Novena to St. Anthony of Padua NOVENA TO St. oAnthony of ‘Padua Dear St. Anthony Whom the Infant loved and honored grant us what we ask of thee! St. Anthony of Padua is the glory of the Franciscan Order and a favorite Saint of the i people. He is called the Wonder-worker on account of the extraordinary gift of miracles with which God favored him in life and after his death even to the present day. He is the restorer of lost things, both temporal and spiritual. A confident prayer to St. Anthony usually brings results. An excellent means to insure the Saint’s help is the novena of Nine or Thirteen Tuesdays, or of nine consecutive days. HOW TO MAKE A NOVENA If convenient, say your prayers before a statue or pic- ture of the Saint; Receive the Holy Sacraments every Tuesday or at least several times during the novena; Strive to copy into your life some virtuous practice of the Saint ; j Promise an alms for our missionaries who look to St. Anthony as their patron and provider. This alms is called St. Anthony’s Bread. These prayers are very suitable for the novena. I THE MIRACULOUS RESPONSORY If then you ask for miracles, Death, error, all calamities, The leprosy and demons fly, And health succeeds infirmities. The sea obeys, and fetters break, And lifeless limbs thou dost restore; Whilst treasures lost are found again When young or old thine aid implore. All dangers vanish at thy prayer, And direst need doth quickly flee. | Let those who know thy power proclaim — Let Paduans say—These are of thee. The sea obeys, etc To Father, Son, may glory be, And Holy Ghost eternally. The sea obeys, etc. V. Pray for us, blessed Anthony: R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. LET US PRAY O God, may the votive commemoration of the blessed Anthony, Thy confessor, be a source of joy to Thy Church, that she may always be fortified with spiritual assistance, and deserve to enjoy eternal rewards. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. | An indulgence of one hundred days each time. A plenary indulgence, once a month. LITANY OF ST. ANTHONY (For Private Devotion) Lord, have mercy on us! Christ, have mercy on us! Lord, have mercy on us! Christ, hear us! Christ, graciously hear us! God, the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us! God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us! God, the Holy Ghost, Have mercy on us! Holy Trinity, one God, Have mercy on us! Holy Mary, Holy Father Francis, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Anthony, Glory of the Order of Friars Minor, St. Anthony, Martyr in desiring to die for Christ, St. Anthony, Pillar of the Church, St. Anthony, Worthy priest of God, St. Anthony, Apostolic Preacher, St. Anthony, Teacher of truth, St. Anthony, Hammer of heretics, St. Anthony, Terror of evil spirits, St. Anthony, Comforter of the afflicted, St. Anthony, Helper in necessities, St. Anthony, Deliverer of captives, St. Anthony, Guide of the erring, St. Anthony, Restorer of lost things, St. Anthony, Chosen intercessor, St. Anthony, Continuous worker of miracles, Be merciful unto us, Spare us, O Lord! Be merciful unto us. Hear us, O Lord! From all evil, From all sin, From all dangers of body and soul. From the snares of the devil. From pestilence, famine and war. From eternal death, Through the merits of St. Anthony, Through his zeal for the conversion of sinners, Through his desire for the crown of martyrdom, Through his fatigues and labors, Through his preaching and teaching, Through his tears of penance. Through his patience and humility, Through his glorious death, Through the number of his wonderful deeds, In the day of judgment, We sinners, That Thou bring us to true penance, That Thou grant us patience in our trials. That Thou assist us in our necessities, That Thou grant our petitions. That Thou kindle the fire of divine love within us, That Thou favor us with the protection and inter- cession of St. Anthony, Son of God, Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world. Spare us, O Lord! Lamb of God, etc., Graciously hear us, O Lord! Lamb of God, etc., Have mercy on us, O Lord! Christ, hear us! Christ, graciously hear us! V. Pray for us, blessed Anthony: R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Pray for us! O Lord, deliver us! We beseech Thee * hear us! LET US PRAY Almighty and eternal God, who didst glorify Thy faithful confessor, Anthony, with the per- petual gift of working miracles, graciously grant that what we confidently seek through his merits we may surely receive by his intercession. Through Christ, Our Lord. Amen. PRAYER TO RECOVER LOST OR STOLEN THINGS O blessed St. Anthony! the grace of God has made thee a powerful advocate in all necessi- ties and the patron for the restoration of things lost or stolen ; to thee I turn today with child- like love and heartfelt confidence. Oh, how many thousands hast thou miraculously aided in the recovery of lost goods! Thou art the counsellor of the erring, the comforter of the afflicted, the healer of the sick, the raiser of the dead, the deliverer of the captive, the refuge of the afflicted. To thee do I hasten, O blessed St. Anthony! help me in my present affliction. I recommend what I have lost to thy care, in the secure hope that thou wilt restore it to me, if it be to the greater glory of God and to the benefit of my soul. Amen. ' —With Ecclesiastical Approval. THE CHAPLET OF ST. ANTHONY It is composed of 13 decades of 3 beads each. On the first bead of each decade is said the “Our Father,” on the second the “Hail Mary,” and on the third, “Glory be to the Father,” etc. At the end the Miraculous Responsory is recited. St. cAnthony’s "Bread ST. ANTHONY’S BREAD is known todaythroughout the whole Catholic world, espe- cially in regions where there are Franciscans. The circumstances attending its origin are briefly these : One morning in November, in the year 1892, Mile. Louise Bouffier, a storekeeper of Toulon, found it impossible to open her shop door. Since the safety lock seemed broken, she called a lock- smith. After trying all the keys on his ring, he gave up in despair, saying that the only alterna- tive left was to break open the door. While the locksmith went in search of other tools, the store- keeper prayed fervently to St. Anthony that the door might be opened without violence, promis- ing, if her request should be granted, to distrib- ute a certain number of loaves to the poor in his honor. She then begged the locksmith to make another effort with his keys. Immediately he did so, the door flew open without the slightest difficulty. AFTER this simple evidence of St. Anthony’spower, his clients increased so rapidly in Toulon that Mile. Bouffier, with the assistance of her friends, founded the work of charity called the “Bread of St. Anthony.” Rumors of the wonders wrought by St. An- thony at Toulon reached the larger cities of France and many chapels in these cities soon contained boxes for the offerings for “St. An- thony’s Bread.” This rare work of social and religious service flourishes in a special manner in St. Anthony Church, in Via Merulana, Rome. It is Tuesday morning. In front of the Fran- ciscan Church of St. Anthony in Rome stands an immense multitude of poor women ; all with the same purpose in mind. It is the day for the weekly distribution of bread to women. Before long the iron door of the crypt opens and a few Friars come forth. Behind them are baskets of bread. Immediately the distribution takes place. It seems as if a miracle is taking place. Indeed, it is a miracle; yes, a miracle of charity, un- known and unsung, but perpetual. Twice a week on Tuesday and Friday, during the whole year, this inspiring scene of Christian charity takes place. It is the “work of St. Anthony’s Bread.” Bread is distributed to six hundred women on Tuesday and to two hundred men on Friday. This prac- tice began in Italy a few years after the death of St. Anthony. It originated near the sanctuary of Padua in the following manner: A baby boy, named Thomasino, was left by his mother near a large kettle of water. Playing too close to the kettle, the child fell in and was drowned. The mother, on returning home, found her child a lifeless corpse. Seizing the babe in her arms, the mother—and this is the first recorded example of this kind of devotion—promised St. Anthony, if he would give her back her son that she would give the poor in the hospital a measure of corn equal to the weight of her child. Her prayer was granted and Thomasino, recalled from the valley of death, opened his eyes, and held out his arms to his mother in the presence of the Friars and a crowd of workmen. In 1928, over twenty-one tons of bread were distributed from this church; in 1929, over twenty-six tons. The “Antonian Youth,” an association in this church, gave a dinner to one hundred poor children. For Epiphany, this society distributed to the more needy families about fifty bundles of clothing, donated by pious persons. Touched by the sublime example given by the Friars, even small children deprive them- selves of bread, which they place on the steps of the church so that it can be distributed to children who need it more than they do. All that a member of the organization has to promise is that if, at the expiration of a given time, the Saint should secure the fulfillment of a request, a certain sum of money will be placed in the collection box to buy bread for the poor. These requests may be either of a spiritual or a temporal character. They may properly include requests for success in any legitimate enterprise, the grace to overcome the proneness to commit a certain sin, the conver- sion of a relative or friend to the true faith, etc. The request may have reference to rela- tives, friends, or even to strangers. When the favor is obtained, the sum of money promised —with an addition, of course, if desired—is to be deposited in the box. The donations which ST. ANTHONY MES- SENGER receives in thanksgiving for favors re- ceived, and which are commonly known as “St. Anthony’s Bread,” are used for the educa- tion and support of poor boys who are studying for the priesthood in the Order of St. Francis. That the great St. Francis and his illustrious son, St. Anthony, look lovingly upon those who, in return for favors granted, contribute towards the support of poor Franciscan students, every client of the Wonderworker can testify. The Franciscan Fathers and students take this op- portunity to extend their sincerest thanks to all benefactors, assuring them of their continued prayerful remembrance. St. Anthony’s Favorite Shrine N A COLD DAY, the early part of Janu- ary, 1890, a covered wagon rumbled out of Oldenburg, Indiana. Its destination was Cincinnati, by twisting dirt roads 60 miles away. Huddled inside the creaking wagon were six young men, all of them wearing the brown habit of Franciscan friars. Their hoods were drawn tight about their close-cropped heads. Heavy capes circled their shoulders and heated bricks were piled at their feet. As the wagon jolted over the frozen roads, crazily sliced with uneven and unyielding gul- lies, it was, a symbol of a new era in the history of the Franciscans of St. John the Baptist Province. Back in 1844, at the request of the Most Rev. John Baptist Purcell, archbishop of Cin- cinnati, Franciscan priests from Tyrol, Austria, stepped for the first time on the cobblestone streets of the Queen City of the West in order to minister to its rapidly growing German population. By 1859 the increasing number of friars and the added work allotted to their care warranted the establishment of a custody, which, 26 years later, was canonically erected into a province by Rome. The novitiate of the friars was then located in Oldenburg, a hamlet of a couple hundred inhabitants, solidly German and solidly Catho- lic, in southern Indiana. Perhaps it would still be there today had not Divine Providence in- tervened. Two generous benefactors bought an exten- sive slab of property on a hillside flanking Cin- cinnati and gave it to the Franciscans. More, at their own expense, they erected and equipped a huge monastery and chapel. Toward the end of November, 1889, the buildings, crowning a high crest of a section since known as Mount Airy, were completed. The beautiful chapel, dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua, was solemnly consecrated, November 29, by the Most Rev. William H. Elder, then archbishop of Cincinnati. Shortly before Christ- mas many sacred relics were deposited in the sanctuary, the Way of the Cross was erected, the monastery blessed and the canonical law of monastic enclosure promulgated. The group of new buildings was then designated the novi- tiate for the spiritual training of friars in the Franciscan Province of St. John the Baptist. That covered wagon which crept out of Oldenburg in the frosty dawn carried a cargo of novices, four of them students preparing for the priesthood and the remaining two, lay- brothers. They were the first young men to occupy the building. One of them was Fr. Albert Daeger, destined to become in 1919, by the grace of God, archbishop of Sante Fe. All this transpired more than fifty years ago. PEACE AND PRAYER Times and customs have changed since then. The narrow, winding mud road that led from the city to the monastery is now a four-lane concrete highway. The clay and creviced hill- side has turned green with grass and flam- bouyant with flowers, orchards and gardens under the patient plows of the friars. Pot- bellied coal stoves and smoking kerosene lamps have given way to furnace and illumination regulated by the flick of a switch or a finger pressed to round black buttons. Wooden planks have been superseded by coil springs and mat- tresses, and corn stalk pillows by those of down. Sprawling dirt paths have become neatly pat- terned concrete walks. But there is one thing-—the truly essential thing—that has not changed; the all-pervading spirit of peace and prayer. St. Anthony of Padua, though unseen by mortal eye, still walks the fields as he did that November a half- century past. His patronage is still mysteriously experienced, his presence unmistakably felt. The chapel, dedicated in his honor, is still pecu- liarly his own. A relic of his bone has reposed on an altar distinctly his and during all of these years candles have flickered and burnt themselves utterly before his shnne. OUR WONDER WORKER People have come there to him—sick and maimed, troubled and heart-broken, poor and unemployed, young and old, and have placed the burden of their woe into his hands out- stretched longingly. He is still today, as he was when that covered wagon rumbled up the mon- astery, the Wonder Worker. There is a hallowed fragrance about this spot on a Cincinnati hillside, just a stone’s throw from the noise and rush of a modern mechanized and industrial center. The brightly frescoed chapel cannot explain it, nor the mel- low monastic walls. It comes not from its peaceful seclusion, surrounded by singing bird and blooming flower. Something else makes St. Anthony chapel and its environs sacred. And that something is prayer. Prayer pervades all —the prayer of the thousands of pilgrims, past and present, who have climbed that hill to the Saint’s shrine ; the prayer of the novices day after day uninterruptedly all year around ; the prayer of that numberless throng who, separ- ated by distance, have had their petitions car- ried by mail and placed on the noble Paduans altar. Prayer, prayer, prayer—and for over fifty years ! May our prayers to the Wonder Worker ascend then with especial fervor so that, as he has faithfully interceded for us in the past, he may continue to plead for us now and in all the uncertain years to come ! “The Lord bless and keep thee. May He show His face to thee and have pity on thee. May He turn His countenance towards thee and give thee peace. The Lord bless thee.”—The Blessing of St. Francis. SEND YOUR PETITIONS TO ST. ANTHONY’S FA- VORITE SHRINE AT CINCINNATI, WHERE NO- VENAS AND DEVOTIONS TO ST. ANTHONY ARE OBSERVED. Your petitions rest near the statue of the Saint and the Shrine lights burn in the Sanctuary. The prayers for the daily novena are said at the early morning Mass. Benefactors, both living and dead, are remembered by the Fathers and Students in their daily prayers. SCHEDULE OF DEVOTIONS AND NOVENAS Devotions for Thirteen Tuesdays — Four Times a Year First series 1944 begins Tuesday, February 15; will close Tuesday, May 9, 1944. Second series 1944 begins Tuesday, May 16; will close Tuesday, August 8, 1944. Third series 1944 begins Tuesday, August 15; will close Tuesday, November 7, 1944. Fourth series 1944 begins Tuesday, November 14; will close Tuesday, February 6, 1945. Services in the Chapel at 2:30 and 8:00 P. M. every Tuesday. DAILY NOVENA OBSERVED AT SHRINE AND IN SEMINARY lanuary, 1944 )pens—Closes 4—12 13—21 22—30 31—Feb. 8 February 9—17 18—26 27—Mar. 6 March 7—15 16—24 25—Apr. 2 April 3—11 12—20 21—29 30—May 8 May Opens—Closes 9-17 18—26 27—June 4 June 5—13 14—22 23—July 1 July 2—10 11—19 20—28 29—Aug. 6 August 7—15 16—24 25—Sept. 2 September Opens—Closes 3—11 12—20 21—29 30—Oct. 8 October 9—17 18—26 27—Nov. 4 November 5—13 14—22 23—Dec. 1 December 2—10 11—19 20—28 29—Jan. 6, 1945 ADDRESS PETITIONS TO ST. ANTHONY MESSENGER 1615 REPUBLIC ST. CINCINNATI 10, OHIO No. 171