I have always had a terrible sense of direction and over the years I have always prayed to St. Anthony to help me find my way when I get lost. You see as a young girl I equated lost to meaning not only items, but me losing my way as well.
Here are a couple of my favorite times that St. Anthony assisted me when I was lost while traveling. These times took place before the electronic navigation devices existed. On one journey I was taking my daughter and some of her friends to an away football game that was 2 hours from our home. The directions were on paper and given to us by her teacher. I thought I followed them perfectly, but we could not find the high school where the football game was to be played. It was getting close to the time of the game to start and we had ridden around for a few minutes when I told the girls to join me in our prayer to St. Anthony. We all prayed and at the end of the prayer I saw a shoe store and I decided to run in and see if anyone has heard of this school where the football game was to be played. A woman in the store said she was actually going to the game and we could follow her. We ended up following her for at least a half hour. I must have really been lost and I would have never found this school. What was the chance of finding someone going to the game at that very moment? We ended up at the game in plenty of time.
The second one was some years prior to this time. My daughter and I flew half way across the country to attend a friend’s ordination. My husband was away in the military and could not attend so we decided my young 7 year old daughter and I would go alone. When we got there I had quite a hard time trying to find my way around with maps and written directions. On the morning of the ordination I really got lost and my daughter and I stopped and prayed to St. Anthony again. I told her we can run into this small store and see if anyone knew where the Cathedral was located. Sure enough there was a man there and he too was attending the ordination. He offered to have us follow him. We did and made the ordination in plenty of time.
There are countless other times that good St. Anthony has come to my assistance, but there is so another amazing thing that happened to me in 2000 when I went on a family trip to visit Italy for the first time. My mother had given each of us this special trip as a present a year after my father passed away. I was a little sad when I saw the itinerary and knew that we would not visit Padua to see the place that St. Anthony had been laid to rest. Imagine my surprise when along our tour we were told there was an adjustment to our itinerary and sure enough we were in fact going to Padua. I was able to visit St. Anthony’s resting place after all. I considered this another answer to one of my St. Anthony petitions. I had prayed and asked if he could assist me in visiting his home while I was in Italy.
Thank you for allowing me to tell you of my great love of St. Anthony and how he really does come to the assistance of anyone who calls upon him to help them.
Thank you J.S. for sharing your inspiring lost and found stories with us. Have a story of your own to share? Email it to us and we will post it on the blog~
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.
