Feast of the Lost & Found Department - t. Anthony

Today is the Feast of St. Anthony

Good Morning on this special day...when people all over the world celebrate that infamous saint who helps us find lost things.. Now I am not one to pass along prayer chain letters..and I do not want to offend anyone but my clinical background sometimes places me as a skeptic about a lot of these "miracles" ,,,that we hear about.. but I must say... something really weird has always taken place when I pray to this guy... whoever he is.. to help me find something.. I kid you not.. freaky.. absolutely freaky...


Born in Lisbon in A.D. 1195, St. Anthony, né Ferdinand, was the son of noble, God-fearing parents. He received a good education, and, at the age of fifteen, joined the Canons Regular of St. Augustine which whom he studied Sacred Scripture and the writings of the Fathers. At around the age of 25, he became inspired by the Franciscans martyred in Morocco and decided to join their Order, taking the name "Anthony."

St. Anthony taught at Bologna, Montpellier, and Toulouse, but it was as a fearless orator (he became known as the "Hammer of the Heretics") and a miracle worker that he is most reknowned.

He is know for his many miracles.... but some of the festivities will celebrate his famous preaching to the fish... where he preached and the fishes in hundreds all gathered on the edge of the sea and lifted their heads and opened their mouths.. .or the time the woman's child drowned and she asked St.anthony to bring the child back to life... in return ... she promised bread to the poor.. and the blessing of the Lilies is often celebrated.. they are representative of his purity and were said to have stayed fresh after being placed at a church in the revolutionary France when many priests were murdered...and when some women marry on his feast day they bless their food with a toast.. of Sangria.. and since he died on a Tuesday..many novenas are started on a Tuesday and last for 13 weeks..

Now I am just recording what has been said about him.,,I am not saying that I hold this as fact or truth..but what I do know is that when i ask him to help me find something.. it works..

St Anthony St. Anthony please come around..
Something is lost and can't be found..
When I find it oh how happy I will be
Dear St. Anthony I will thank thee...

He died on June 13th on a Tuesday at the young age of 36...and Gregory IX canonized him within the year.. the fastest one ever..

St. Anthony is the patron of sailors, pregnant women, amputees, fishermen, and the poor. He is invoked against shipwrecks and in order to find lost objects, by women to find a husband, to conceive a child, and to ensure safe childbirth. He is also invoked to see that mail and packages are safely delivered. St. Anthony is most often depicted in art wearing his Franciscan habit and holding a lily and the Christ Child, or sometimes with loaves of bread or a book.

I probably picked up the quiet fascination and praying to this saint from my mother who named my sister after him when she had some blindness at birth.. and was able to see..believe me when i say that I am not one to buy into these "miracles".....but in my own life.. whenever I have prayed to him to find something.. I do.. and sometimes in freaky places.. ...and sometimes forgive me St. Anthony I try to explain this away by saying that it may be that it is a kind o mantra and I am able to channel my thoughts in the right direction..to the goal of finding my lost object.. and some of the findings have been darn right bizarre.

I named my daughter Lynne Antoinette after him..and of all people she is such a non believer.. so she says until a time like the other day when she called me on the phone from Dallas... ."Jennifer has lost her wallet...pray to St. Anthony right now.."..I did and sure enough they called back and the wallet had been found. I know they might have found it anyway. Then there was the time Lynne and I and the kids were lost in the woods on trip .. she ran up to me with a frightened face and whispered, "Pray to St. Anthony . We are lost and I do not want the kids to know..". She was almost at a panic mode. Needless to say we found our way out. Again..this could just be a matra that helps one calm one's nerves and allows him to focus on the issue at hand.

Today I am praying for the very special request that I do not share with everyone and so far the answer has been positive and I feel good about the result Maybe this request will be finalized today on his feast day.

Ironically there is one thing that I have never found and have said the prayer over and over.. I have his statue in my garden holding the Baby Jesus.. and the dogs ...bless them ....have knocked off the stone head of the Baby Jesus.. .and I still have not found it.. only God knows where Charlie has been running around carrying this Head of Jesus..but maybe I should let it be.. maybe he is about the work of St Anthony.. maybe that is Charlie's mission in life..to help St. Anthony find things & carry the word of Jesus.. who knows.. ..well Charlie certainly has helped me find happiness and peace.. with his precious presence.

Now to get back to the living and the practical world..


Do you think St. Anthony had anything to do with the Dallas Mavericks and the glorious win last night ? They are now the NBA Champions.

I didn't need St. Anthony to find the millions of leaves that fall from the beautiful Birch trees that I planted when I moved here Actually i wanted to lose them so I just got out my leaf blower. Talk about miracles.

And maybe St. Anthony inspired me a wee bit to ignore my aching body and find the strength while leaning over and cleaning out the skimmers also filled with leaves.

Speaking of losing things.... I wonder Do you think he can help me lose something like this fat that will not look so good on the beach in Ocean City N J next week.

Can he help me lose those ugly 4 Amadilos that I saw out there in my yard last evening.. yuks..I mean ugly.. yuks..but I wonder They are fantastic at finding nasty critters who destroy my plants. They do eat the insects and beetles and grubbs that eat my plants. So are they then doing the work of St. Anthony finding the nasty critters ?

There must be something that you are searching for So why not give him a try. What can you lose. No pun intended. Maybe St. Anthony will come through for you.

Time to get on with the day. Happy St. Anthony's Feast Day to you and my prayer is that you find the the special request you may have and the peace and joy that you are looking for. Hugs & Kisses.. Mom Nana AKA Jerrie