Oh, St. Anthony, patron saint of lost items. How many of us have prayed to him for intervention to locate something we just can’t find? Since today is the feast of St. Anthony, it’s important to remember that the Anthony on Jan. 17 is not that Anthony.
Today’s St. Anthony lived 900 years earlier, not in Padua but in Egypt, where he spent most of his life as a hermit. His parents died when he was a young man, and after seeing to his younger sister’s education, he sold everything and moved out into the desert to pray in solitude.
Did the man emanate holiness? Because despite his efforts to be alone with his God in prayer, people sought him out. He soon had numerous followers, so he decided to organize them, and thus is considered the father of monastic life. St. Anthony of Egypt, pray for us!
So let’s talk a little bit about someone who obviously emanated holiness, Jesus himself. In the Gospel today, the Pharisees want to trap him doing something on the Sabbath. Jesus counters with a question: “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save a life rather than to destroy it?”
This is important, because remember, the commandment is to “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Jesus is trying to get them to realize that doing good is being holy. This is what the Sabbath is all about. Their narrow, legalistic view basically rejects true holiness.
Then Jesus tells the man with the withered hand to stretch it out, and lo and behold, it’s cured. What “work” did Jesus do, exactly? He didn’t touch the man, didn’t massage the hand, didn’t put salve or ointment on it, didn’t even spit in the mud to make a paste. Not this time, anyway. In the realm of the physical world, Jesus didn’t do anything. But in our Lord’s holiness, he transcends the physical world and cures the man, apparently by just willing it with his power as the Son of God.
And just how powerful is our God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? So powerful that a mere youth named David can slay what everyone believes to be an unbeatable Philistine warrior with just a stone, a sling and all the faith in God he can muster. So powerful that by humbling himself to be one of us, then suffering and dying on a cross for us and rising from the dead, he can — and did — free us from our sins. So powerful that if we love Him completely, that love will be noticed by others and draw them to seek God for themselves.
What are we waiting for, folks? Let’s get out there and start emanating holiness with the way we love and serve our Lord and our fellow people. And we don’t even have to go off into the desert to do it.
Oh, San Antonio, santo patrón de los objetos perdidos. ¿Cuántos de nosotros le hemos rezado para que intervenga y localice algo que simplemente no podemos encontrar? Dado que hoy es la fiesta de San Antonio, es importante recordar que el Antonio del 17 de enero no es ese Antonio.
El San Antonio de hoy vivió 900 años antes, no en Padua sino en Egipto, donde pasó la mayor parte de su vida como ermita. Sus padres fallecieron cuando era joven y, después de ocuparse de la educación de su hermana menor, vendió todo y se mudó al desierto para orar en soledad.
¿El hombre emanaba santidad? Porque a pesar de sus esfuerzos por estar a solas con Dios en la oración, la gente lo buscaba. Pronto tuvo numerosos seguidores, por lo que decidió organizarlos, y así es considerado el padre de la vida monástica. San Antonio de Egipto, ¡ruega por nosotros!
Así que hablemos un poco de alguien que obviamente emanaba santidad, el mismo Jesús. En el Evangelio de hoy, los fariseos quieren atraparlo haciendo algo en sábado. Jesús responde con una pregunta: “¿Es lícito hacer el bien en sábado en lugar de hacer el mal, salvar una vida en lugar de destruirla?”
Esto es importante, porque acuérdate, el mandamiento es “guardar del día de reposo para santificarlo”. Jesús está tratando de hacerles comprender que hacer el bien es ser santo. De esto se trata el sábado. Su visión estrecha y legalista básicamente rechaza la verdadera santidad.
Entonces Jesús le dice al hombre de la mano seca que la extienda y queda curada. ¿Qué “trabajo” hizo Jesús exactamente? No tocó al hombre, no le masajeó la mano, no le puso crema ni pomada, ni siquiera escupió en el barro para hacer una pasta. En el ámbito del mundo físico, Jesús no hizo nada. Pero en la santidad de nuestro Señor, él trasciende el mundo físico y cura al hombre, aparentemente simplemente deseándolo con su poder como Hijo de Dios.
¿Y cuán poderoso es nuestro Dios, Padre, Hijo y Espíritu Santo? Tan poderoso que un simple joven llamado David puede matar al que todos creen que es un guerrero filisteo imbatible con solo una piedra, una honda y toda la fe en Dios que pueda reunir. Tan poderoso que al humillarse para ser uno de nosotros, luego sufrir y morir en una cruz por nosotros y resucitar de entre los muertos, él puede (y lo hizo) liberarnos de nuestros pecados. Tan poderoso que si lo amamos completamente, otros notarán ese amor y los llevará a buscar a Dios por sí mismos.
¿Qué estamos esperando, amigos? Salgamos y comencemos a emanar santidad con la forma en que amamos y servimos a nuestro Señor y a nuestros prójimos. Y ni siquiera tenemos que irnos al desierto para hacerlo.
Mike Karpus is a regular guy. He grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, graduated from Michigan State University and works as an editor. He is married to a Catholic school principal, raised two daughters who became Catholic school teachers at points in their careers, and now relishes his two grandchildren, including the older one who is fascinated with learning about his faith. He also has served on a Catholic school board, a pastoral council and a parish stewardship committee. He currently is a lector at Mass, a Knight of Columbus, Adult Faith Formation Committee member and a board member of the local Habitat for Humanity organization. But mostly he’s a regular guy.
Feature Image Credit: Prateek Katyal, pexels.com/photo/brown-sand-field-under-the-sky-3574655/
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