Part 3
ANTHONY DESPISED AND REJECTED
ANTHONY THE CONTEMPLATIVE
 

ANTHONY DESPISED AND REJECTED

St. Francis was wont to read the hearts and the consciences of his children-----a gift that must have aided him often in their wise direction. Were it not evidently predestined, it would be surprising that the Saint did not recognize in the youthful Anthony who was anon to be all in all to him and to his holy Order. There he was, this giant in embryo, in the prime of life, singularly attractive to the eye, of fascinating manners, radiant with Divine love, virtuous, valiant, face to face with the one who was most to influence him in life-----and he was suffered to pass by unnoticed.

One thought was now uttermost in Anthony's mind. He could not again return to Portugal-----that would seem like a step backward and a sign of failure. He must abide near St. Francis. He felt that he could no longer live happily and holily apart from the seraphic one, who so powerfully influenced all those who were attracted to him. For this reason he offered himself to the Provincials and Guardians of Italy. St. Francis, hearing of this, highly approved of the youth's renunciation of his family, his friends and his country; and recommended him to those who were in need of an assistant.

His services were declined by all; he was not welcome and not wanted. In a great measure, he was himself the cause of his unsuccess; yet the wisdom or the unwisdom of his motive can no longer be questioned when we take into consideration the natural consequences thereof.

With no affection of humility, the young friar kept secret all knowledge of his past. He assumed an air that bordered on stupidity. It is hardly surprising that he was looked upon with disapproval by the masters of novices, who were accustomed critically to inspect such candidates as offered themselves from time to time at the novitiate. They did not for a moment suspect that he had talents and learning of no mean order.

He proffered his services as assistant in the kitchen; he volunteered to sweep the house well; he asked nothing more than to be allowed to do this for the love of God. Even here his hopes were for a season thwarted. His slight figure had not yet rounded after the ravages of fever; his face, naturally one of the most beautiful among men, was still drawn and pale. He did not look equal to the calls upon the convent drudge, and was unceremoniously dismissed. His early biographer, John Peckham, observes: "No Provincial thought of asking for him." He was deemed unfit for service of any kind.

His case was beginning to grow desperate. What could he hope to do for the greater glory of God and the love of his fellow men? Would no one take pity on him? Would no one give him some duty to perform? In his extremity he drew Father Gratian, the Provincial of Bologna, aside and implored his aid. It chanced that Father Gratian was in need of a priest to say Mass at a small hospice, where six lay-brothers formed the community. " Are you a priest?" asked Father Gratian of the unpromising youth. "I am," replied Anthony.

This seemed like a sad awakening from his dreams of the future. Not Africa, not Martyrdom, apparently not Italy, could he claim for his portion; but Father Gratian, who must send a priest to the lay-brothers in their retreat, found him sufficient in an extremity; and thereupon he was ordered away into the mountains to say Mass for the recluses in a very little house hidden in a lonely place.

ANTHONY THE CONTEMPLATIVE

From the very foundation of the Order, the Franciscans have possessed two kinds of holy houses. There were the large convents, usually erected in cities or their suburbs, where the friars diligently attended the many calls upon their time, sympathy and strength; and there were small convents, or hermitages, often hidden away in the fastnesses of the mountains or the forest.

One of these minor houses was situated not far from Forli, upon the slopes of the Apennines. In all Tuscany there was not a more secluded spot. Monte Paolo was an ideal home for Anthony. Separated from the outer world by a far-spreading wood; walled in by rocky heights, where only the birds nested and the wild goat climbed; visited by Heaven-sent zephyrs; nourished by the uncultivated fruits which nature so lavishly contributed; refreshed by a delicious spring of crystal purity-----that sweet solitude seemed indeed to the ill-judged and disappointed friar an earthly paradise.

Here Anthony said Mass daily for the little company of brethren; here he begged leave to assist them in their labors, counting it a privilege so to do. They allotted him his task, and he cheerfully accepted and performed it. They had not yet discovered that he was a man far their superior in all respects; for he became one with them-----one with them in spirit and in truth-----but he was the holiest of them all.

Within the grounds of the hermitage at Monte Paolo was secreted a deep grotto; and within the grotto a cell had been hewn out of the rock, and here Anthony found his perfect joy. One of the brethren had long used this cell as a storehouse for his tools, but he willingly surrendered it to Anthony when the latter ventured to ask if he might have the use of it; and there the friar passed most of his time.

Nearly a year Anthony passed in the wilderness. His bed was straw; his pillow a stone; his food and drink a little bread and water. He mortified himself by fasting, took the discipline, and gladly endured other austerities and voluntary pains.

During most of that year, so far as the Rule of the Order and the spirit of obedience permitted, he dwelt alone in his hollow rock. His time he passed in study, meditation, and ever-ardent prayer. He translated the Psalms of David, enriching them with notes and commentaries suitable for the use of preachers. Wittingly or unwittingly, he was preparing himself for a fresh field of labor; and perhaps nowhere else, outside of the desert itself, could he have found so suitable a time and place for just such preparation.

From a cavern came St. Francis, St. Bernard, St. Norbert, and St. Benedict; it was fitting that he who was to become a Saint as great, powerful and glorious as these should come also from a cavern. The Hermitage of Monte Paolo has been by old chroniclers compared to the cells of the solitaries of the Thebaid. Not a trace of the building itself remains, and more's the pity! In 1629 Signor Paganelli erected an oratory near the grotto consecrated by the prayers and penances of Anthony, in gratitude for a miraculous recovery from illness obtained through his intercession.

Emmanuel Azevedo, one of Anthony's biographers, upon visiting the spot, found, about half-way up the mountain, a limpid spring that was never known to become turbid, even in the time of rains, when all the neighboring springs were thick with mud. He was assured, not only by the peasants whose love for the Saint may have made them too credulous, but by resident priests-----it was also the testimony of distinguished travelers-----that on Monte Paolo [better known as St. Anthony's Mountain], during the most violent tempests, when the neighboring heights were swept by furious winds and lashing rains, a calm as of a summer twilight prevailed; and that persons overtaken by the storm hastened to reach the favored spot, knowing full well that there they would be safe from harm-----lapped in an atmosphere as serene as the soul of the Saint.

Continued Next Page.

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