C I O F S LIST

St. Anthony - Part II

Aspects of Anthony's life and activity

Shared (participative) suffering and patience

Active participation in society

Initiatives for the centenary year

Liturgy of the Hours - Intercessions

Aspects of Anthony's life and activity

"THE ONE WHO SPEAKS KNOWS NOT, AND THE ONE WHO KNOWS SPEAKS NOT"

We turn now to an examination of several aspects of Anthony's life and activity which highlight particular elements of a responsible Franciscan spirituality which are of particular import for those who exercise a ministry of leadership as assistants and animators within the life of the SFO.

The impression that we often have of Anthony, since he was known as a great preacher, is that his ministry consisted largely of his use of words to communicate the presence and the love of God. In fact, however, we know that after preaching he often spent many more hours in the confessional listening and quietly counselling. When we look below the surface of the popular image of Anthony we discover a disciple of Christ and of Francis who listens much more than he speaks. He is much more a "man of the word" than he is a "man of words". Anthony is interested in planting the seed of the word and letting it grow and bear fruit. He treats "the word" much as Isaiah describes the word of God when he writes, "For as the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it." (Is. 55:10-11).

Pope Paul VI, himself a man of the gospel, refers to Anthony as a saint who is extremely courteous and gentle, who listens attentively, speaks only the necessary word and then refrains from further speech. This is a description of a contemplative attitude. We know that Anthony did not seek out the pulpit and a visible, public presence. Left to his own desires he always preferred and longed for the silence and creative solitude of the hermitage cell. We find him continually returning from his various activities to places like La Verna, Monte Paolo and Campo Sampiero to be alone and enter into silence to listen in contemplative prayer. It was precisely because of his gospel fervour and the light which emanated from the "furnace" of his cell that people continually streamed to him and sought him out.

There is a difficult tension subtly indicated here for our own time and circumstances. It is a tension within the Church in general in the relations between clergy and laity, and specifically in our own realm of the contact and collaboration of friars and Secular Franciscans. The documents of the Church indicate to its own leaders, as do the documents which treat of the various responsibilities of leaders within the SFO, that a serious commitment should be made on their part to shift to a more receptive and listening stance. As attempts are made to "adjust" roles occupied on both sides of these dichotomies there is often fumbling and a hesitation as a result of the fear that is raised by the uncertainty of being "displaced" from what had come to be "known", and as a result comfortable. In addition, there is the factor in our own specific context of the very real "professional weakness" of friar-clerics who have been trained and/or are accustomed to being the focus of leadership roles and the "motor" in many contexts. It is the stance that is maturely humble, receptive, listening and open that is demonstrated to us by Anthony. It is fundamentally contemplative and opens the path to that abandonment which is necessary to transcend these difficulties and, step-by-step, arrive at the just and proper stance as brother and companion in a truly spiritual and pastoral way.

Shared (participative) suffering and patience

Anthony came to his relationship with God and his Franciscan "world" as a young man, impulsive and impetuous by nature. But through his encounter with God and through a deepening of his Franciscan identity he became a man of dialogue who increasingly sought out a mutual exchange and sharing with those with whom he lived and to whom he ministered and preached.

Anthony was not a leader of the type that makes his presence felt, acts and speaks, and then goes away. He ministers, rather, by living intensely that which he preaches precisely there among the people to whom he preaches, with patience and shared suffering. In addition, his words and his actions are most often effective only over a long span of time. He lived among the people and shared the struggles of their daily journeys. He listened to their sins with patience and love and shared their pain. And out of his own experience of weakness and "failure" he brought forth the fruits of forgiving love through his words of counsel and reconciliation.

The patience necessary for bringing forth results which are manifest only with the passage of time, or perhaps never having the benefit of seeing with one's own eyes the fruit born of the seed planted, is demonstrated by the relatively little-known account of Anthony's "preaching" to the tyrant, Ezzelino di Romano. Anthony lived in the period of the great conflicts between the Guelphs and Gibellines (the papal and imperial "parties") and the pursuit of personal gain on the part of many within that context. Ezzelino di Romano was known already in his own time as "the tyrant of Verona". He was famous for his cruelty and heartless disregard of human misery. In one of the greatest battles fought, the party of Ezzelino gained the upper hand and was able to capture and imprison Ricardo di Sambonifacio (his own brother-in-law on both sides of the two marriages) as well as many other sons of noble families and their companions. These families retreated to Padua to plea for help from the town and to warn of the need for protection for the entire region. Anthony was persuaded to take up an "embassy" on behalf of those who had been captured and were suffering under the horrible hand of Ezzelino. Anthony assumed the task and presented himself simply, respectfully, but persuasively before the tyrant. His pleas, however, were completely rejected by Ezzelino and he returned to Padua empty-handed.

This story is important, particularly within the context of the many legends and accounts of impressive powers and wondrous miracles exhibited through the person of Anthony. The portrayal of Anthony here, as sincere and dedicated, yet in the eyes of the world a failure, represent an extremely important aspect of his witness. It is a necessary corrective for a true "reading" and a full appreciation of the contribution of Anthony for our own Christian, and Franciscan, lives. Although the prisoners were not released until the following year, and probably as much due to other factors as to Anthony's message, the figure of this "gospel man" is a tremendous corrective for the presumptuous and self-serving attitude which much of our ministry, if we are honest, exhibits. He identifies himself so with the pain and desperation of others that he risks rejection and wrath for the sake of justice, and is aware even as he begins that his mission is most likely doomed to failure. It is his patience, his silence and his readiness to speak the Truth and then accept the reality of the situation in which he finds himself, trusting that it is the word of God which will accomplish its own mission, with or without him, that challenge and instruct us toward a truly humble ministry of spiritual and pastoral assistance. We need to pray for the interior serenity necessary to accept all that we cannot change in addition to the courage needed to change that which we can. This would free us to diminish unrealistic and inappropriate expectations which we often develop in our work both with Secular Franciscans and their Fraternities as well as with our own friars in relation to them. This does not mean, of course, giving up the ideal or striving for it together with those others. It simply indicates a realignment of our concrete initiatives and our reactions to the results. Just as important as the serenity and the courage indicated above, we need to also ask God for the wisdom necessary to distinguish between what we can and cannot change so as to more judiciously engage ourselves.

Active participation in society

Anthony became a Franciscan with the express intention of becoming a missionary. Ironically, having failed in his attempts at this as he first understood it in its more limited sense, he grew into the true missionary through his own daily, social contact. He is firm in dealing with heresy and he speaks strongly to the social ills of his time as well as to the incongruities and abuses he encounters within the Order and the Church itself. He admonishes toward responsibility with a great insistence and at the same time with a great deal of respect, patience and simplicity. He is particularly sensitive and gentle with those who are simple and "small". He learns to read the signs of his time, to take on himself the responsibility to respond to them in concrete and effective ways and to insistently, but gently, call others to that same responsibility.

There is a very difficult balance indicated here for us as well. We must on the one hand insist upon the Truth and a way of thinking and living which is consistent it, and yet, at the same time we must deal with sisters, brothers, institutions as well as with ourselves with understanding, patience, sensitivity and love. For one who exercises the ministry of assistance to the SFO should see himself or herself as an educator of conscience in the true and full sense of a spiritual "director" or companion of the Fraternity and of its individual members. This implies an intensely personal relationship and an attitude of dialogue with each of them.

It also touches upon the call of the Church represented in the Rule and the Constitutions of the Secular Franciscan Order for its members to return to the primitive and authentic charism of being increasingly responsible for, and responsive to, the needs of family, work, Church and society. The assistant is to be one of the key sources of insistence, with gentleness and sensitivity, of the need of all members of the SFO to immerse themselves in both the gospel and the surrounding situation present in the Church and in society. Our activity and our words, our entire being, should actively engage the one with the other as effective instruments in carrying forth the work of God's kingdom. This is the image of the Secular Franciscan who, for example, takes up as "guides" the book of the gospel in one hand and in the other the daily newspaper.

Initiatives for the centenary year

Obviously it is this interior deepening of an appreciation of the "true" nature of the figure of Anthony, as well as its implications for our ministry of assistance, which should characterise this year of celebration for us. To this end, there are many rich and important events with significant scholars and leaders, both civil and ecclesial, which have been planned for the year both in Padua and in the Lisbon-Coimbra areas (as a matter of fact, although he is known in most of the world as "St. Anthony of Paduä, in Portugal he is more commonly, and proudly, referred to as "St. Anthony of Lisbon").

It would be helpful to investigate and disseminate knowledge of important initiatives which are taking place in your own area in conjunction with the centenary year. In addition to these, or if there are none already planned, it would be most opportune to collaborate with leaders of the various branches of the Franciscan Family to ensure that there are worthy initiatives (conferences, lectures, workshops, etc.) being undertaken locally. Again, the goal of these should be to foster and disseminate a deepened knowledge of the importance of this saint in our own time, within the life of our own communities as well as within the Fraternities of the SFO. It behoves us to highlight the deeper significance for both friars and Seculars of this opportune time for reflection on, and "reaping fruit" from, this great Franciscan model.

Good, responsible resources in one's own language and appropriate for each particular cultural context concerning the life and ministry of Anthony could be collected and information concerning them disseminated among members of the Franciscan Family of the local area as well.

Through all our initiatives in this "year of grace" may God bring to fruition the wish that the Holy Father has expressed for the entire people of God: "The centenary celebration will show itself as fruitful for the Church if it elicits a choral invocation to St. Anthony that he will stimulate Christians of our time with his example and his intercession to achieve the highest and most noble goals of faith and sanctity".

St. Anthony Liturgy of the Hours - Intercessions

In its origins as well as in its recent renewal the Liturgy of the Hours is clearly intended as a regular prayer form for the sanctification of the daily cycle of Christian life on the part of all the faithful. Fortunately, ever-increasing numbers of Secular Franciscans are responding to this invitation of the Church by incorporating various elements of the Liturgy of the Hours into their own prayer lives. In order to enrich the experience of two of the primary hours of the cycle in this centenary year of St. Anthony, we offer the following prayers as possible additions to be inserted into the set of intercessions already found in each Morning and Evening Prayer:

VIII Centenary of the Birth of St. Anthony (1195-1995) (15 February - 8 December 1995)

INTERCESSIONS FOR MORNING PRAYER (LAUDS)

SUNDAY - You call us to follow you on the narrow and radical path of the gospel;
may Anthony of Padua be a model of the completeness of our love for you.

MONDAY - You inspired the young Anthony to choose the way of life of Francis of Assisi;
open the hearts of many young people so that your word may guide their lives.

TUESDAY - You are the God who made himself Word in order to live among us;
in the name of Anthony teach us to announce to all people that Jesus is brother and savior.

WEDNESDAY - You alone are holy and you reveal your omnipotence in the countenance and in the works of your servant Anthony;
continue to work your wonders of mercy in us.

THURSDAY - Your name is love, mercy, attention and communion;
help us to efficaciously carry on the memory of St. Anthony, giving preference in our lives to the poor and marginated.

FRIDAY - The cross of Jesus is the new covenant of unity and love for all humanity;
send workers of peace who, following the example of St. Anthony, restrain the arm of violence and promote reconciliation.

SATURDAY - You have always responded to the pleas and the desires of your people, overcoming any hesitation;
may all those who have recourse to the Saint of Padua find in faith and in prayer the certainty of your fatherly love.

INTERCESSIONS FOR EVENING PRAYER (VESPERS)

SUNDAY - The blood of the martyrs opened up new horizons in the life of St. Anthony;
may a missionary openness become an increasingly powerful dimension of the Franciscan Family.

MONDAY - Love of you and concern for the Church made Anthony a tireless apostle of the gospel;
may the faithful be sustained in the path of the new evangelisation by faith in the power of the word which saves.

TUESDAY - Concern for the poor inspired the Saint of Padua to become an ambassador of peace and of justice;
confirm the vocation of the Franciscan Family in promoting solidarity among all peoples and the equal distribution of the earth's goods.

WEDNESDAY - The fire of your Spirit made Anthony of Padua strong in the struggle against evil and sin;
prevent the disciples of the gospel from becoming discouraged by the lack of success and momentary defeats.

THURSDAY - The creatures collaborated with St. Anthony in manifesting the reign of God among us;
may each of our actions contribute to making Christ, your Son, the heart of the world.

FRIDAY - The memory of St. Anthony is alive among the people of the world;
may the vocation to holiness illuminate our days and that each of our decisions give praise to God in heaven.

SATURDAY - You fulfilled Anthony's heartfelt desire to behold your countenance already in this world;
manifest your light to all those who seek you and place their trust in you.