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Today as we celebrate the Memorial of your beloved Saint Anthony of Padua famous for interceding in the recovery of things lost, we pray to you O God our loving Father also for the recovery of something so precious becoming so rare these days - decency and honor, love and kindness, respect and justice. Through the intercession of St. Anthony, Lord, please help us recover our "lost humanity" so vividly exposed last week in that viral video of an SUV hitting and running over a traffic aide in Mandaluyong City.
How sad, even tragic, dear God in this modern time of too much sophistication in science and technology, we have lagged behind in our humanity; aside from the war at Ukraine, how could violent shootings continue in the States at the loss of so many children? What is so tragic is how politicians there talk about protecting children when the same politicians push so hard for abortions, in killing the most innocent persons of all!
Have we become like Jezebel, the pagan wife and queen of Ahab who have no regard at all for humans, creating fake news and gossips against people, promoting corruption among people for material gains?
So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and, having sealed them with his seal, sent them to the elders and to the nobles who lived in the same city with Naboth. This is what she wrote in the letters: “Proclaim a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people. Next, get two scoundrels to face him and accuse him of having cursed God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.” On hearing Naboth was dead, Ahab started off on his way down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
1 Kings 21:8-10, 16
Your Son Jesus Christ taught us the ways to recover our lost humanity more than 2000 years ago but until now, we have not recovered it yet because of our refusal to let go of our pride and attachment with wealth and other things of the world. Like St. Anthony, help us to let go of our possessions and comforts, "to give to the one who asks of us, and to not turn our back on one who wants to borrow" (Matthew 5:42).
St. Anthony of the World, Pray for us!
