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Everybody loves St. Anthony of Padua, yet few of us know all that much about his life. We know that he is the patron saint to call on when we need help finding our lost keys.
But why does virtually every statue of St. Anthony show him holding the Christ child in his arms? We might have expected him to be depicted holding a lost set of car keys! Nor would it be surprising to see him holding a Bible, for he was one of the most famous Scripture teachers of his day.
But why the child Jesus? What does this tell us about Anthony? And ultimately, what does it tell us about ourselves, as we get ready to celebrate the feast of the birth of that child into the world and into our hearts? Was there something about this Franciscan preacher that can show us how to embrace Jesus more closely?
Seeing a Great Light. Perhaps the most obvious reason why Anthony is shown with the Christ child stems from an incident that…
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