Pray one Our Father,
one Hail Mary, and
Glory Be to the Father, in honour of Saint Antony.
Saint Antony, pray for us!
NOVENA TO ST ANTONY
St Antony’s is a shrine church and every Tuesday at 8pm we have a special Novena to St Antony which lasts about one hour. During this time of prayer and devotion, novena prayers are recited, requests for prayers for various intentions are read out and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament takes place. Veneration of St Antony’s relic ends the service. Several 100 people come to the novena in addition to others who come throughout the day on Tuesdays to pray in the church including Hindus from India and Sri Lanka who have a great devotion to St Antony!
O wonderful St. Antony, glorious on account of the fame of your miracles, and through the condescension of Jesus in coming in the form of a little child to rest in your arms, obtain for me of His bounty the grace which I ardently desire from the depths of my heart (state your intention).
You who were so compassionate toward miserable sinners, regard not the unworthiness of those who pray to you, but the glory of God that it may once again be magnified by the granting of the particular request (state your intention) which I now ask for with persevering earnestness. Amen.
THE LIFE OF ST ANTONY
St Antony was born in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1195, to a noble family and was called Ferdinand. His wealthy family wanted him also to be a great nobleman but St Antony, for the sake of Christ, joined the Augustinians at the age of just 15. He was ordained and soon afterwards he met some of the first Franciscans from Assisi.
He was deeply impressed by them and he decided to join their new Order. He was sent to Morocco, changing his name to Antony. He became ill during his time there and on his way home to Portugal his ship was blown off course in a hurricane and landed in Sicily. Some time later he went to Assisi where he met Saint Francis. From there he was sent to the hermitage of Monte Paolo where he worked and prayed. At an ordination ceremony Antony delivered a sermon which amazed his audience.
For the rest of his life, preaching, more than anything else, was his work. During his preaching in Padua, Antony was outspoken against the charging of excessive interest on loans of money which was a predominant vice in that area. When poor people could not meet the exorbitant demands of the moneylenders they were thrown into prison. By preaching Christian charity, Antony was able to curb the vicious practice. He worked for the poor, the oppressed and those most in need of charity and justice for the rest of his short life.
He died in Arcella on 13th June 1231. Only 11 months later, on 30th May 1232, Antony was canonized by Pope Gregory IX. He was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XII in 1946. His prayers has been recognised as powerful by so many and many miracles have been attributed to his intercession.
ST ANTONY'S BRIEF
The famous story of ‘St Antony’s Brief’ is remarkable and worth re-telling in its own right.
In the 13th Century, a Portuguese woman who had been demonically oppressed resolved to take her own life by drowning herself in the Tagus River. On her way to the river, she passed a shrine in honour of St Antony and she stopped to pray one last time. As she prayed, she saw St Antony standing before her, saying ‘Arise, woman, and take this paper which will free you from the molestations of the Evil One.’ He gave her a parchment inscribed with what is now known as the ‘Brief’ (or ‘Letter’) of St Antony.
She saw a depiction of a Cross written below it were the words:
Ecce Crucem Domini This is the Cross of the Lord
Fugite, partes adversae, Flee, evil ones,
Vicit Leo de Tribu Juda, The Lion of the Tribe of Judah has triumphed
Radix David, Alleluia. The Root of David, Alleluia.
The woman found herself free from the desire to kill herself and returned home telling everyone what had happened to her. News of the miracle spread and the King of Portugal took the brief to place it with the Crown Jewels of Portugal. After this, the woman’s health began to fail again, so the King was persuaded to make a copy for her, and she once again returned to health.
Since this time many people have used these words, written or spoken, to protect themselves and their loved ones and their property. They are good words to use when feeling oppressed, in times of spiritual warfare, or in the presence of evil thoughts or situations, or even hearing evil – which is so prevalent on the media today. St Antony Pray for Us!
The Book of Revelation 5:5: ‘And one of the ancients said to me: “Weep not, behold the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the Book and to loose the seven seals.”‘