Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Anthony of Padua, the Patron of your Parish! We also celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the consecration of this parish. This is why you see that together with the bishop there is also the bishop emeritus, Msgr. Paul Hinder, the vicar delegate of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia, Father Peter, and other priests who came here today to celebrate this great event. We are all gathered here to thank the Lord for the gift of this church and for the gift of your parish community, made up of faithful from different nations. We thank the Lord for these thirty years of the history under the protection of Saint Anthony of Padua.
Meditating the figure of this great saint helps us to describe the characteristics that this parish can learn from his luminous testimony. Today is a beautiful occasion to remember some traits of his holy life. Saint Antony followed Jesus in the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi. He is one of the saints most loved by the Christian people. Many Christians even in our time turn to his powerful intercession to obtain graces. He was full of divine Wisdom and therefor, in 1946, the Church proclaimed him as the Doctor of the Church.
As we know, Antony is the name he received upon entering the Franciscan order. He had already consecrated himself to God at a young age by joining the Augustinian Priests. He joined St. Francis of Assisi in 1220 following an episode that made a strong impression on him. That year, five Franciscan Friars were martyred in Morocco, and he had the opportunity to see their bodies when they were brought to a nearby convent in Spain. Inspired by the martyrdom of these friars, Saint Antony felt a burning desire to give his life to Jesus and spread the Gospel.
Saint Antony as a Franciscan friar was at first very silent; he was very humble and helpful. He soon adapted to the most modest and hidden services in fraternal life until, almost by chance, one day, he was called to preach on the occasion of the priestly ordination of a confrere. The People and the Friars were amazed at his ability to preach and announce the Gospel, where he showed an extraordinary knowledge of the Sacred Scriptures.
Saint Anthony was then sent proclaim the Word of God, educate people, and correct the errors on matters of faith. he also became the trainer of the friars in the study of theology. The many miracles that took place through the intercession of St Antony, brought him great reputation of holiness, and even today, all over the world, the Christian people turn to him in prayer.
St. Anthony’s life was a total response to the invitation of the Lord: ‘The harvest is rich, but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.’ He lived his entire life as a great mission towards the Kingdom of God.
Furthermore, as we heard from prophet Isaiah, he presented himself in his mission as a man filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came upon him to proclaim the joy of the Gospel to all. Saint Anthony possessed strong and deep wisdom inspired by God.
In the light of these episodes in the life of Saint Anthony of Padua, we can now ask ourselves: what should our parish be like, having this great saint as its patron?
First of all, Saint Anthony helps us cultivate a great desire to follow Jesus and grow in holiness. We must never be happy with being superficial Christians. With his life story, St. Anthony teaches us to constantly grow and never consider ourselves achieved the perfection of faith. In our Christian life, we must always be disciples who wish to grow in faith, hope, and love. St. Anthony invites you to strive for holiness. In fact, with your baptism, you received the vocation to holiness. You are called to be a people holy and consecrated to God.
Furthermore, St. Anthony was a man who passionately lived the fraternal life. He was humble even though he had extraordinary abilities and was a man of great culture and wisdom. We come from many different nations and have different languages and cultures. But following the example of St. Anthony, we are called to passionately live the fraternal relationship. We all have the same dignity of being children of God and brothers and sisters among us. Let no one feel superior to others, rather let us learn to respect each other as children of God. For this, I invite you to be a parish that fosters fraternal life and serene relationships in which we learn to serve one another.
We also learn from St. Anthony the virtue of humility. It has become an unwanted Christian virtue today. We often want to show how important we are in front of others. We are often tempted to be proud and arrogant. Arrogance and pride bring division in the community, while humility unites in love. Those humble of heart are similar to Jesus, who, out of love for us, humbled himself to the point of giving his life for us. The humble of heart are builders of fraternal relationships.
Above all, Saint Anthony knew how to respond generously to the Lord's call. This is why I invite you to rediscover your life as a vocation. Each of us is unique and unrepeatable. We are not photocopies, but we are original, each one has a unique gift to share with others. God has a great plan for each of us. Life is a gift and is realized only if we give it for the kingdom of God.
I invite you to respond to the Lord's call and live your vocation to the full. The Lord calls us to follow him in different ways: he may call us to religious life or priesthood, as he did with St. Anthony, or he may call you to the sacrament of marriage and form a beautiful family.
Dear young people do not be afraid accept the Lord's call, do not be afraid to leave everything and to follow him. You will never regret your decision to proclaim the joy of the Gospel to everyone like St. Anthony did. There is nothing more fascinating than meeting Jesus and bringing his gospel to everyone.
Dear parishioners, thirty years after the consecration of this Church, we thank the Lord for all the gifts we have received. We thank all the parishioners who have engaged in the various services and ministries for the Church. We thank all the parish priests and other priests who have served and continue to serve this parish. Thanks in particular to Father Babychen for his generous commitment to the animation of this parish. Dear faithful, may your patron help you be a vibrant parish, a united parish. I invite you to reach out to all the Catholics who live in this area and who do not participate in the parish life. Invite them to be living members of this community, overcoming difficulties and distances. It is so beautiful to all walk together and be a synodal and missionary Church. Be worthy of your patron saint. Serve one another. May you always live in peace. May the Lord bless you and make you grow in love.