Saint Antony of Padua, Priest, Doctor
Friday of week 10 in Ordinary Time
First reading – 2 Corinthians 4:7-15
The feast of Saint Anthony of Padua offers us a profound reminder of the mystery of divine strength hidden in human weakness. In today’s reading from 2 Corinthians, Saint Paul speaks with clarity and conviction: “We are only the earthenware jars that hold this treasure, to make it clear that such an overwhelming power comes from God and not from us.” This paradox is at the heart of the Christian life. We live surrounded by trials, weighed down by affliction, perhaps even betrayed or cast aside by those we trusted, but we are never forsaken. The power that sustains us is not born of human effort or resilience, but of the living God who dwells within us. Saint Anthony, known for his eloquence and wisdom, was not spared the burdens of life. Yet he allowed the Word of God to take root in him so deeply that even his sorrows became fertile soil for miracles and hope. He understood that to carry in our bodies the death of Jesus, His rejection, His silence, His cross, is to also allow His risen life to be revealed through us. This is not poetic exaggeration; it is a spiritual truth born of suffering and faith. When we feel pressed from all sides, overwhelmed by family wounds, heartbreaks, or inner battles, we can remember that the clay jar may crack, but the treasure within is eternal. Saint Anthony teaches us to trust this divine paradox: that in our greatest vulnerability, God is most powerful. His grace never abandons us, even when answers seem far or strength fails. And so, we continue, not in denial of our difficulties, but in deep awareness that the resurrection life of Christ is already at work in us. Let’s reflect. Through our suffering offered in union with Him, we do not just survive, we become vessels through which His light reaches others.
Don Giorgio