Anthony of Padua is the saint we celebrate today. He was born just 13 years after Francis of Assisi at the end of the 12th century. He started his ministry as an Augustinian monk, but later became a Franciscan Friar. St Anthony is the patron saint of lost things. That patronage is rooted in a story from his life as a monk. Anthony had a book of psalms that was very important to him. Besides being a hand scribed book before the era of the printing press, making it very valuable, Anthony had many notes and commentaries written in the book that helped him in his teaching of novices to the Franciscan order. One of those novices decided to leave the order before taking his vows, taking Anthony’s psalter with him when he fled. Anthony prayed for its return, and not only got the psalter back, but the novice returned to the order as well! Not only is Anthony of Padua the patron saint of things lost by Catholics and non-Catholics alike, but Pope Pius XII named him as a Doctor of the Church in 1947, one of a select group of 38 men and women to be named to such a high honor.
Our psalm today, from the last portion of the 65th psalm, emphasizes God’s gracious provision for the crops and for a bountiful harvest. While humanity plants the crops, it is God who brings rain and allows the plants to grow. As we are in the spring season, and as we had a terrible drought last year, we pray for sufficient rain this year, for good gardens, and for a wonderful harvest this year.
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