We are blessed with some great readings this week. In addition, we will celebrated my mother’s favorite saint – St. Anthony – later this week.
I remember when we were kids and anything was lost – car keys usually since it was hard to lost a giant phone attached to the wall – mom would begin her prayer… “Dear St. Anthony, please come around. Something’s lost and can’t be found.” She would repeat the prayer again and again and, eventually, that which was lost was found.
I still use that prayer and I know so many of you do as well. As the children get older and the problems seem bigger, I find myself using the prayer for inanimate objects as well: mental health, a calming spirit, a good attitude, kindness – all those things that can get lost while we are not paying attention. I pray, too, for lost people – those I love but whom I must move out of my life for my own sanity. I pray for lost friends with whom I have lost contact because I think social media is a colossal waste of time. I pray for those with whom I work, those alongside me in the field of ministry, and those with whom I live and work and play.
We can all get lost, I suppose, overwhelmed by life and everything on our lists. It’s nice to pray for each other, hoping and longing for that which is misplaced to be recovered and made whole.
St. Anthony of Padua, pray for us.