Today we celebrate the feast of St. Anthony of Padua. Anthony began his monastic life as an Augustinian friar at the age of 15 with his given name Fernando. Soon after ordination to the priesthood, he transferred to the Franciscan order. Their custom was to have novices choose a new name as a symbol of serving God in a new way. Fernando chose the name Anthony in honor of St. Anthony the Great. Padua just happens to be the name of the city in Italy where he lived and worked as a Franciscan. Anthony died near there in 1231 at the age of 35.
Despite his brief life, Anthony is known for his influential preaching, extensive knowledge of scripture, and deep devotion to the poor. This is what motivated Pope Gregory IX to canonize him in 1232, less than a year after his death. In 1946, Pope Pius XII proclaimed St. Anthony a Doctor of the Church, not only for his contribution to Catholic theology and doctrine, but especially because of his holiness of life.
Anthony took to heart God’s instruction to the Israelite community: Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy (Lv 19:2;). For this reason, holiness is everybody’s concern, everybody’s destiny, rather than something reserved to monks and the monastic way of life.[1] Franciscans commit themselves to the way of holiness, and Anthony remained true to this commitment throughout his brief life on earth.
In living out his commitment, Anthony followed the example of Jesus. Through his own life and mission, Jesus shows us that being holy means living with integrity, being true to ourselves as God fashioned us and called us to be. Jesus came to do the father’s will, and he never deviated from that purpose. He was perfect in his resolve to carry out the will of the father as he understood it. He applied that understanding in his life to the best of his ability, even to the point of surrendering his life for our sake. Through his love and devotion to God, Jesus proves that he was always true to himself and true to what God called him to be.
Anthony lived by this same principle because he understood that God chose holiness of life for all of us from the very beginning (Eph 1:4). He understood that our purpose is to live as Jesus lived in a manner consistent with the lasting values of God (1 Jn 2:5-6). Living with such integrity is how we find true peace and lasting joy (1 Chron 29:17). This universal call to holiness motivates Paul’s instruction to the Romans: “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect” (Rm 12:2). We live out this principle of holiness by doing ordinary things for others with extraordinary love and devotion to God.[2]
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