Our family’s statue of the man-of-the-hour, St. Anthony of Padua (1195-1231), is a constant reminder of the good friend we rely on to help us find all sorts of lost things—shoes, keys, phones, maybe our sanity from time to time. He’s a household name! But as we reflect with you on Level 2—Person & Relationships—we invite you to consider an oft-overlooked dimension of his life that is critical for every Christian’s growth.
 
Have you ever wondered why St. Anthony is depicted holding the Child Jesus in his arms? In The Life of St. Anthony, it’s recorded that a benefactor who had given the traveling preacher a place to stay for the night was amazed to see an intense light through the cracks of St. Anthony’s door.
 
The Life continues, “He was curious to know the reason of that light, and approached the door very slowly. He saw Anthony kneeling, as if in ecstasy, and, full of wonder, admiring and caressing a loving child of rare beauty, who was tenderly embracing the saint. Then the man knew, from the affectionate conversation, and from the superhuman beauty, that it was Jesus Christ who, under the appearance of a loving child, was pleased to visit His faithful servant and fill him with His ineffable consolation.”
 
This stunning moment in St. Anthony’s life draws our hearts and minds back to the words of Jesus, who said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). St. Anthony was so gentle and humble, so childlike, that Jesus could be comfortable as a little child in his arms.
 
Perhaps like you, in our years of marriage and raising our children, we’ve gone through many seasons. Struggles. Joys. Moves. Job transitions. The deaths of loved ones. And reflecting on it all, we see how easy it is to trade a St. Anthony-like simplicity, trust, and childlike dependence, for worry, control, self-reliance, questioning and doubting.
 
It’s so easy, isn’t it? Our culture is awash, after all, in cynicism and control, which seem to be the opposite of Jesus’ call to become like children. As Annie Reneau wrote in an essay cited by Bishop Barron on his Word on Fire podcast, “The siren song of cynicism is that strangely alluring voice that lulls us into a negative state of complacency at best and abject nihilism at worst.”

Ms. Reneau observes that cynicism “requires no deep digging, real reflection or soul searching.” On the contrary, she writes, “It’s the easiest thing in the world to call the world a dumpster fire, toss up our hands and say, ‘Welp, everything and everyone is awful, so what’s the point?’”
 
And so, St. Anthony’s witness is exactly the counter-balance our families and homes need today. As your family takes to heart St. Anthony’s witness, consider buying a little statue, holy card, or other visual so that your whole family will see him holding the Child Jesus. And we invite you to join us in one or more of the following practical steps:

• Bring Matthew 18:3 to your next personal time of prayer. Meditate and pray over the words, asking the Lord to protect you from cynicism and control and to renew your childlike simplicity and dependence on Him.
• Lead a conversation in your family this week—at the dinner table, in the car, or at family prayer-time—about what Matthew 18:3 means, and how important this radical dependence on God is for the spiritual life.
• When you ask for St. Anthony’s help in finding a lost object, be sure to add a prayer for something more important—a childlike trust in and dependence on God!

Today’s feast is a gift—a day of liberation from our age of cynicism. St. Anthony’s witness gives us a brief master class in the Christian life. Though we may not be able to hold the Child Jesus in our arms, we do have the opportunity to hold our loved ones with the tenderness, simplicity, and childlikeness to which Jesus calls us. St. Anthony of Padua, pray for us!