A Novena And A Passport

St. Anthony was a traveler as were so many of the saints. Although profoundly associated with Padua in Italy, he was born in Portugal (known as Lusitania in the Latin of the Catholic Church). That meant dealing with changes, transition, and, of course, loss. For modern travelers, all that is still the case. But some losses can threaten the experience itself. Hence the intervention of a holy fellow traveler: “Hi. My name is Gregory and I'm currently based in India. It was in the month of October 2008 while I was traveling by bus from my work place to home in Dubai, UAE that I lost my passport which was kept in my trousers pocket. I searched frantically high and low at all the places I walked along on the way to the bus stop. I was worried for about two weeks and did not inform my wife as she would get very upset...I was equally tense as we were about to cancel our employment visas as my wife, daughter and myself had decided to come down and settle in India by the last week of December 2008. Then someone advised me to recite St. Anthony's Novena for 9 days starting from Tuesday. I did so and guess what, after the 9 days I visited the Police Station and to my utter surprise I found my Passport with the Police Officer at the Police Station.
I truly consider St. Anthony to be a very powerful saint as he is very good in helping you find things which you have lost. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to share this experience of mine with you.” Gregory had recourse to a Novena, which is an ancient form of prayer over nine days. The original Novena was that of the disciples of the Jesus Christ who waited and prayed with his Mother, Mary, for nine days, following the Lord’s Ascension. That Novena was followed by the overwhelming spiritual explosion of Pentecost--an event which turned those disciples into travelers, carriers of the faith and presence of Christ into the world. Most often today, a Novena involves a prayer that is repeated over nine days for a specific intention. Some Novenas follow formulas, others are quite spontaneous. Regardless, a Novena is a way of praying that goes back to Mary, the Apostles and the other earliest followers of the Lord--and can help all of us, who are lost travelers at times, find our way.

A Faint Sparkle

A faint sparkle... Rings are important to people because of what they represent--commitment, faithfulness, shared struggles, a sacrament shared. In that sense, they can be very holy things--and objects of holy intervention. Ed and Jean K. from North Carolina sent in a touching story about a lost ring and St. Anthony--about seeing “a faint sparkle.” Ed writes: “My wife caught her ring on the sofa cover and discovered the 3/4 carat diamond was missing from the setting. Naturally she got a little upset and looked at me for an answer. I asked how long had it been missing and she wasn't sure, but remembered hitting her hand on a doorway a few days ago. Well that sure wasn't much to go on and I suggested she pray to Saint Anthony while I searched with a flashlight. I was only doing this for her sake because there was little hope of finding something so small. So I looked close to all the doors in the house knowing it was hopeless. But I decided to look by the door going out of the garage, nothing there either. Then I shined the flashlite behind the freezer by the door where there was plenty of dust and leaves and there was a faint sparkle. I bent over and saw the stone and went for my wife to see it before touching it. So once more Saint Anthony came through.” A faint sparkle--not a bad way of describing Anthony’s little way into the soul.

Have a story of St. Anthony's help of your own to share? Email it to us and we will post it on our blog~

About the "loss" of the relic...

This blog was launched on June 13, the feast of our patron, St. Anthony. That same day, an event drew widespread attention to the saint. It turns out a 780-year old relic of St. Anthony was stolen from a church bearing his name in Southern California. According to reports, “the relic is housed in a 16-inch reliquary case with angel-shaped handles made of gold and silver on either side.” The parish priest called the relic invaluable. At the same time, wire service reports predictably enough evoked the supposed irony: A relic of a saint known for helping find that which is lost is now lost itself. It is indeed something painful for the church, the parishioners and really all of us who love the saint. But let's be clear: St. Anthony is not "lost." And the disappearance of the relic--almost certainly temporary--may well be just another part of the saint's mysterious work. Whoever took the object needs prayer and the help of this saint of the lost. And it sets up a situation for another one of his little miracles--and for recognizing further who this saint is and what special corner of God's Kingdom he inhabits. One of our esteemed fellow bloggers, Fr. John Zuhlsdorf, ran a piece on the disappearance, and immediately started collecting the miracle reports. One person reported that St. Anthony Church in Long Beach is his "home church," where he became a Catholic in 1986. He adds that just the other day, his daughter dropped her Miraculous Medal at Disneyland, only to have it "reappear" at her feet at a restaurant a few hours later--this, after his wife had been praying continuously to St. Anthony. Another mentions that it was at St. Anthony Parish in Calgary, Canada where "I found my Catholic faith after it was lost for over a decade." It's not just a theft then. Something else is afoot. Because this saint--like all of God's saints--has a knack for facilitating great good out of distress. Pray, then, if you would, for the return of the relic--and that whatever deep loss lies behind the theft, might lead to some rediscovery that is deeper still.