My mother was awarded a gold medal when she participated in a piano contest as a young woman. Years later, she lost the medal in Oceanside, California. I was a child then, and it seems to me that she prayed to St. Anthony for over a month.
The medal turned up in Tijuana, Mexico, and was returned by a man who recognized her maiden name on the medal. The miracle was that the medal was taken to Mexico and back, and that our family name was known in Mexico. It was all a marvel and a miracle. St. Anthony continues to help us all.
He is one of the great saints of the Catholic Church, and one of the beloved--even far beyond Catholics themselves. Untold numbers of people turn to him, still, when there is loss. And strangely--at least strangely in the usual ways of the world--those things often quickly turn up. And often they turn up in the most unexpected--even seemingly miraculous ways. Let the stories begin.
