By AnnaMarie Prono
“He is the most reliable saint,” came out of my mouth in a discussion about St. Anthony of Padua. My friend, Angela, glared at me. I realized that she took my statement as a discredit to the many other great saints.
“He has never let me down when it comes to finding lost objects. He even found my car when it was stolen 20 years ago,” I said. “ It took a few weeks for the car, but in general, his turnaround time is pretty quick.”
Angela continued to listen as I continued, “except for one thing, my Grammy cross. It was the cross that my grandmother handed down to me. It is probably over two years that I have been petitioning for that gold chain and cross to reappear.”
That was two months ago, and still no discovery. However, like a broken record player, I continued with my pleas. Last month, I visited Portugal and made a point of visiting St. Anthony’s birthplace in Lisbon, and in between thanked him for a lifetime of found objects. I reminded the gentle saint about my Grammy’s cross.
As June 13, the day St. Anthony died and his feast day, approached, I contemplated how I could pay homage to him. I considered painting an icon or writing a poem, or even a prayer. I was hoping for divine inspiration.
Hours later, I was getting ready for my cousin’s anniversary party, for which I ordered a royal blue dress. It was the perfect shade of blue, very close to the color of the bridesmaids’ dresses that we wore on her wedding day. The dress arrived in a matching blue sack with a drawstring, and was twisted tightly several times so it would fit in the pouch and maintain its crinkled style. With only one hour to get ready, I became frantic searching closets and drawers for this dress. But I could not find it. “Tony, Tony!”
Desperate, I decided to check in the attic, where I keep the change of season clothes. I didn’t expect it to be there, but I figured I should make the effort. I unzipped a garment bag, and felt the tops of the hangars, feeling for the cord of the sack. This was turning out to be another unsuccessful search. Thinking that maybe something had fallen to the bottom of the bag, I bent down, ran my hand along the floor for the enclosure, and pulled out a small box. I felt a glimmer of hope, though not for the dress. Opening the box brought a great smile to my face, as I looked down at my gold Grammy cross.
Thank you, St. Anthony!” I was so excited, that for five minutes I forgot about my missing dress. It wasn’t long before I said, “St. Anthony, I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but I still need to find my blue dress.”
I shouted to my husband to share the good news. He told me I was probably meant to wear the cross to the party.
I agreed and had already put the chain around my neck, where it is going to stay for a while. I felt as though I was bringing my grandmother to the party.
Misplacing the dress enabled me to find my precious Grammy cross. St. Anthony revealed the locations for two lost personal items, within the same hour. And the manner in which he did so inspired me to write about my experience and strengthened my already deep devotion to him. I hope my story will encourage others to remain faithful and never give up hope.
