Hello, [St. Anthony]

It's Me

Our family has been a bit busy lately and with busyness comes forgetfulness. Long story short, we've been misplacing things. When things are lost in our house we seek the intercession of St. Anthony. As you can imagine, we've become pretty good friends. 

St. Anthony’s patronage of lost things comes from the legendary story of his own lost book of Psalms. He lived in the 13th century when books were still hard to come by and quite expensive (maybe a year’s salary). This particular book of Psalms was hand-copied by St. Anthony himself with his notes and commentary. He used the book while teaching fellow Franciscans at a monastery at Montpelier in France. When a young novice decided to leave the monastery and the Franciscans, he took St. Anthony’s precious book. St. Anthony was distressed but trusted in God and prayed that the young man would return to the community with the book. And his prayers were answered! The young man did return and repented. St. Anthony and the Franciscans forgave him and welcomed him back. As this story spread, St. Anthony became a powerful intercessor for lost everyday things, important documents, and even lost faith.

You may have learned the little rhyming prayer as a kid “Dear St. Anthony, please come around: something is lost, and it cannot be found.”

While I love this prayer for kids, let's check out the adult version. The full St Anthony lost things prayer is truly beautiful.

St. Anthony, perfect imitator of Jesus, who received from God the special power of restoring lost things, grant that I may find [name the item] which has been lost. At least restore to me peace and tranquility of mind, the loss of which has afflicted me even more than my material loss. To this favor, I ask another of you: that I may always remain in possession of the true good that is God. Let me rather lose all things than lose God, my supreme good. Let me never suffer the loss of my greatest treasure, eternal life with God. Amen

The first sentence is pretty straightforward. As Catholics, we believe the saints are great intercessors for us. Just as we would ask a living friend to pray for us here on Earth, so too can we ask our friends in Heaven to take our requests to our Lord on our behalf. We’re not praying TO St. Anthony, we’re asking St. Anthony, who is with God in Heaven, to pray for us.

The second sentence is so simple, but the faith behind it is beautiful. Saying this prayer, and truly believing it, means recognizing that God has the power to restore your loss, if it is His will (more on that later). Maybe God helps your brain remember where an item is, or maybe God transcends time and space to move an object where you need it. Whatever way it happens, faith in God will restore your loss. The loss of a material possession is indeed stressful but the most tormenting part of losing a possession is the loss of peace it often brings. Here we are asking God to restore our peace, even if our possession is lost forever. 

The third and fourth sentences are where we get into God’s will. Nobody wants to lose something important, valued, or treasured, but maybe it is something that needs to happen. Perhaps God is trying to remind you of the perils of materialism. Maybe you need to lose something to break a disordered attachment, to be reminded that our most valuable possession is our faith and our treasure lies waiting in eternity.

This coming weekend we will celebrate Pentecost. After the crucifixion, I bet the Apostles felt pretty lost. In the Gospel reading, we will hear the story of the Apostles hidden away in the upper room. Jesus appears to them and says “Peace be with you” twice. When our hearts are tormented by a loss, the first thing Jesus wishes to speak to us too is “Peace be with you”. In Acts, the first reading this weekend, the Holy Spirit is sent down as tongues of fire to the followers of Jesus. He fills each of them with His spirit, and so too does He fill us. No matter the stress brought about when we misplace a possession or how lost we may feel in this fallen world, Pentecost and St. Anthony remind us that our hope is in the Lord alone. 

If you missed the Pentecost article last year, I encourage you to check that out here: https://falliblecatholic.substack.com/p/happy-birthday

May the peace of the Lord be with you always.