‘Miracles of St. Antonio of Padua’ ~ Chapter I – Miracles during his life; pages 17-19; point 3
[St. Anthony of Padua XII-XIII Century AD; Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal/Padua, Holy Roman Empire; Doctor of the Church]“The words were barely out of the saint s mouth before a great commotion was noticed in the sea. Thousands of fishes of every size and species were seen to come in the greatest order to its surface, the smaller ones placing themselves in front, and the larger ones behind. Then began one of the most extraordinary sermons ever preached. The saint addressed them as if they were beings endowed with reason.
“Oh! ye fishes of the deep, praise and thank your God and Creator for the unspeakable blessings He has lavished on you, favoring you above all dumb animals. See and admire the beautiful home He, in His infinite goodness, has prepared for you; look at those crystal waters, in which it is so easy for you to find a refuge against the storm and the enemy. Not only has He provided for all your wants, but He has made you prolific above all other creatures. You alone have been exempted from the dominion of your fellow beings and from His wrath at the time of the deluge. To you it has been given to save His prophet Jonas; to cure His blind servant Tobias; to be the food of the penitent; to procure for the Saviour of mankind and His disciples the tribute money due to Caesar; it was after His Resurrection by eating of your flesh He proved He was truly risen from the dead; it was over your heads He walked on the sea, and after the great draught of fishes, He called His apostles fishers of men.”
The fishes seemed to be filled with admiration, and anxious not to lose one of his words, their numbers ever increasing, marking their approval by the lifting up and down of their heads, the opening of their mouths, but not one of them thought of leaving the spot till the saint had blessed -them, and ordered them to return to their homes below, when they immediately disappeared. But the commotion of the waters continued for some time after. In the meantime, so deep had been the impression made upon the bystanders, eye-witnesses of this re markable scene, that many hastened back to the city, imploring their friends to come and see the miracle; others burst into tears, and kneeling at the feet of the saint, implored forgiveness, while only a few remained obdurate in their heresy.
St. Anthony, availing himself of this opportunity, at the close of the sermon to the fishes addressed the immense multitude now gathered together, exhorting them to repentance, rebuking them for their unbelief and ingratitude, pointing out to them the heinousness of sin, and showing them what a lesson of obedience the fishes had just given them.
It was through this sermon that Rimini was purged from heresy.”
Image: Giovanni Battista Tiepolo – ‘St. Anthony of Padua and the Christ Child’
Music: Tomas Luis de Victoria – ‘Duo seraphim’, motete a 4 voces · Ensemble Plus Ultra · Michael Noone
‘Duo seraphim’ = ‘Two seraphim’
>>> youtube.com/watch?v=ZHkyIJphgrk