Prayer To St. Anthony For The Family

Dear St. Anthony, we turn to you to ask your protection for our family. Called by God, you left your home to consecrate your life to good works for your neighbor, and have come to the aid of countless families, even with wondrous deeds, to bring peace and serenity everywhere.

Our dear patron, intervene in our favor: obtain for us health of body and spirit from God, grant that we may share in a true communion which will enable us to open ourselves to love for our neighbor; grant that our family be, like the Holy Family of Nazareth, a small house of God and that every family in the world may become a shrine to life and love. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be...

Ygnacia's Own Stories - From Ygnacia's Daughter

Hello there readers. I'm the daughter of Ygnacia, the lady who runs this blog, and I have a little story to tell you all. It all would not have happened if my mom did not have this blog about St. Anthony. Because ever since she started it, she's had a new catch-phrase, "Just pray to St. Anthony!" I guess it's because she's been getting all of these crazy stories about all these people who find stuff, like long lost purses or tiny diamond rings, after praying to St. Anthony. It's kinda hard to believe in all truth. But I've always been cool about it, nodding and smiling while thinking to myself that these people have got to be making 60% of this stuff up. But hey, if you say it happened, who am I to say otherwise? Anyways, down to my story.

The other day, I lost my bag that has everything I need in it for this class that I take, about five minutes before I had to go to the class. I was freaking out! Running up and down the stairs, tearing things off of shelves and counters, and in general, searching frantically for my bag. But, it was no where to be found. I ask my mom if she has seen it, but she had not. Then, lo and behold, her favorite catch-phrase came out. "Just pray to St. Anthony!" she said. I rolled my eyes, but just in case, I did say a little prayer to myself. Something along the lines of 'Tony, Tony come around, something's lost and can't be found.' Then, I dashed back upstairs one more time to search the computer room for my bag. As I looked atop of my chinchilla's cage for the tenth time, I put my hand on the back of a swivel chair. It's swiveled around and boom, there was my bag! It had been on the chair the whole time, but I only found it after my prayer. Whether this was just plain luck, or whether it was something more, is up for debate. But hey, who knows, right?

A big 'thank you' to my teenage daughter for writing up this story for us to post. Have a St. Anthony story of your own you would like to share? Email it to us and we will post it on our blog~

Quotes from Pope John Paul II Regarding St. Anthony

Pope John Paul II has defined Saint Anthony, Doctor of the Church, as the "man of the Gospels". This great honor is found in the Pope's speech given in Padua on September 12th., 1982, on the occasion of his visit to Saint Anthony's Basilica. We present some of the more meaningful passages of this speech, so that through the words of the Pope you may appreciate Saint Anthony even more.

"During his entire existence Saint Anthony was a man of the Gospel. And if we honor him as such, it is because we believe that the Holy Spirit dwelt in him in an extraordinary way, enriching him with wonderful gifts and moving him 'from within', to undertake an activity which was worthy of note in the thirty-six years of his earthly existence, but which is very far from extinguishing itself as time passes - it continues, vigorously and providentially even in this day and age.

I would like to ask you to meditate precisely on this quality of belonging to the Gospels. This is the very reason why Saint Anthony is proclaimed 'the Saint'.

Without excluding other qualities or making preferences, this is the sign that holiness has reached exceptional heights in him. His holiness has surpassed all else due to the strength of its example and has helped devotion to Saint Anthony to spread throughout the world. It is truly difficult to find a city or town in the Catholic world that does not have at least one statue or altar devoted to him. His serene face illuminates millions of Christian homes with a kind smile, homes where through him faith nourishes hope in the divine providence of our Heavenly Father.

Believers, mostly the smallest and most vulnerable, consider him to be their saint, an intercessor always ready to help."

St. Anthony's Comment Box Quotes - From Slovacek

A valuable item at our household was lost on Monday morning and I learned that it had been lost this morning. Along with my wife and daughter, I searched the entire house for the item (when I search, I search thoroughly). I went to a couple of places away from the house where it might have been lost – no success. I went to the gift shop at our church, bought a St. Anthony prayer card, said the prayer and returned home. When I got home, I searched the driveway and the grass around the driveway – possible spots where it might have fallen – no luck. I approached the front door and laying on ground right in front of our door, there it was! It was not partially covered up. It was in plain sight. We surely would have seen it Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday under normal circumstances. Thank you God and thank you St. Anthony!

Thank you to Slovacek commenting on catholicmom.com for this inspiring Saint Anthony story~

Another Passport Found

Now, I normally use my passport for all ID-related things, on account of not driving. I always keep it in my purse, but one day I couldn’t find it. So, I had a slight panic moment but managed to recover and have a lovely evening, reminding myself that I had recently taken a bunch of things out of my purse, and probably inadvertently removed the passport. I did notice that I had misplaced my work ID as well, but since I needed to use that to get into my office after eating lunch, I am pretty sure I just left it on my desk. I got home and looked around. Note, I will say it now, the first place I checked was in my backpack that I use to lug my laptop around. I put away a whole bunch of things that was in piles around my apartment. No luck. I called my mom. She looked around on the coffee table where I usually leave my purse at her house. No luck. So I walked over to the grocery store and the little Chinese take out place I’ve been eating at recently. No luck. On the way home, I started chanting the St. Anthony Prayer: 'Dear St. Anthony, please come round, something is lost that cannot be found. If you find it, please bring it to me, and I’ll be happy as can be.' I walked in the door. I looked around a bit more. I reached inside my backpack one. more. time. And pulled out my passport. YEP, ST. ANTHONY.

Like to share your own St. Anthony story with our readers? Email it to us and we will post it on our blog~

Prayer to St. Anthony – A Friend In Heaven

O Holy St. Anthony, reach down from heaven and take hold of my hand, assure me that I am not alone. You are known to possess miraculous powers from God, and to be ever ready to intercede for those in trouble. Loving and gentle St. Anthony, reach down from heaven I implore you, and assist me in my hour of need. Join your prayers with mine for (mention your request here). Dearest St. Anthony, lead me with your strength, plead for me in my needs, and guide me to humble thanks for the bountiful blessings I receive from God Our Father. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be...

St. Anthony - A Helpful Friend To All

St. Anthony greatly impacted my relationship with a Buddhist family from Vietnam who moved next to us in late 2003. Their 5 year old little girl befriended me first, then as I got to know the family and to befriend them more and more, I told them about St. Anthony and how he very reliably helps to find things lost. They thought that the concept was a ridiculous Catholic superstition. I said, "No! It's not superstition at all! It's not MAGIC, of course. And the prayers to St. Anthony have to be made by one sincerely seeking friendship with God. But it works. In fact, it works so well, I usually find the lost thing within 20 minutes or so!" The mother was looking for her cell phone at the time. I said the prayer in front of them. They found it -- in 20 minutes. The Vietnamese family all laughed at the "coincidence."

After that incident, after I prayed to St. Anthony the family found the wad of cash from the father's paycheck, a wedding ring, car keys, the cell phone again. And, as if to verify my words to my new friends, they always found each item within 20 minutes. My neighbor's friends became "spooked" by these events. At one point they asked me to please STOP praying to St. Anthony, because it FRIGHTENED them!

One day the wife tried it on her own. She had misplaced a document she HAD to have, at that moment, so that her grandmother from Vietnam could visit the United States. She called me on the telephone to tell me that St. Anthony had not answered her sincere prayer. I said, "That's not possible." I asked her what she HAD found. She said, "My daughter's homework folder from school." I asked, "Did you LOOK in it?" She yelled to her daughter in Vietnamese. A few seconds later, I heard the daughter yelling in English, "Mommy! Mommy! He was right! I accidentally put the paper in my homework folder!" I heard the mother whispering, "I can't believe it! I can't believe it! I can't believe it!" as she hung up the phone.

Thank you to P.J.D. commenting on The Path Less Taken blog for this wonderful St. Anthony story~

St. Anthony's Email Bag - A Stolen Purse Found

We just received this email from a Saint Anthony -- Lost And Found Blog follower. She emailed us earlier this month asking for prayers, we emailed her a prayer to St. Anthony and then offered up our own prayers on her behalf. Here is her response:

My purse was snatched in New Orleans on Dec. 14, 2011. I already gave up cause I did not hear from anyone (the police) since. On 2/7/11 I read about St. Anthony on your blog and wrote to you. I got your email the next day, 2/8/11. Amazing, on 2/9/11 morning I got a call from New Orleans police department that the suspect was arrested and they will call me later with more details. Thank you St. Anthony.

M.K., Sent from my iPad

We post the Prayer of Thanksgiving to St. Anthony in response to this answered prayer, and for the myriad of other prayers answered through the intersession of our beloved St. Anthony:

Prayer of Thanksgiving to Saint Anthony of Padua

Most loving protector, St. Anthony, what gift can I give you in exchange to show my heartfelt gratitude? With your continued help I will show appreciation to you by being more faithful to God, more constant in my prayer, and readier to do good to those nearest me. I praise God for the esteem in which your name is held throughout the world, for the miracles and wonders which have filled the Church and the world through you, and for the many benefits humanity continues receiving through your gracious intersession. May these intentions convey my great thanks to the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and to our Blessed Mother Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be...

Help With Even The Smallest Of Things

Allow me to say from experience that St. Anthony’s prayers for lost things are powerful. Here’s an example:

Saturday night was my very last ballet performance ever. I was back stage getting ready for our final number – a black light dance wherein all of the dancers wore white gloves, white socks, and white masks – when suddenly I felt the hushed silence of sheer panic fill the dressing room. One of the other dancers in the number was missing a sock. Since black light dances are dependent on having each dancer being completely identical (and thus, unrecognizable), this simply wouldn’t do. The only option was to find that sock. The moment I found out what was wrong, I began begging St. Anthony for his prayers and asking Jesus from the bottom of my heart to heed our prayers, while simultaneously tearing the dressing room apart searching for the missing sock. Meanwhile, the number before ours was in full swing – we had about a minute and a half for this miracle to happen.

With a solid 50 seconds to spare, I spotted the sock in the least logical place imaginable, several feet away from where we were all expecting it to be. We still have no idea how it got there. And I have no doubt that the the only reason I found it was because of the tenderness of God aroused by he prayers of St. Anthony on our behalf.

Yes, I realize it was only a sock. But how sweet that our Lord cares for us so much as to even help us find our lost socks, our car keys, a parking space. And how generous of St. Anthony to spend his heaven faithfully praying for such humble things.

Thank you to the Catholic Unveiled blog for this story and touching reflection~

Need Prayers?

Recently, we here at the Saint Anthony -- Lost and Found blog have been receiving more and more prayer requests. We are always happy ask St. Anthony's intersession for whatever our reader's needs may be. To add to that, we now have a link to the website of Saint Anthony’s Franciscan Friars at the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy.
Click here to visit the Basilica of St. Anthony's website and send your prayer requests.

The Friars will take your intentions to Saint Anthony's tomb and pray for you and with you that God may grant you the assistance you need through the intercession of Good Saint Anthony.

If you would like to share any prayers answered through St. Anthony's intercession, please email them to us to post on our blog~

Lost Diamond Found

Here's another St. Anthony story I recently remembered.

This happened in about 2000 or 2001. I was working at a corporation in Chicago with several consultants. We were having a group meeting with my boss when I noticed the lady consultant sitting next to me was missing the diamond from her wedding ring. As soon as the meeting ended and before we even rose from our chairs, I called her attention to the missing stone. All of us began looking carefully on the floor and all around, and she stood and brushed her clothing hoping it would fall out. No luck. We all looked carefully all around the meeting room, then out into the hallway and even all they way back to her temporary office hoping to spot the stone. But we did not find it. After about a half hour of looking I told her I told her I would pray to St. Anthony to find the diamond, and told her she should pray too. She was skeptical and looked at me as if I were not very bright, and I do not think she prayed. After a while we stopped looking but I continued to pray for her to find her diamond, and she was quite upset to have lost it, having been married over 25 years. A few days later I got a phone call from her at work. She was very excited and told me "You are not going to believe this!" The evening before she had done some laundry, and when she went to put away some clothing in her lingerie drawer, there gleaming in the drawer amid her clothes was her diamond! I immediately said, "Thank you St. Anthony!!!" and she thanked me profusely for praying. I hope she became a devotee of St. Anthony that day!

Thank you again B.B. for another inspiring story. Have your own testimony to share about St. Anthony and answered prayer? Email us to have it posted on our blog~

Lost Checkbook Found

I love Saint Anthony! My favorite miracle that he prayed for me was finding my checkbook! I was expecting our first child, and had already lost the family checkbook once! Luckily I found it easily, but a few weeks later it went missing for a few days. I was in a panic. I came home early from work and checked again the shelf that we kept it on. It was not there. I began to pray fervently to St. Anthony and went into the garage to thoroughly check my car. 30 minutes later I was in tears, I had not found the checkbook. I went back into the kitchen and looked at the shelf. Sitting there, in plain sight, was the checkbook, right where it usually is. Saint Anthony has come through for me so many times before and since this incident, but that is one of his more dramatic rescues for me.

Thank you to Sue commenting on The Path Less Taken blog for this heartening St. Anthony story~