JPII Pastoral visit to Padua 750 death St Anthony
1. I judge a special grace of the Lord to be able to join my prayers with yours today, at the ideal closing of the solemn celebrations promoted last year, on the occasion of the 750th anniversary of the death of Saint Anthony. I would like to refer immediately to that peculiar note that appears as constant in the biographical vicissitudes of this Saint, and that clearly distinguishes him in the panorama, although so wide and almost without limits, of Christian holiness. Antonio –you know it well–, during the whole arc of his earthly existence was an evangelical man; And if we venerate him as such, it is because we believe that the Spirit of the Lord himself rested with particular effusion, enriching him with its admirable gifts and prompting him, "from within", to undertake an action that, even though it was very remarkable in his 40 years of life, far from being exhausted in time, continues vigorous and providential even in our days.
As I address my affectionate greetings to all of you who are now gathered around the altar, I invite you, first of all, to meditate precisely on that evangelical aspect, which is also the reason why Antony is proclaimed "the Saint."
Without making exclusions or preferences, it is a sign, namely: that in him holiness has reached heights of exceptional height, imposing itself on everyone with the force of examples and conferring on his cult the maximum expansion in the world. Indeed, it is difficult to find a city or a town in the Catholic world, where there is not at least one altar or an image of the Saint: his serene effigy illuminates with a soft smile millions of Christian houses, in which faith nourishes, through he, the hope in the Providence of the heavenly Father. Believers, especially the most humble and defenseless, consider and feel him as a Saint: always prompt and powerful intercessor on their behalf.
2. Exulta Lusitania felix; or felix Padua, gaude, I will repeat with my predecessor Pius XII (cf. Apostolic Letter of January 16, 1946, in AAS 38, 1946, p. 200): exult, noble land of Portugal, that in the numerous phalanx of your great Franciscan missionaries count this son of yours as the first of the group. And rejoice, Padua: to the glories of your Roman origin, even more so, pre-Roman, to the splendor of your history next to the close and friendly Venice, you add the noble title of guarding, with its glorious sepulcher, the living memory and throbbing of Saint Anthony. Indeed, since Padua his name has spread and still resonates in the world by virtue of that peculiar note, which I have recalled before: the genuine aspect of his evangelical profile.
Preach and administer the sacrament of penance
A wide area, where the evangelical character of Saint Anthony was best expressed, was undoubtedly that of sacred preaching. Precisely here, in the wise and courageous proclamation of the Word of God we find one of the most salient features of his personality: the tireless activity of a preacher, together with his writings, has earned him the nickname of Doctor Evangelicus (cf. AAS 38, 1946, p. 201). “He passed,” writes his biographer, “through cities and castles, towns and villages, scattering the seeds of life everywhere with generous abundance and fervent passion. In this pilgrimage of his, all rest was denied by the zeal of souls ... "(Vita prima or" Assidua ", 9, 3-4).
His preaching was not declamatory, nor was it limited to vague exhortations to lead a good life; he tried to really proclaim the Gospel, knowing well that the words of Christ were not like the other words, but had a force that penetrated the listeners. For many years he had devoted himself to the study of the Scriptures, and it was precisely this preparation that enabled him to proclaim the message of salvation to the people with exceptional vigor. His fiery sermons pleased the people, who felt an intimate need to listen to him and, afterwards, could not escape the spiritual force of his words.
Therefore, it can be said that the evangelical content corresponded to the evangelical style proper to the pilgrim disciple from city to city to announce conversion and penance: formed in the study of Sacred Scripture, which had suggested to the Pontiff Gregory IX speaking of Saint Antony the epithet "Ark of the Testament", when preaching to the men of his time, proposed to them, above all, the pure doctrine of Jesus Christ.
3. To the ministry of the word Antonio knew how to unite, developing identical zeal, the administration of the sacrament of penance. Large in the pulpit, the penumbra of the confessional was no less great, coordinating what, by supernatural logic, must be and remain united. Indeed, preaching and the ministry of confession are situated as two moments of a pastoral activity that, basically, looks to the same end: the preacher, first, sows the word of truth, reinforcing it with his personal testimony and with prayer; and he himself then collects its fruits as confessor, when he receives sincerely repentant souls and offers them to the Father of mercies, through forgiveness and life.
For Antonio the transition from one ministry to the other was easy and natural: already when he preached, he spoke frequently of confession, as his Sermons confirm, where the pages that do not have any allusion are rare. But he did not limit himself to exalting the "virtues" of penance, nor did he merely recommend that his listeners attend it. Performing his words and exhortations personally, he was very assiduous in administering the sacrament. There were days when Antonio confessed uninterruptedly until nightfall, without taking food. We also know that "he convinced such a large multitude of men and women to confess their sins that neither the Brothers nor other priests who accompanied him in no small group were sufficient to hear the confessions" (cf. Vita prima o "Assidua", 13, 13).
Really for him, according to his own words, confession was "house of God" and "door of paradise", in a view of faith so alive, that the sacramental and canonical aspect (so deepened by medieval theology) imposed as culmination the affectionate encounter with the heavenly Father and the comforting experience of his generous forgiveness.
In the light of Antonio, minister of the sacrament of penance, how can we not remember in this city of Padua another religious of the Franciscan family, Blessed Leopoldo Mandic de Castelnuovo, the humble and silent Capuchin who, in retreat from his cell of the convent of Santa Cruz, was for decades a minister of confession, infusing with the sacrament of forgiveness peace and serenity to innumerable people of all ages and conditions?
Announce and offer salvation to all men
4. These are illustrious examples of which I am speaking, dear brothers and sisters who are listening to me. But finding myself in the temple that bears the name of Saint Anthony, allow me, rather than the laity, to address above all to you, religious who attend here to these sacred ministries "ex officio", and also to you, diocesan priests of Padua and Veneto.
Preaching and penance: here is a great pairing of a pure evangelical matrix, which the luminous praxis of Antonio also proposes to you, since it is fully valid and urgent for our days, although so different from his. Times change; methods and forms of pastoral action can change, and in fact change according to the wise indications of the Church: but the fundamental principles of her and, above all, the sacramental order remain immutable, just as the nature and problems of man are immutable. , creature that is at the peak of divine creation, always exposed, however, to the dramatic possibility of sin. This means that it is also urgent to announce to the man of today, without altering its content, the kerygma of salvation (here is the preaching); It is urgent to offer sinful men today the instrument-sacrament of reconciliation (here is penance). Finally, the activity of evangelization is still necessary in the double aspect of the announcement and the offering of salvation.
Antonian celebrations will not have been reduced only to a commemoration, if in all of you, priests, secular or religious, the awareness of these two inalienable and precious ministries develops, and if in you, laity, the desire increases, even more, the need to take advantage of them for your spiritual progress. Isn't it true that many times a good confession is found in this same process as a starting or finishing point? All this - note it well - always in the evangelical line of penance-conversion.
In the fall of next year, God willing, a new session of the Synod of Bishops will take place, which will be dedicated to penance and reconciliation. After the great themes of evangelization, catechesis and the family, it has seemed opportune to examine, in all its aspects - and the pastoral-sacramental is not the last - this important theme that so much involves life and the action of the Church in the world.
With a view to this ecclesial event, in the light of the Antonian centenary, I say to all of you present here to reflect on the ineffable gift of reconciliation: I exhort priests to always be zealous ministers of it (cf. 2 Cor 5,18-19), as I exhort the faithful to be always available and docile: "Let yourselves be reconciled to God" (ibid., 20).
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