St Anthony Heals the Sick

St Anthony Heals the Sick (feast day 13 June)
“Dear Anthony, you have always helped those who invoked you. I fervently pray for a sick person so dear to me. I beg you to obtain for him/her the gift of healing, or at least to ease his/her pain and find inside him/her the strength to offer those tribulations to the Lord in union with the Passion of Jesus Christ. You, who in your earthly life were a friend of the suffering and supported them with your deep charity and your gift of miracles, be close to us through your protection, console our hearts and turn our physical and mental suffering into a source of merit for the eternal life.
Amen”
Prayer from the Basilica of St Anthony in Padua, Italy
Here’s another prayer.....
“never known to fail, provided that the request is for one’s spiritual benefit or for those whom we are praying for. It is important to remember that God always answers our prayers. His response may not be what we expected or wanted, but he always grants us exactly what we need.
O Holy St Anthony gentlest of Saints, your love of God and charity for his creatures, made you worthy, when on earth, to possess miraculous powers. Encouraged by this thought, I implore you to obtain for me (request).
O gentle and loving St Anthony, whose heart was ever full of human sympathy, whisper my petition into the ears of the sweet Infant Jesus, who loved to be folded in your arms. The gratitude of my heart will ever be yours.
Amen”
This icon was commissioned by St Anthony’s Hospital in Denver, Colorado. I also painted/wrote another icon of Anthony holding the Infant Jesus, or actually, Jesus is clinging tightly to him. Another story for another time. But now I think we are in a specific time/need for Anthony the Healer.
In my twenties I was blessed to visit his tomb in Padua, (Anthony was actually from Lisbon, Portugal but is always known as Anthony of Padua). I’ve never seen anything like the people walking by the wall where he is buried and touching it with their hands. It moved me so much. I’m certain that people who visit St Padre Pio or Our Lady of Lourdes have the same experience. I also felt that way visiting the tomb of St Aloysius in the church of Sant Ignazio in Rome ... and yet I was alone. I wrote down names of people who were sick with HIV/AIDS on little pieces of paper and stuck them into the bricks near St Aluigi Gonzaga. He is known in Italian as Luigi, but his own signature, we still have, is Aluigi.
Anthony was my Mom’s favorite saint and happens to be the most popular of all the millions of saints. He’s known for finding things that are lost. Mom always told us “He doesn’t exactly find it for you; he tells you where to look.” Last year in the middle of the pandemic, before the election, I lost my wallet and I felt him tell me to give up, it was gone. I forgive him because the address on my driver’s license was in Arroyo Seco, up North, 17 miles from Taos, and if I hadn’t gotten a new one I couldn’t have voted down here in Albuquerque.
I know that we all have several people that need healing. This year St Anthony follows the feast days of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I promise to ask God during Mass tomorrow to answer all your prayers even if I have never met you ... God knows what you need.
A blessed feast of Anthony ‼️
Fr Bill McNichols 💮 June 2021