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June 13 is the feast day of one of my favorite saints, Anthony of Padua. He is usually pictured holding the child Jesus (history says that this is due to a man, at whose home St. Anthony was spending the night, came upon the saint and found him holding in his arms the Child Jesus, unspeakably beautiful and surrounded with heavenly light)and a book. St. Anthony is recognized as a Doctor of the Church because of his ability to preach plainly on any topic so that anyone could understand him regardless of their educational level. Saint Anthony was canonized less than one year after his death. There is perhaps no more loved and admired saint in the Catholic Church than Saint Anthony of Padua. Though his work was in Italy, he was born in Portugal. He first joined the Augustinian Order and then left it and joined the Franciscan Order in 1221, when he was 26 years old. The reason he became a Franciscan was because of the death of the five Franciscan protomartyrs -- St. Bernard, St. Peter, St. Otho, St. Accursius, and St. Adjutus -- who shed their blood for the Catholic Faith in the year 1220, in Morocco, in North Africa, and whose headless and mutilated bodies had been brought to St. Anthony’s monastery on their way back for burial. St. Anthony became a Franciscan in the hope of shedding his own blood and becoming a martyr. He lived only ten years after joining the Franciscan Order. St. Anthony of Padua is one of the most famous disciples of St. Francis of Assisi, another of my favorite saints. He was so energetic in defending the truths of the Catholic Faith that many heretics returned to the Church. That is the call for us in 2012. Are you bringing others back to the Church? Are you defending Her from the relentless attacks? Do you engage in conversation when someone tells you "I grew up a Catholic but..." or "I used to go to Catholic Church but..."? That is the message that still comes loudly from St. Anthony. Many of you know him as the saint of lost articles. It would be more accurate to call him the saint of lost souls. He suffered when others did not believe. He prayed endlessly that people would come to know Jesus Christ. He is a terrific example for all of us even after his death some 780 years ago. Saint Anthony, pray for us!

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