthony, defender of innocence, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

St. Anthony, liberator of prisoners, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

St. Anthony, guide of pilgrims, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

St. Anthony, restorer of health, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

St. Anthony, performer of miracles, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

St. Anthony, restorer of speech to the mute, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

St. Anthony, restorer of hearing to the deaf, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

St. Anthony, restorer of sight to the blind, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love..

St. Anthony, disperser of devils, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

St. Anthony, reviver of the dead, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

St. Anthony, tamer of tyrants, inspire me to greater faith, hope and love.

From the snares of the devil, deliver me, O Lord.

From thunder, lightning and storms, deliver me, O Lord.

From all evil of body and soul, deliver me, O Lord.

Throughout the course of life, protect me, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, spare me, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear me, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on me.

• Prayer

Your love, Almighty God and Father, is timeless. In your great mercy stir up in me that fire of

love that burned ardently in your servant St. Anthony of Padua. Bestow on me your pardon and

grant that I also may be converted and become as a little child. With your grace sustain me in my

needs, especially in ________.

May I so trust you in this temporal world and allow you to shape my life that at the end of my days

I may join St. Anthony of Padua and all your saints within your eternal world, where all is light,

love, peace and joy.

Through the saving compassion of the Lord Jesus, who lives and loves with you and the Holy

Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Day 2 – June 5

(Elisabetta Sirani, 1656)



• Prayer





that are to come.








When news reached Coimbra in

1220 that the five Franciscan

missionaries had been brutally

tortured and killed by the Muslims

in Morocco, St. Anthony was

profoundly saddened. Their

remains were returned to his

monastery for burial. The

martyrdom of his friends stirred St.

Anthony to search the Scriptures

and to reflect even more deeply on

the Gospel values of life and love.

• The Word of God: Luke 23:6-12


Jesus, the Son of God, before whom choirs of angels “with tireless voices proclaim: holy, holy,

holy, the Lord God of hosts,” is mocked by Herod and his guards.

The prophet Daniel says: “A thousand thousand waited on him, ten thousand times ten thousand

stood before him” (Daniel 7:10).

Now he becomes the butt of Herod’s cruel jokes.

God clothed his Son with the sinless robe of humanity, acquired from the Immaculate Virgin. The

Father glorified his Son; Herod derided him. The Father clothed him with a robe of magnificence;

Herod covered him with a cloak of ignominy.

There are many Herods among us today. The name Herod is interpreted to mean “the glory of

external appearances.”

It is an appropriate name for a hypocrite who takes pains to make a good impression by his external

appearances and conversation.

Like Herod, a hypocrite mocks and makes fun of Christ: he mocks Christ when he externally

professes belief in the crucified God but internally bears no resemblance to him. He makes fun of

Christ when he mockingly dresses him in the apparel of royalty to delude and deceive his

followers.

The Roman writer, Cato, aptly described such a person when he wrote, “A bird catcher will play

a sweet tune when he wants to catch a bird” (Disticha 1:27).

How many Herods are there among us who are motivated solely by external impressions and

appearances!

• Litany







































• Prayer










Day 3 – June 6

(Bernardo Strozzi, 1625)



• Prayer





that are to come.








Already ordained a priest in the

Canons Regular, St. Anthony began

to discern that God was calling him

to a Franciscan vocation. He began

to visit the nearby olive grove

where the friars lived in an

impoverished hermitage. There St.

Anthony came to know the spirit of

St. Francis, the “Little Poor Man of

Assisi.” With the permission of the

Church, St. Anthony was soon

invested as a friar in the habit of the

Franciscan Order.

• The Word of God: John 19:1-7.


Isaiah says: “When the destructive whip goes by, it will crush you; each time it goes by, it will

seize you” (28:18-19).

To free us from the destructive whip of eternal death and the power of evil, Jesus underwent the

shame and the pain of scourging.

Father, when you saw your only Son, equal to you in majesty, bound and flogged like a guilty

criminal, how could you contain your divine wrath?

O, the patience of the Father’s forgiveness! The meekness and gentleness of divine fidelity! The

inscrutable secret of the plan of redemption!

We thank you, Father, because through your Son’s chains and stripes we have been freed from the

bonds of sin and delivered from the scourge of the devil.

Many people still act like Pontius Pilate. The name Pontius Pilate means “rejection,” and Pilate

means “armed with a hammer.”

The Pontius Pilates of today forsake their good intentions and resolutions and return to their mire,

that is, to their life of evil. Armed with the hammer of their tongues, they scourge the followers

of Christ with their blasphemous mouths. To excuse their own viciousness, they accuse some of

pride, others of gluttony and to appear innocent themselves, they project their own guilt on others.

• Litany







































• Prayer










Day 4 – June 7

(Antonio de Pereda, 1660)



• Prayer





that are to come.








Inflamed by the heroic example of

the martyrs, St. Anthony requested

permission of his Franciscan

superiors to go as a missionary to

Morocco. His greatest hope was to

serve the Lord by preaching the

Gospel and offering his life as a

martyr. God would have a different

plan. After arriving in Morocco, St.

Anthony fell desperately ill, and

remained in a semi-conscious state

for weeks. He would have to return

to Portugal.

• The Word of God: John 14:5-10


Christ is “life” for those without life.” “Because I live, you will live also” (John 14:19).

And Isaiah says: “They shall not build houses for others to live in, or plant for others to eat” (Isaiah

65:22).

The tree planted in the earth “near running waters” (Psalm 1:3), near streams of grace, is Jesus

Christ.

His days are eternal because “his reign will be without end” (Luke 1:33). And the days of his elect

will also be eternal because death is no more. Their God “is the God of the living, not of the dead”

(Mark 12:27).

“I am the life” means that Christ is our life in example, truth in promise, life in reward; a way that

is straight, a truth which does not deceive, a life that never ends.

“No one comes to the Father but through me” (John 14:6). Jesus says: “I am the gate. Whoever

enters through me will be safe. He will go in and out, and find pasture” (John 10:9).

There was a gate in Jerusalem called the “eye of the needle” through which a camel could not pass.

Since the camel is not a humble animal, it could not stoop low enough to pass through the gate.

This gate is the humble Christ. The proud and the greedy, burdened with false pretensions and

riches, cannot enter through it. Those who wish to enter must humble themselves by stooping.

Those who enter through this door will be saved as long as they persevere. Whoever belongs to

the Church and lives in its faith will leave this world to possess life in eternity. There he will find

pastures of unending joy.

• Litany







































• Prayer










Day 5 – June 8

(AIonso Cano, 1660)



• Prayer





that are to come.








Having bade farewell to his beloved

Africa and his missionary dreams,

St. Anthony’s journey of life soon

encountered a new challenge. His

ship was blown off course by a

terrible storm on the Mediterranean.

The ailing St. Anthony, lost at sea,

found his “anchor” in the Lord. He

surrendered himself to the holy will

of God.

• The Word of God: Matthew 5:5-6; 27:45-50


The Lord will console anyone who grieves because of the wretchedness of this earthly exile, or

who mourns for his own or his brothers’ sins. Even close to his own death, Christ did not forget

his mother, but consoled her with the words: “Woman, there is your son.”

The consolation of the Lord is promised through the mouths of his prophets Nahum and Zechariah:

“The Lord is good, a refuge in the day of distress. He takes care of those who have recourse to

him (1:7); ‘I will be for her an encircling wall of fire says the Lord, and I will be the glory in her

midst’” (2:9).

Christ is this encircling wall of fire, destroying all our enemies, yet preserving and refreshing us

with his glory.

Those who hunger and thirst for justice render to each person his proper due. In fulfilment of the

law, they love God and their brothers and sisters, and in justice they grieve about the sins they

have committed.

Notice that Christ cried out the words “My God” twice, as if to indicate the twofold love of God

and man; the words “forsaken me” emphasize our need for repentance.

The Lord speaks of this threefold obligation to justice through the mouth of the prophet Habakkuk:

“The just man, because of his faith, shall live” (2:4).

A man “just” to himself, has “faith” in God, and has an obligation to “live” with his neighbor. A

just man lives with faith in God, loving his neighbor, and judging and condemning only himself.

“The man who does not love,” says St. John, “is among the living dead” (3:14).

• Litany







































• Prayer










Day 6 – June 9

(El Greco, 1580)



• Prayer





that are to come.








Divine Providence sent St.

Anthony’s ship eastward towards

Italy. Setting foot on Sicily, St.

Anthony felt weak and abandoned.

Identifying himself with the hungry

and homeless, he reached out to the

poor, and determined to persevere

in his Franciscan vocation. He

made his way northward to Assisi

where St. Francis and the friars

were convening at their general

assembly, known as the 1221

“Chapter of Mats.” A new day was

dawning for St. Anthony and the Order.

• The Word of God: Matthew 5:7-8; John 19:28-30


God will be merciful to us if we are merciful to each other.

“Parched with thirst, Christ cried out on the cross for mercy but they did not offer him a cup of

cool water. Instead they gave a drink of vinegar mixed with gall, which he refused to drink”

(Matthew 27:34).

Christ did not drink the vinegar and gall, symbols of the bitterness of our sins, as if to indicate his

own sinlessness.

The Lord complains about man’s lack of mercy through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah: “When I

looked for the crop of grapes, why did it bring forth wild grapes? I looked for judgment, but see,

bloodshed! For justice, but hark the outcry!” (5:4,7).

The wild grapes, bloodshed and outcry are our sins of greed and licentiousness.

The prophet Ezekiel accuses us in this way: “At every street corner you built a dais for yourself to

use your beauty obscenely, spreading your legs for every passerby” (16:25).

He who wishes to see God must put an end to sin, using the words of Christ on the cross: “It is

finished!”

The Lord warns us through the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel: “Yes, the destruction of the Lord, the

God of hosts, will be felt throughout the whole land” (10:23); “An end! The end has come upon

the four corners of the land! Now the end is upon you; I will unleash my anger against you and

judge you according to your conduct" (7:2-3).

• Litany







































• Prayer










Day 7 – June 10

(Titian, Madonna and Child with St. Anthony of Padua and St. Roch, c. 1508)



• Prayer





that are to come.








Though foreign and sickly, St.

Anthony soon came to be

recognized by the friars as a brilliant

theologian and powerful preacher.

He was assigned to preach

throughout Italy and southern

France. At Rimini he was heckled

by a heretic who denied the Real

Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

St. Anthony challenged the heretic

to let his donkey choose between a

file of sumptuous animal fodder or

the Eucharist. As St. Anthony held

the Blessed Sacrament, the donkey approached and knelt in adoration.

• The Word of God: Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23


When we follow Christ, we walk a very narrow path. It is the path of justice, poverty and

obedience, a path that Christ followed throughout his life.

It is not a wide and winding road, but a straight and narrow path of moral courage. Although it is

narrow, one can walk along this path with great freedom.

There is another way, wide and spacious, the way of the world. Most people do not recognize its

broadness. To a drunkard, even a wide road appears narrow and restrictive. Evil, like drunkenness,

gives a distorted image of reality, confining and enslaving a sinner within its grasp.

On the other hand, although obedience and poverty appear to confine and restrict one’s freedom,

they actually liberate us from our chains and set us free.

Whoever follows Jesus along the straight and narrow path will not be hampered by attachment to

material things or by selfish dependence on his own will, both of which hinder and restrict spiritual

progress.

Follow me and I will show you what “eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor heart of man

conceived” (1 Corinthians 2:9). Follow me and “I will give you treasures out of darkness and

riches that have been hidden away” (Isaiah 45:3), and “then shall you be radiant at what you see

and your heart will throb and rejoice” (Isaiah 60:5).

You will see “God face to face, as he really is.” You will become radiant in body and soul; your

heart will throb and overflow with wonder at the choirs of angels and the celestial Kingdom of the

saints.

• Litany







































Prayer










Day 8 – June 11

(Giambattista Tiepolo, 1767-1769)



• Prayer





that are to come.








Known as the “Evangelical

Doctor,” St. Anthony defended the

teachings of the church through a

new evangelization faithful to the

Pope and the Magisterium. His

opponents sometimes prevented

people from coming to hear him

preach. On one such occasion in

Rimini, St. Anthony looked out to

the sea and began preaching to the

fish. Thousands of fish came to the

surface, and arranging themselves

in rows, eagerly listened. Word of

this amazing wonder spread, and the people soon came to hear and believe.

• The Word of God: Matthew 6:29-34


The Kingdom of God is the highest good and we must therefore seek it. We look for it with faith,

hope and charity.

The justice of God’s Kingdom consists in observing everything Christ taught us. To seek his

Kingdom means to realize fully the justice of the Kingdom through good works.

Hence, seek his Kingdom above all else. Make it the most important thing in your life. Everything

else must be sought in view of this Kingdom; nothing should be asked beyond it. Whatever we

ask must serve that end.

Note what else Jesus says: “these things will be given you besides.” This is so because everything

belongs to the children of God and, therefore, these things are given to them besides, even when

they don’t look for them.

If these things are taken from them, it is to put them to the test; if they are given them, it is so that

they may give thanks. Everything serves their good.

In the book of Tobit, we read about this Kingdom: “The streets of Jerusalem shall be paved with

rubies and stones of Ophir; the gates of Jerusalem shall sing hymns of gladness; and all her houses

shall cry out, “Alleluia! Blessed be God who has raised you up! May he be blessed for all ages!”

(Tobit 13:17-18).

Bear in mind that there are three Jerusalems: the allegorical, which is the Church militant; the

moral, which is the faithful soul, and the anagogical or spiritual, which is the Church triumphant.

• Litany







































• Prayer










Day 9 – June 12

(Guercino, 1656)



• Prayer





that are to come.








The Italy of St. Anthony’s day was

a land of conflict. Political disputes

between the Emperor and the Pope

divided the people and caused great

civil strife. St. Anthony’s

reputation as a healer sometimes

thrust him into the role of

peacemaker. To tyrants and

warring factions, he proposed one

simple formula for the healing of

strife: reconciliation in Christ.

St. Anthony died on the 13th of

June 1231 at the friary in Arcella, a

short distance from Padua. In his

dying hours fortified by the

sacraments of the Church, he

prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary,

singing the hymn O Gloriosa

Domina (“O Glorious Lady”). His

body was returned for burial to the

friars’ small chapel of Our Lady in

St. Anthony’s beloved Padua.

• The Word of God: Isaiah 11:1-4


A shoot of a plant is said to be tall, straight, firm, slender and pliant. The Blessed Lady shares

many of these characteristics.

The Blessed Virgin is tall in her sublime contemplation of heaven; she is a perfect example of

straightforward holiness, firm and unwavering in her resolution, slender and thin in her poverty

and flexible in her humility.

This shoot will sprout from the root of Jesse, King David, a forefather of Mary, “from whom was

born Jesus, who is called the Messiah” (Matthew 1:16).

“Fair as a hind, graceful as a fawn” (Proverbs 5:19).

It is said that when a hind is ready to give birth to a fawn, it seeks out a place not too far or isolated

from human contact, knowing that wolves avoid places frequented by people.

Our Blessed Lady, like a “fair hind,” gave birth to Our Lord near a place where travelers lodged.

“She gave birth to her first born and wrapped him in swaddling clothes,” so that we may someday

be clothed in eternal glory, “and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the

place where travelers lodged” (Luke 2:7).

He who merited for us many mansions in heaven, could find no room for himself in an inn.

The Gospels of SS. Luke and John record only six utterances of the Blessed Virgin Mary. First,

Mary spoke to the angel, emphasizing her firm proposal of inviolate virginity: “How can this be

since I do not know man” (Luke 1:34)?

Second, she showed her outstanding humility and obedience to God: “I am the servant of the Lord”

(Luke 1:38).

Third, she expressed her joy and gratitude for the grace bestowed on her: “My being proclaims the

greatness of the Lord” (Luke 1:48).

Fourth, she showed her solicitude for the welfare of her son: “Son, why have you done this to us?”

(Luke 2:48).

Fifth, she demonstrated compassion toward others: “They have no wine” (John 2:3).

The sixth time Mary spoke was to express her faith in the miraculous powers of her son: “Do

whatever he tells you” (John 2:5).

These six utterances are like the six steps leading to Solomon’s throne, like the six petals of a lily,

or like the six branches of a candlestick.

• Litany







































• Prayer



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