St. Anthony and the Miracle of the Keys
Father Joseph was an old, old priest who couldn’t travel much anymore, due to the rheumatism that began to cause his poor old joints to creak. Though he couldn’t do much for the people in his parish anymore, he did what he could, inviting the neighborhood children to visit the rectory for stories and religion classes. His housekeeper used to provide the young visitors with hot cocoa and tea, while the parents rested at ease knowing their children were spending time in good company. The year was 1901. I was one of the young children that ran merrily to the rectory every Tuesday afternoon after school to hear the stories. How much the world has changed since then! This little collection is what my failing mind can remember of the tales that used to delight our ears, and made us love Jesus and the Church with our whole hearts.
St. Anthony and the Miracle of the Key
Hello my young companions! I’m so glad you came to visit me this afternoon again. The gloomy looking clouds didn’t discourage you, eh? Well, that’s good. The story you shall hear tonight will be worth your trip, and if it starts to rain, you’re very welcome to stay until the storm is over.
What’s that Christopher? Your tea is too hot? Heh heh, well, just hold it in your hands for a bit, and it’ll soon cool. The weather’s quite good for that at least.
All right now. Everyone comfortable? The story I shall tell tonight is true, like all the stories I have to tell you. You must never forget that everything is true, and the only reason it happened, was for you to come closer to God, to believe in Him, to love Him, and to desire Him.
Do you love God? Do you want to love Him? To serve Him? To live with Him forever? If you do not desire these things yet, then I pray that the stories you shall hear from me will awaken in you this desire, which is in you already, asleep perhaps. . .it was planted in you from the beginning of your existence, and only knowledge of God can wake it up. Everything you search for, seek, want. . .and fancy that you need, is your way of trying to satisfy that desire for God, though you know it not. You might not consider that eating a piece of chocolate candy or seeking a beautiful garment is a quest for God; but in your love of sweetness and beauty, is your love for the things of God, for every good thing comes from Him. And have you found that after you eat those things, you are not completely satisfied? Or after you have finally worn and put away that clothing which you longed for, you feel as if there is another step to be taken towards happiness and contentment? Ah, that is your desire for God awakening. Without guidance, this desire can lead you to bad things, but this is why God has given us our parents, priests, holy religious, and teachers, to be good examples and good guides for us to follow. And one of these such guides is the subject of my story tonight. That would be St. Anthony of Padua.
I won’t go into a big long story of the life of San Antonio de Padua, and I promise too that I will try my best to avoid big, long words. My time with you is strictly for the stories that will open your heart and mind to the love of Christ, and I leave the biographies and fact seeking to you. There are plenty of marvelous books and stories with these in them, and I would advise you young chaps to make use of them.
Now settle back, and close your eyes, and imagine the scenes in the story that I am about to tell you. See a marvelous little mountain village, with a tiny river running next to it? And a bunch of little rock buildings with wooden signs hanging in front of them? One sign has a scissors on it, making known to the people that a barber works there. One has a leg of mutton drawn aptly on it, advertising the butcher’s shop. A wide cobblestone street runs straight down the middle of the village, which was not built in the haphazard, twisty, windy fashion of it’s neighbors. Everything is straight and narrow (if I may use the expression ;) ) in this village.
At the end of the cobblestone street, there is a little chapel. It is small, but beautiful. There are lots and lots of stained glass windows in this chapel, for the sun shines all over it for the better part of the day, and you can always see the saints and the madonnas from the inside of the chapel. People go there during the day to spend time with our Lord, and enjoy the site of the beautiful glass saints. It is a sturdy little building, made of huge oaken beams which are left revealed for you to see, especially in the ceiling. The rafters often attract pigeons, which the people do not like, but in this chapel, where St. Anthony is sacristan, the people do not mind what they usually mind about pigeons, chuckle chuckle. The pigeons are well behaved for St. Anthony.
Now of course, St. Anthony was not called St. Anthony at this time, so I shall now cease to call him that. He was known here simply as Brother Antonio, a little Franciscan Friar who had come originally from Spain, from a rich family, and many friends. He sought here the solitude and humbleness of the tiny mountain village, and enjoyed the luxury of being unknown to everyone here. See him walking up the steps to the sacristy, his coarse brown robes and rope cincture blowing in the wind. . .it was windy there too. He has his hood drawn up over his head to protect his ears from the wind, and he fumbles for a minute in his one huge pocket for the keys to the sacristy. Pay close attention to these keys, because they play a big part in this story. As he draws the keys out of his pocket to unlock the door, concentrate on the key-ring. . .do you see the little tiny golden key there? It usually does not go on a key-ring with other keys, because it is very special, but Brother Antonio’s superior does not like the fact that Brother Antonio loses things a lot. . .not on purpose, but because Br. Antonio seems to always be in a different world, and when he comes back to this one, he forgets what he did with the things that belong here. This key belongs to the Tabernacle, where Our Lord is staying for us, a prisoner of love. Ah, he’s finally got the door unlocked. Let’s follow him into the sacristy and get out of the wind.
The first thing Br. Antonio does is push his hood back, stride reverently onto the first step of the altar, and genuflect to his King. He pauses a moment in prayer, but gets up hastily, for he is a little late today, and has to prepare the altar and sacristy for the mass. He must first take the little golden key off the key-ring. . .there, and lay it on the shelf next to the tabernacle, which you can see he does, with a kiss to the key and a kiss to the tabernacle. After walking back and forth to the altar and sacristy, with many genuflections and sighs of love, Br. Antonio begins to relax, and smile, for he loves to prepare the altar for mass, and assist in his small way at the great sacrifice of mercy. But wait. Oh now, this won’t do! The flowers are starting to wilt because no one has given them any water! Well, he shall take care of this! Starting up with a little brass watering can, only used for the flowers on the altar, Br. Antonio skips away to the well outside of the church, which is very deep, and very cold. The cold water should revive the flowers just in time for mass.
Now children, pay very close attention. . .do you see something following Br. Antonio? Don’t be frightened, for though it is ugly, it cannot harm you nor Br. Antonio. Yes, it is a demon, sent to try Br. Antonio. Satan always sends his servants to bother Br. Antonio, but they have never won. Look closer now, and tell me what you see the demon holding, as if it were hot and he was burning his hand? Yes my friends. It is the little golden key to the tabernacle. The one that Br. Antonio has been so careful not to lose today. You wonder why Br. Antonio does not notice the demon following him? Sometimes he can see them, and sometimes he cannot. It looks like Br. Antonio cannot see this one today. His mind is fixed on higher things at the moment.
Humming a hymn to our Lady, Br. Antonio drops a heavy, oak bucket down in the well. . .plop! He bends over the rock side and listens to the little splashes that follow, and waits for the bucket to sink into the water and fill up. Listen. . .he sighs. Ah, he is speaking to the little infant Jesus, who accompanies him throughout the day. He cannot always see Him either, but Br. Antonio knows He is there without having to see Him. Still talking, in a very low and reverent voice, Br. Antonio hauls the bucket up, and fills his little watering can, paying no heed at all to the demon, whom you can see has hopped gleefully up onto the rock side of the well. Oh, what an evil demon. . .he is making mean faces at Br. Antonio’s back, and dancing wildly around the rim of the well, careful not to step on the place where Br. Antonio has just been leaning. It would burn him to step there. Stopping his dance, the demon realizes that Br. Antonio is not going to look at him, so he shrugs. . .and laughing a nasty laugh, tosses the key into the well with a very small splash, waving good bye and still making faces. There. . .he is gone. Why did the demon do such a thing? Because St. Anthony’s superior is the priest who will be celebrating mass today, and he will be very annoyed with Br. Antonio for having lost the key again. . .there is only one. Oblivious to the whole situation, Br. Antonio merrily starts his way back to the chapel.
“Br. Antonio!” Oh dear, the superior does not sound very pleased. Br. Antonio is still watering the flowers, although he has taken care to set everything up for his superior. Look at the way Br. Antonio obeys; he does not start up with an annoyed look on his face, which he may well have for being spoken to so impolitely. He does not roll his eyes and reluctantly make his way to his superior. Instead, you can see that he smiles at having been slightly rebuked, and, genuflecting to the Christ in the tabernacle, he joyfully goes to the sacristy, and lovingly genuflects again to kiss his superiors hand.
The superior is an older man, but very noble looking. His hair is still dark and plentiful, though you can see signs of age around his eyes and mouth. His skin is a bit creased and tanned from being outside in the wind for so long, visiting the sick, anointing the dying, praying with the mourning, and bringing Christ to the people of his village. He is a good man, and a holy man, but lacks the farness of sight that Br. Antonio has been given, and is a hardened, down to earth type of man, who is loyal and loving, but does not get things right off the bat, so to speak. He is not a doubting Thomas, but seeing certain things does help him believe them. As of right now, it’s what he hasn’t seen that is making him believe certain things. . .certain things about Br. Antonio. “Br. Antonio”, he says again, this time a bit more disappointed than annoyed. “Where is the key to the tabernacle my good brother? I told you to take extra care of it today, but still, I have looked where it is supposed to be, but it is not there. Where is it?” Br. Antonio’s smile does not fade, but his eyes flutter for a moment to the place by tabernacle where he had indeed put the key. Hmm. Yes, it isn’t there. Well then, something must have happened to it, and no one had come in but the Superior.
The superior’s eyes follow Br. Antonio’s, then rest upon the young friar again. He looks at him for a moment, then shakes his head and sighs. “What am I going to do with you, Br. Antonio? I cannot scold you for being a man of such prayer that he is constantly unaware of what is going on about him, but I wonder. . .aren’t your earthly duties important as well? Shouldn’t you pay attention to these, your few duties, and do them well, which gain you merits upon earth? My Brother, perhaps you should find a saint who deals in lost articles, and talk to him more often.” Grinning a little at his slight wit, the Superior shakes his head again and walks back into the sacristy to look for the key. Br. Antonio however, lets out a small breath. He is very tempted right now to self-love, because he of all people, concentrates on doing his duties on earth well. When he was younger, in a different order, he was the floor sweeper. . .he would sweep the floor again and again to make sure he done it the best he could, and then, his superior would tell him to sweep it again, which he would do with joy and concentration, just to make sure he hadn’t missed a few grains of sand. But Br. Antonio dismisses all thoughts of himself; he is not important. If anything he has ever done was good, it was because God ordained it to be so, not because he himself made it good.
Do you feel sorry for him? It’s okay, but, do not feel sorry for him in the wrong way. I feel sorry for him because right now he is confused about where the key has gone, and is becoming frantic because mass is going to begin soon. See, he checks the shelf again and again. . .now he is retracing his steps. Ah! He remembers that he went to the well to get water! Genuflecting hastily, but not irreverently, there he runs, out to the well. Little known to him, his superior is watching from the window, rather amused and interested. Br. Antonio looks in the dirt around the well, then with a puzzled look on his face, slowly leans over the brick wall and looks down into the water, into which he then stares for quite some time, a forlorn expression on his young and innocent face. The Superior sighs and says softly, “Well Br. Antonio, if that’s where it’s gone, it’s gone for good.” He watches a little longer, as you can see. . .he is quite interested in this next proceeding. Br. Antonio is now leaning upon the brick wall, his head in one hand, his other outstretched and facing towards the water in the well. Then, to his Superior’s astonishment, and ours, he slowly stands erect, a peaceful smile upon his face. He shakes his head, and walks back to the church. . .he seems to be chuckling. “Now what do you suppose he is up to?” says the Superior, tapping his chin with his finger. He has become so engrossed in Br. Antonio’s actions, that he has quite forgotten to finish vesting himself for mass. But the people in the church don’t mind so much that he seems to be taking a while; they are enjoying the silence in the church and the beautiful stained glass windows.
What do you think Br. Antonio is going to do? He knows the key is deep inside the well, because while he was looking into it, the Child Jesus told him, in his young and tinkling voice. Br. Antonio did not ask how it got there though, because he did not want to find a reason to exonerate himself. . .what does exonerate mean? It means he didn’t want to clear himself; let me put it this way, he didn’t want to remove the blame for losing the key from himself, because then he would enjoy self-pride, which he avoids at all costs. Well my friends, this is what Br. Antonio did, and what happens next really did happen.
The Superior watches through the door of the sacristy, as Br. Antonio quietly, reverently approaches the statue of the Child Jesus, before which he has spent many hours in prayer and adoration. According to Br. Anthony, who has held the Divine Infant, this statue looks very much like Him. He picks the statue up, and walks very nonchalantly out of the church with Him, which, needless to say, attracts the attention of some people who weren’t paying too much attention to the windows. Look, they are so curious that they are following him out of the church! Br. Antonio seems not to notice them. He is praying. While he walks to the well, his Superior steps outside so as to see better. . .if Br. Antonio is going to do what he thinks he is going to do, he wants to see this! He is untying his cincture. . .all the sudden, it has become very long indeed! And now, he is tying it around the waist of the Infant Jesus! The people who followed him out are looking at each other in wonder. . .is he really going to drop that 100 year old statue down the well? One suggests playfully, “Maybe he is giving the babe a bath!” to which the others snicker. But they still watch intently. They’ve heard things about this Br. Antonio.
Yes, he is lowering the Babe into the well, and saying softly, “Please most dear Infant, return to me the key that has been lost.” Key? What key, the people are thinking. Br. Antonio lowers the cincture down until he only has an inch of it left in his hand, then slowly, carefully brings it back up, careful not to let the Infant bump against the rock walls of the well. He gives one last lift of the cincture, the Superior is now straining his eyes, the little group of people step closer, and to their amazed eyes, the little Infant, whose hands were empty before, is now holding a little golden key! The Superior recognizes at once with joy the key from the Tabernacle! But he holds himself back from running to the little friar. He had not done this miracle for show, and he would be very embarrassed if he knew that the Superior had seen him. . .this the Superior realizes in an instant. He turns to the sacristy instead, and runs inside to await the key’s return. Br. Antonio, engrossed in thanksgiving, turns and walks back to the church, not even seeing the gaping people standing right by him. He joyfully replaces the statue in his little nook by the side altar, then genuflects with extra reverence and takes the key to the sacristy. The Superior is at the door, waiting for him, trying to suppress a smile. See how humbly Br. Antonio returns the key? Not one word from him in his own defense. Instead, he genuflects to kiss his Superior’s hand, and then places therein the little golden key. Smiling at his superior, who has no words to say, he then stands and makes his way to the closet, where he will don his Acolyte’s garb and serve for mass. The superior watches him go with an amused look upon his face, then shakes his head, kisses the key, and places it into his pocket. He will now celebrate mass with an incredibly joyous heart.
Ah, now my tea is too cold. . .Christopher, why don't you take it to my house-keeper and ask her to get me a fresh hot cup? Thank you my boy. Well my children, did you enjoy the little story? Now, what do you think St. Anthony is the patron saint of? Ho ho, keys Christopher? No, not quite. St. Anthony is not the patron saint of keys. But, it has something to do with what happened to the keys in this story. . .what happened to the keys? Yes Margaret, they were lost. St. Anthony is the patron saint of lost things. That means that if you lose something, you should ask St. Anthony to help you find it. Whenever I lose my glasses for example, which you all know I do a lot, I say a little verse which always helps. It goes: “Tony, tony, look around, something’s missing that must to be found”. Of course, you all know that Tony is short for Anthony. You didn’t know that John? Well, now you know. And now, the rain has stopped, and so has the wind. There are lots of nice puddles for you to splash in on your way home to your mothers. But take care not to get mud on your clothes, just your boots. Then you won’t make more work for your mother on washing day. All right, kneel for my blessing: "In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritui Sancti, Amen". Now run along!
St. Anthony and the Miracle of the Key
Hello my young companions! I’m so glad you came to visit me this afternoon again. The gloomy looking clouds didn’t discourage you, eh? Well, that’s good. The story you shall hear tonight will be worth your trip, and if it starts to rain, you’re very welcome to stay until the storm is over.
What’s that Christopher? Your tea is too hot? Heh heh, well, just hold it in your hands for a bit, and it’ll soon cool. The weather’s quite good for that at least.
All right now. Everyone comfortable? The story I shall tell tonight is true, like all the stories I have to tell you. You must never forget that everything is true, and the only reason it happened, was for you to come closer to God, to believe in Him, to love Him, and to desire Him.
Do you love God? Do you want to love Him? To serve Him? To live with Him forever? If you do not desire these things yet, then I pray that the stories you shall hear from me will awaken in you this desire, which is in you already, asleep perhaps. . .it was planted in you from the beginning of your existence, and only knowledge of God can wake it up. Everything you search for, seek, want. . .and fancy that you need, is your way of trying to satisfy that desire for God, though you know it not. You might not consider that eating a piece of chocolate candy or seeking a beautiful garment is a quest for God; but in your love of sweetness and beauty, is your love for the things of God, for every good thing comes from Him. And have you found that after you eat those things, you are not completely satisfied? Or after you have finally worn and put away that clothing which you longed for, you feel as if there is another step to be taken towards happiness and contentment? Ah, that is your desire for God awakening. Without guidance, this desire can lead you to bad things, but this is why God has given us our parents, priests, holy religious, and teachers, to be good examples and good guides for us to follow. And one of these such guides is the subject of my story tonight. That would be St. Anthony of Padua.
I won’t go into a big long story of the life of San Antonio de Padua, and I promise too that I will try my best to avoid big, long words. My time with you is strictly for the stories that will open your heart and mind to the love of Christ, and I leave the biographies and fact seeking to you. There are plenty of marvelous books and stories with these in them, and I would advise you young chaps to make use of them.
Now settle back, and close your eyes, and imagine the scenes in the story that I am about to tell you. See a marvelous little mountain village, with a tiny river running next to it? And a bunch of little rock buildings with wooden signs hanging in front of them? One sign has a scissors on it, making known to the people that a barber works there. One has a leg of mutton drawn aptly on it, advertising the butcher’s shop. A wide cobblestone street runs straight down the middle of the village, which was not built in the haphazard, twisty, windy fashion of it’s neighbors. Everything is straight and narrow (if I may use the expression ;) ) in this village.
At the end of the cobblestone street, there is a little chapel. It is small, but beautiful. There are lots and lots of stained glass windows in this chapel, for the sun shines all over it for the better part of the day, and you can always see the saints and the madonnas from the inside of the chapel. People go there during the day to spend time with our Lord, and enjoy the site of the beautiful glass saints. It is a sturdy little building, made of huge oaken beams which are left revealed for you to see, especially in the ceiling. The rafters often attract pigeons, which the people do not like, but in this chapel, where St. Anthony is sacristan, the people do not mind what they usually mind about pigeons, chuckle chuckle. The pigeons are well behaved for St. Anthony.
Now of course, St. Anthony was not called St. Anthony at this time, so I shall now cease to call him that. He was known here simply as Brother Antonio, a little Franciscan Friar who had come originally from Spain, from a rich family, and many friends. He sought here the solitude and humbleness of the tiny mountain village, and enjoyed the luxury of being unknown to everyone here. See him walking up the steps to the sacristy, his coarse brown robes and rope cincture blowing in the wind. . .it was windy there too. He has his hood drawn up over his head to protect his ears from the wind, and he fumbles for a minute in his one huge pocket for the keys to the sacristy. Pay close attention to these keys, because they play a big part in this story. As he draws the keys out of his pocket to unlock the door, concentrate on the key-ring. . .do you see the little tiny golden key there? It usually does not go on a key-ring with other keys, because it is very special, but Brother Antonio’s superior does not like the fact that Brother Antonio loses things a lot. . .not on purpose, but because Br. Antonio seems to always be in a different world, and when he comes back to this one, he forgets what he did with the things that belong here. This key belongs to the Tabernacle, where Our Lord is staying for us, a prisoner of love. Ah, he’s finally got the door unlocked. Let’s follow him into the sacristy and get out of the wind.
The first thing Br. Antonio does is push his hood back, stride reverently onto the first step of the altar, and genuflect to his King. He pauses a moment in prayer, but gets up hastily, for he is a little late today, and has to prepare the altar and sacristy for the mass. He must first take the little golden key off the key-ring. . .there, and lay it on the shelf next to the tabernacle, which you can see he does, with a kiss to the key and a kiss to the tabernacle. After walking back and forth to the altar and sacristy, with many genuflections and sighs of love, Br. Antonio begins to relax, and smile, for he loves to prepare the altar for mass, and assist in his small way at the great sacrifice of mercy. But wait. Oh now, this won’t do! The flowers are starting to wilt because no one has given them any water! Well, he shall take care of this! Starting up with a little brass watering can, only used for the flowers on the altar, Br. Antonio skips away to the well outside of the church, which is very deep, and very cold. The cold water should revive the flowers just in time for mass.
Now children, pay very close attention. . .do you see something following Br. Antonio? Don’t be frightened, for though it is ugly, it cannot harm you nor Br. Antonio. Yes, it is a demon, sent to try Br. Antonio. Satan always sends his servants to bother Br. Antonio, but they have never won. Look closer now, and tell me what you see the demon holding, as if it were hot and he was burning his hand? Yes my friends. It is the little golden key to the tabernacle. The one that Br. Antonio has been so careful not to lose today. You wonder why Br. Antonio does not notice the demon following him? Sometimes he can see them, and sometimes he cannot. It looks like Br. Antonio cannot see this one today. His mind is fixed on higher things at the moment.
Humming a hymn to our Lady, Br. Antonio drops a heavy, oak bucket down in the well. . .plop! He bends over the rock side and listens to the little splashes that follow, and waits for the bucket to sink into the water and fill up. Listen. . .he sighs. Ah, he is speaking to the little infant Jesus, who accompanies him throughout the day. He cannot always see Him either, but Br. Antonio knows He is there without having to see Him. Still talking, in a very low and reverent voice, Br. Antonio hauls the bucket up, and fills his little watering can, paying no heed at all to the demon, whom you can see has hopped gleefully up onto the rock side of the well. Oh, what an evil demon. . .he is making mean faces at Br. Antonio’s back, and dancing wildly around the rim of the well, careful not to step on the place where Br. Antonio has just been leaning. It would burn him to step there. Stopping his dance, the demon realizes that Br. Antonio is not going to look at him, so he shrugs. . .and laughing a nasty laugh, tosses the key into the well with a very small splash, waving good bye and still making faces. There. . .he is gone. Why did the demon do such a thing? Because St. Anthony’s superior is the priest who will be celebrating mass today, and he will be very annoyed with Br. Antonio for having lost the key again. . .there is only one. Oblivious to the whole situation, Br. Antonio merrily starts his way back to the chapel.
“Br. Antonio!” Oh dear, the superior does not sound very pleased. Br. Antonio is still watering the flowers, although he has taken care to set everything up for his superior. Look at the way Br. Antonio obeys; he does not start up with an annoyed look on his face, which he may well have for being spoken to so impolitely. He does not roll his eyes and reluctantly make his way to his superior. Instead, you can see that he smiles at having been slightly rebuked, and, genuflecting to the Christ in the tabernacle, he joyfully goes to the sacristy, and lovingly genuflects again to kiss his superiors hand.
The superior is an older man, but very noble looking. His hair is still dark and plentiful, though you can see signs of age around his eyes and mouth. His skin is a bit creased and tanned from being outside in the wind for so long, visiting the sick, anointing the dying, praying with the mourning, and bringing Christ to the people of his village. He is a good man, and a holy man, but lacks the farness of sight that Br. Antonio has been given, and is a hardened, down to earth type of man, who is loyal and loving, but does not get things right off the bat, so to speak. He is not a doubting Thomas, but seeing certain things does help him believe them. As of right now, it’s what he hasn’t seen that is making him believe certain things. . .certain things about Br. Antonio. “Br. Antonio”, he says again, this time a bit more disappointed than annoyed. “Where is the key to the tabernacle my good brother? I told you to take extra care of it today, but still, I have looked where it is supposed to be, but it is not there. Where is it?” Br. Antonio’s smile does not fade, but his eyes flutter for a moment to the place by tabernacle where he had indeed put the key. Hmm. Yes, it isn’t there. Well then, something must have happened to it, and no one had come in but the Superior.
The superior’s eyes follow Br. Antonio’s, then rest upon the young friar again. He looks at him for a moment, then shakes his head and sighs. “What am I going to do with you, Br. Antonio? I cannot scold you for being a man of such prayer that he is constantly unaware of what is going on about him, but I wonder. . .aren’t your earthly duties important as well? Shouldn’t you pay attention to these, your few duties, and do them well, which gain you merits upon earth? My Brother, perhaps you should find a saint who deals in lost articles, and talk to him more often.” Grinning a little at his slight wit, the Superior shakes his head again and walks back into the sacristy to look for the key. Br. Antonio however, lets out a small breath. He is very tempted right now to self-love, because he of all people, concentrates on doing his duties on earth well. When he was younger, in a different order, he was the floor sweeper. . .he would sweep the floor again and again to make sure he done it the best he could, and then, his superior would tell him to sweep it again, which he would do with joy and concentration, just to make sure he hadn’t missed a few grains of sand. But Br. Antonio dismisses all thoughts of himself; he is not important. If anything he has ever done was good, it was because God ordained it to be so, not because he himself made it good.
Do you feel sorry for him? It’s okay, but, do not feel sorry for him in the wrong way. I feel sorry for him because right now he is confused about where the key has gone, and is becoming frantic because mass is going to begin soon. See, he checks the shelf again and again. . .now he is retracing his steps. Ah! He remembers that he went to the well to get water! Genuflecting hastily, but not irreverently, there he runs, out to the well. Little known to him, his superior is watching from the window, rather amused and interested. Br. Antonio looks in the dirt around the well, then with a puzzled look on his face, slowly leans over the brick wall and looks down into the water, into which he then stares for quite some time, a forlorn expression on his young and innocent face. The Superior sighs and says softly, “Well Br. Antonio, if that’s where it’s gone, it’s gone for good.” He watches a little longer, as you can see. . .he is quite interested in this next proceeding. Br. Antonio is now leaning upon the brick wall, his head in one hand, his other outstretched and facing towards the water in the well. Then, to his Superior’s astonishment, and ours, he slowly stands erect, a peaceful smile upon his face. He shakes his head, and walks back to the church. . .he seems to be chuckling. “Now what do you suppose he is up to?” says the Superior, tapping his chin with his finger. He has become so engrossed in Br. Antonio’s actions, that he has quite forgotten to finish vesting himself for mass. But the people in the church don’t mind so much that he seems to be taking a while; they are enjoying the silence in the church and the beautiful stained glass windows.
What do you think Br. Antonio is going to do? He knows the key is deep inside the well, because while he was looking into it, the Child Jesus told him, in his young and tinkling voice. Br. Antonio did not ask how it got there though, because he did not want to find a reason to exonerate himself. . .what does exonerate mean? It means he didn’t want to clear himself; let me put it this way, he didn’t want to remove the blame for losing the key from himself, because then he would enjoy self-pride, which he avoids at all costs. Well my friends, this is what Br. Antonio did, and what happens next really did happen.
The Superior watches through the door of the sacristy, as Br. Antonio quietly, reverently approaches the statue of the Child Jesus, before which he has spent many hours in prayer and adoration. According to Br. Anthony, who has held the Divine Infant, this statue looks very much like Him. He picks the statue up, and walks very nonchalantly out of the church with Him, which, needless to say, attracts the attention of some people who weren’t paying too much attention to the windows. Look, they are so curious that they are following him out of the church! Br. Antonio seems not to notice them. He is praying. While he walks to the well, his Superior steps outside so as to see better. . .if Br. Antonio is going to do what he thinks he is going to do, he wants to see this! He is untying his cincture. . .all the sudden, it has become very long indeed! And now, he is tying it around the waist of the Infant Jesus! The people who followed him out are looking at each other in wonder. . .is he really going to drop that 100 year old statue down the well? One suggests playfully, “Maybe he is giving the babe a bath!” to which the others snicker. But they still watch intently. They’ve heard things about this Br. Antonio.
Yes, he is lowering the Babe into the well, and saying softly, “Please most dear Infant, return to me the key that has been lost.” Key? What key, the people are thinking. Br. Antonio lowers the cincture down until he only has an inch of it left in his hand, then slowly, carefully brings it back up, careful not to let the Infant bump against the rock walls of the well. He gives one last lift of the cincture, the Superior is now straining his eyes, the little group of people step closer, and to their amazed eyes, the little Infant, whose hands were empty before, is now holding a little golden key! The Superior recognizes at once with joy the key from the Tabernacle! But he holds himself back from running to the little friar. He had not done this miracle for show, and he would be very embarrassed if he knew that the Superior had seen him. . .this the Superior realizes in an instant. He turns to the sacristy instead, and runs inside to await the key’s return. Br. Antonio, engrossed in thanksgiving, turns and walks back to the church, not even seeing the gaping people standing right by him. He joyfully replaces the statue in his little nook by the side altar, then genuflects with extra reverence and takes the key to the sacristy. The Superior is at the door, waiting for him, trying to suppress a smile. See how humbly Br. Antonio returns the key? Not one word from him in his own defense. Instead, he genuflects to kiss his Superior’s hand, and then places therein the little golden key. Smiling at his superior, who has no words to say, he then stands and makes his way to the closet, where he will don his Acolyte’s garb and serve for mass. The superior watches him go with an amused look upon his face, then shakes his head, kisses the key, and places it into his pocket. He will now celebrate mass with an incredibly joyous heart.
Ah, now my tea is too cold. . .Christopher, why don't you take it to my house-keeper and ask her to get me a fresh hot cup? Thank you my boy. Well my children, did you enjoy the little story? Now, what do you think St. Anthony is the patron saint of? Ho ho, keys Christopher? No, not quite. St. Anthony is not the patron saint of keys. But, it has something to do with what happened to the keys in this story. . .what happened to the keys? Yes Margaret, they were lost. St. Anthony is the patron saint of lost things. That means that if you lose something, you should ask St. Anthony to help you find it. Whenever I lose my glasses for example, which you all know I do a lot, I say a little verse which always helps. It goes: “Tony, tony, look around, something’s missing that must to be found”. Of course, you all know that Tony is short for Anthony. You didn’t know that John? Well, now you know. And now, the rain has stopped, and so has the wind. There are lots of nice puddles for you to splash in on your way home to your mothers. But take care not to get mud on your clothes, just your boots. Then you won’t make more work for your mother on washing day. All right, kneel for my blessing: "In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritui Sancti, Amen". Now run along!
posted by Therese_Rose_Morning at 3:37 PM
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