St. Anthony Sermon - On The Justice Of Hypocrites

Presented below is an excerpts of St. Anthony’s "Sermon on the justice of hypocrites and of true penitents", commonly included in the sermons for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost. St. Anthony warns negligent superiors and prelates of the dire personal consequences of their omissions.

“If the ox was wont to push with his horn yesterday and the day before, and they warned his master, and he did not shut him up, and he shall kill a man or a woman: then the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death. [Exodus xxi, 29] The ox that pushes with his horn is the carnal appetite, which with the horn of pride kills a man or a woman: that is to say, his reason or his good will. Because his owner, the spirit, does not shut him up, he is killed along with the ox: body and soul will be eternally punished together. Hear this, you abbots and priors! If you have an ox that pushes with his horn, a monk or canon who is proud, a lover of wine and pleasure, and you will not shut him up, so that men and women are not scandalized by his bad example: the ox shall be stoned to death, and die in his sin, and the abbot or prior who would not restrain him will be punished eternally.”

Reflections On St. Anthony – Day 13, World’s Greatest Saint

Thank you for joining in for the thirteenth of 13 days of reflections in preparation for the Feast of St. Anthony, filmed on location at the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy. For our last meditation today’s theme is St. Anthony, the world’s greatest saint. We are in the Basilica, at the back of the Saint’s Tomb: thousands of people every day touch this stone as they say their prayers to St. Anthony. Almost four million people come every year to Padua to visit his tomb. That’s probably why St. Anthony is lovingly called the World’s greatest saint, but Fr. Mario is sure the Saint would reject that title, believing others to be holier than himself.

Reflections On St. Anthony – Day 12, Intercessor Before God

Thank you for joining in for the twelfth of 13 days of reflections in preparation for the Feast of St. Anthony, filmed on location at the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy. Today the theme is St. Anthony, Intercessor before God. Fr. Mario is in the Chapel of St. Anthony’s relics, where we can find the reliquary with St. Anthony’s tongue. The tongue through which he constantly prayed, interceding for individuals, the Church and the world. Moreover, Fr. Mario focuses on the two times St. Anthony’s tomb was opened, in 1231 and in 1981, and tells us what was found inside of it...

Reflections On St. Anthony – Day 11, Defender of the Persecuted

Thank you for joining in for the eleventh of 13 days of reflections in preparation for the Feast of St. Anthony, filmed on location at the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy. Today Fr. Mario reminds us that St. Anthony was a defender of the persecuted, nowadays we would call him a “human rights defender”. He helped children, elderly people, women and even prisoners. Through this focus he was a follower of traditional Catholic teaching and practice, but also from this point of view St. Anthony is a very modern personality.

Reflections On St. Anthony – Day 10, Life Counselor

Thank you for joining in for the tenth of 13 days of reflections in preparation for the Feast of St. Anthony, filmed on location at the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy. Today’s theme is St. Anthony, life counselor. According to St. Anthony’s biographers, even though he was a very learned person, he was so good at preaching that even children could understand him. He was the perfect counselor. His advice was always insightful, scripture based, unique, and practical.

Reflections On St. Anthony – Day 9, Comforter of the Afflicted

Thank you for joining in for the ninth of 13 days of reflections in preparation for the Feast of St. Anthony, filmed on location at the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy.Today’s theme is St. Anthony, comforter of the afflicted. St. Anthony recognizes that life is a rough journey full of difficulties, but he knows that no human being makes this journey alone: the Holy Spirit is with each one of us.

Reflections On St. Anthony – Day 8, Apostle of Forgiveness

Thank you for joining in for the eighth of 13 days of reflections in preparation for the Feast of St. Anthony, filmed on location at the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy. Our theme today is St. Anthony, apostle of forgiveness: only God knows how many people came to St. Anthony for confession, received God’s forgiveness for their sins, and went away forgiven, filled with joy, and ready to make restitution.

Reflections On St. Anthony – Day 7, Peacemaker

Thank you for joining in for the seventh of 13 days of reflections in preparation for the Feast of St. Anthony, filmed on location at the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy. Today Fr. Mario tells us about St. Anthony the peacemaker. He was a true Franciscan, and many people were touched by his peacemaking efforts. He strove to bring peace between person and person, and between God and the individual.

Reflections On St. Anthony – Day 6, Saint of miracles

Thank you for joining in for the sixth of 13 days of reflections in preparation for the Feast of St. Anthony, filmed on location at the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy. Today’s theme is St. Anthony, the saint of miracles. Fr. Mario reminds us that saints do not perform miracles, but they are intimately connected to God, and St. Anthony is next to Our Father, constantly pulling at God’s sleeve asking Him peace and good for people who need help.

Reflections On St. Anthony – Day 5, Preacher Of The Word

Thank you for joining in for the fifth of 13 days of reflections in preparation for the Feast of St. Anthony, filmed on location at the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy. Today Fr. Mario tells us how St. Anthony’s genius for preaching was discovered almost by chance, and how he became one of the most remarkable preachers in Catholic history.

Reflections On St. Anthony – Day 4, Friend Of The Poor

Thank you for joining in for the fourth of 13 days of reflections in preparation for the Feast of St. Anthony, filmed on location at the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy. Today’s theme is St. Anthony, father of the poor, comforter of the needy. Fr. Mario reminds us that St. Anthony not only preached about the plight of the poor, he also tried to remedy the situation through tangible works of charity together with his fellow friars.

Reflections On St. Anthony – Day 3, Hope For Those Who Are Ill

Thank you for joining in for the third of 13 days of reflections in preparation for the Feast of St. Anthony, filmed on location at the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy. Today’s theme is St. Anthony, hope for those who are ill. St. Anthony was always very concerned about sick people, and many are the miracles he performed to help them. In his Sermons he constantly recommends prayer.

Reflections On St. Anthony – Day 2, Liberator of Prisoners

Thank you for joining in for the second of 13 days of reflections in preparation for the Feast of St. Anthony, filmed on location at the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy. Today’s theme is St. Anthony, liberator of prisoners. Fr. Mario reminds us that St. Anthony was really concerned about both real prisoners, victims of unfair laws, and people imprisoned spiritually, enslaved by sin and evil.

Reflections On St. Anthony – Day 1, Singer Of The Virgin Mary

Thank you for joining in for the first of 13 days of reflections in preparation for the Feast of St. Anthony, filmed on location at the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy. In this first meditation Fr. Mario asks St. Anthony, who was devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, to help us to develop a deeper devotion to Jesus’ mother.

St. Anthony's Sermons - The Ark Which Thou Hast Sanctified

St. Anthony explains the text in Psalm 131: 8, "Arise, O Lord into Thy resting place: Thou and the Ark, which Thou hast sanctified. " St. Anthony says that the first part of this verse refers to Christ's Resurrection and Ascension, the second part to the "Ark which Thou hast sanctified," i.e. to Christ's Blessed Mother the Virgin Mary, whom He took up to Himself into Heaven.
Continuing with the thought of the "ark which the Lord had sanctified", St. Anthony compares the Virgin Mary with the ark of Noah which after the flood finally rested on Mt. Ararat in the mountains, because in her Assumption she "was placed above the choirs of Angels."

Sermons of St. Anthony - Easter

"It was appropriate that He lay in the tomb for one day and two nights, because He joined the light of His simple death to the darkness of our twofold death. We were held in the death of both our animal and our spiritual life; He brought His single death, of the flesh, to us and released both of ours. He brought together His simple death and our double death, and in dying He took away our double death."
Taken from 'Sermons of Saint Anthony of Padua', translated by Paul Spilsbury

St. Anthony Sermon - The Forty-Day Fast Of Jesus

The forty-day fast of Jesus Christ teaches us how we may make satisfaction for our sins, and how we may work so as not to receive the grace of God in vain. As the Apostle says in the Epistle:
"We exhort you that you receive not the grace of God in vain. For he(i.e. the Lord, in Isaiah) said: In an accepted time have I heard you and in the day of salvation I have helped you. Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation." [2Cor 6.1-2; Is 49.8]
He receives the grace of God in vain, who does not live according to the grace he has been given. He receives the grace of God in vain, who imagines that the grace freely given him is due to his own merits; he receives in vain, who after confessing his guilt in the acceptable time, the day of salvation, refuses to do penance for his sins.

May all of our readers have a blessed and fruitful Lent~