St Anthony of Padua

Many years before watching Rhonda Byrne's movie The Secret", in the '80s, when I was a teen, I knew intuitivelly that there is something outside our ego which influences our life. I lived all the time with this idea, but I didn't find anything to read on this subject.

When I had a problem (no matter how big, but something out of my own control), I used to pray to Saint Anthony being sure that Saint Anthony will help me. I saw him clearly in my mind taking care of my problem and arranging things in my favor.

After praying, I felt like I delegated it to someone more powerful than me and I waited to see how it will be solved. I waited without attachment for any specific result, without panic or hurry.

And always my desires were answered. So miraculous...

I really experienced true miracles several times, but I didn't tell anybody. I thought that if I speak about this, I will be considered insane. It was MY SECRET.

I searched for books on this subject, but I havn't found any. It seamed that nobody knew it .Many people talked about Saint Anthony's miracles, but nobody spoke about this loudly. It was like an underground subject.

After many years, I was surprised to hear about the law of attraction and about the quantum physics discoveries. I read many, many books and the conclusion became clear for me. The prayer lead me to experience the law of attraction. Thousands of years people used this law without knowing.

They just PRAYED and BELIEVED.

It is amazing how humankind evolved balancing between materialism and spirituality concepts during thousands of years. From old times, people struggled to find out the significance of life.

Very longtime materialism and spirituality went on two parallel paths. It seemed that they will never meet. They looked like two opposite concepts. Materialists and spiritualists fought one another for millenniums. And so did science and religion.

Now, we are beginning to see the big picture. Quantum physics discoveries show us that material is part of spiritual. Everything now starts to make sens. We begin to understand better the meaning of our lives.

Two thousand of years ago, Jesus came to help us awaken. His teachings are now more significant than ever.

Now, discovering the law of attraction and many other life laws, people are searching for ways to use these laws deliberately, in their favor.

One of these ways, like it was for centuries, is THE PRAYER.

More than ten years ago, I wanted to study an MBA program. I had no money for that, but I wished to go to a good program.

I prayed for that to St Anthony asking him to help me to be able to learn more.

I applied to several MBA programs without knowing how I will pay for the fees and living expenses if they would accept me. I trusted that something unexpected would happen and I would succeed.

I was accepted in one of the programs. I went through the final interview and received the invitation to start in six months. I had to pay for tuition fee 15,000 euros. Living expenses during the program were about 10,000 euros. It was in June 2001. I had no idea from where the money will come, but I was still trusting, knowing very clear that there would be a way.

In September 2001, my mother won 10,000 euros in a promotional contest (she was randomly selected from a few thousand of participants!). In December 2001, I received an e-mail message from the university announcing that I was selected for a special loan of 15,000 euros to pay for the tuition fee. The loan was granted in very good terms (it was a special offer for their students).

In January 2002 I was enrolled into the program!

This is only one of many miracles which happened in my life.

The image is from the small town where I studied the MBA program.

When you wish something particular - let's say a certain job or a specific relationship - and it is not good for us in perspective, St Anthony will offer us another thing in exchange. What do I mean?

I give you an example to better understand.

After I graduated from the MBA program, I set myself the goal to work in business consultancy. I started to look for job opportunities in big consulting companies and I prayed to St. Anthony to help me to get the dreamed job.

In a short while, I found a job offer with Arthur Andersen. It seamed to be the perfect job for me. All the job requirements looked as if they were made specially for me. I applied immediately for the job and in a few days I was invited for the first interview. Then another two interviews followed. Everything went as I expected and I was waiting for the final offer. But, instead of that, I received a letter telling me that they offered the job to someone else. I was very upset. I didn't understand what happened, where I was wrong...

After one month, following Enron famous case, Arthur Andersen disappeared from the consultancy market. And not long after it, I received a promotion in the company I was working with.

It is clear what happened: as I couldn't see the big picture, I wanted something that wasn't really worthy for me. St. Anthony knew it and gave me something better.

That's why, when we pray, we need to TRUST in the best outcome for us. We don't have to be attached to a certain result. We have to believe that we will receive what is matching in the best way the ESSENCE of our wish.

FAITH - this is the key of seeing your dreams / wishes manifested.

But what exactly faith is?
Abraham, through the voice of Esther Hicks, says that "Faith is when you cannot see how, but you absolutely know that the moment you have the dream it is given to you". That means that you have to be absolutely sure that you are entitled to receive what you are praying for. When you 'absolutely know' something means that you have no doubt, that there is noting which can deprive you from what you are asking for.

Abraham say also: "what you have to do is relax and allow the Universe to magnetize you to your dream and your dream to you".

Read it several times, until you get it!

So, the most important thing after you say your prayer is to RELAX and let God do what He has to do. By relaxing you show that you have no doubt that you receive what you are asking for. You just have to wait for the first sign, for the first inspiration to take action to go toward your goal.

The Universe magnetize you to your dream and your dream to you. This is a two way action. God arrange the things to make your dream manifested in the real life and, meantime, you get inspiration to take the appropriate actions to get what you wanted.

There are people who used to live on the Earth longtime ago and who realizing the Wholeness of the Spirit over all human beings, wanted to convey this message. They had a strong belief and lived their lives for the purpose of awakening entire human generations.

They are the Saints.

They influence us and help us longtime after their physical death.

Saint Anthony was one of them. He lived between 1195 and 1231 in Western Europe.

Anthony was a simple and humble friar who preached the Good News lovingly and with fearless courage. He was a saint of the people.

Anthony was born in 1195 in Lisbon (Portugal), and given the name of Fernando at Baptism.

At the age of 15 he entered the religious order of St. Augustine.

Anthony went to Morocco, to be a witness for Christ, and a martyr as well. There, he became seriously ill. After several months he had to go back home.

But, he never arrived home. His ship ran into storms and high winds and was blown east across the Mediterranean. Several months later he arrived on the east coast of Sicily. The friars at nearby Messina welcomed him and began heal him.

Anthony started to preach. He began to speak in a simple way. The fire within him was evident. His knowledge was unmistakable. His holiness really impressed everyone.

Now he was exposed. His quiet life of prayer and penance at the hermitage was exchanged for that of a public preacher. Anthony was assigned to preach in northern Italy.

He traveled a lot in both northern Italy and southern France choosing to enter the cities where the heretics were strongest.
In 1226 he was appointed provincial superior of northern Italy.

Around Easter in 1228 (he was only 33 years old), while in Rome, he met Pope Gregory IX. Naturally, the famous preacher was invited to speak. He did it humbly, as always. The people were really impressed.

At the time of Anthony, Padua ( a city not for from Venice, Italy) was one of the most important cities in the country, with an important university for the study of civil and canon law. Sometimes Anthony left Padua for greater solitude and went to LaVerna, where Francis received the wounds of Jesus. He also found a grotto where he could pray in solitude.

In poor health, in Padua, he preached his last and most famous Lenten sermons. People listening to him were sometime more then 30,000 that the churches could not hold them, so he went into the piazzas or the open fields. People waited all night to hear him. He needed a bodyguard to protect him from the people armed with scissors who wanted to snip off a piece of his habit as a relic.

He received the last sacraments at Arcella, sang and prayed with the friars there. When one of them asked Anthony what he was staring at so intently, he answered, "I see my Lord!" He died in peace a short time after that. He was only 36 and had been a Franciscan but 10 years.

The following year, his friend, Pope Gregory IX, moved by the many miracles that occurred at Anthony's tomb, declared him a saint.