Stories of Saint Anthony
Preaching to the Fish
“Proud men have turned away, for they refuse
To listen to you, Master Anthony.”
“I’ll turn instead to shoreline avenues,
And at the seaside preach to Rimini.”
There gathered gobies, dentex, eel, sardines,
Anchovies, mullet, mackerel, tuna, plaice,
Piada and piadina, local queens
Of fish, all turned attentively to face
The land, and heed what human language means.
They took the bait commending gratitude
For God’s great gifts; the fish their thanks renewed,
Then splashed as they received the preacher’s blessing,
While reprobates ashore began confessing.
Postmaster
With prayerful mind and careful pen you glossed
The Psalms, by poetry’s perfection crowned,
And when your commentary had been lost
Through theft, you felt great joy when it was found.
You guide our letters not to go astray.
A lady in Oviedo proved it so:
Her answer came from Lima in one day,
With newly minted coins of golden glow,
Delivered by a friar in your array.
How much more now we need benign protection
For words sent easily without reflection,
Afflicting many who might ache to hear
An unexpected message of good cheer.
Spiritual Direction
Blessed Elena Enselmini (1207–1231) was
a follower of St. Anthony and St. Francis
Come follow, dear child Elena, the call
To grow and flower in calm innocence,
Sweet lily putting into practice all
Wise guidance in the ways of continence.
Nothing on earth is precious as vocation,
The very breath of Jesus speaking near you,
Your veil concealing utmost dedication,
The holy confidence with which I hear you
Tell of superabundant sanctification.
In every wound and sorrow of His Passion
You dwell; His Blessed Sacrament your only ration
For weeks and months. How truly you are wed
To Christ our Guardian, sole living Bread.
“Guardian”: the title of the superior in a Franciscan religious house.
Roman Carnival
Warm winds blew Europe’s pilgrim throngs to Rome;
With Anthony, they knelt at Peter’s throne.
Pope Gregory commissioned him alone
To profit them with wealth of grace full blown.
All nations walked Rome’s Stations of the Cross.
None knew how much the young priest sacrificed
To cleanse participants of dreadful dross;
He bore the pains of others, as did Christ,
And battled to avoid a single loss.
To void their pride, rage, envy, greed and fears,
He gave up half a healthy lifetime’s years
For evildoers trusting to his care,
It seemed, from hundreds of conversions there.
Anthony’s Last Lent
Another church each day! Make all aware.
The Word . . . though demons cough within my chest.
O gloriosa Domina the air
I breathe, and trace the Cross upon my breast.
The sermon and absolving sacrament
Are one: smut smelled and scrapped, a fresh new start.
Disrupt and cudgel disillusionment,
Lament the love for filth with fasting heart,
And visibly build up a Church content.
Religion, one God-given golden clasp,
Joins inner world and outer in its grasp.
No seasons more! All time for Christ is now.
Come work His field: plow, fertilize, learn how.
Poet’s Note: For friends of Saint Anthony of Padua, thirteen has become a lucky number since his death on June 13, 1231. The Antonian sonnet form created in his honor features 13 lines with rhyme scheme abab cdcdc eeff. It may try to follow the saint’s preaching style of multiple disparate images in quick succession. O gloriosa Domina, addressed to his glorious lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, is his favorite song. The renowned preacher used its music, with the Sign of the Cross, to relieve his fatal struggles with lung disorder. At the age of 36, having recited the seven penitential Psalms, he died Friday evening, June 13, 1231.
Margaret Coats lives in California. She holds a Ph.D. in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard University. She has retired from a career of teaching literature, languages, and writing that included considerable work in homeschooling for her own family and others.
You have been busy, Margaret. All of these poems bear re-reading (which I have done once already), especially for a Catholic. I never knew he had such a short life. In fact, I didn’t know much about him and thanks to your poems will make it a point to learn more. All of these poems grow more beautiful with re-reading.
Margaret C.,
Your works here exemplify your dedication. I especially like, in the last poem, your suggestion that religion is a “clasp”.
from Margaret B.
Anything with a Franciscan theme grabs me instantly, and I admire all these pieces, Margaret. But I’m particularly struck by “Anthony’s Last Lent” with its contemporary relevance. (And “demons cough within my chest” is inspired.) Thank you.
Margaret, I have always considered the number 13 to be my lucky number, as well. I did not realize anyone else did so. These are intriguing poems that once again display your intellectual prowess and attention to detail like naming such an obscure array of fish.
Thanks, Margaret, for this beautiful revisitation of St. Anthony’s remarkable life. SCP sparkles with reverential poetry, especially yours. I loved the depiction of the aquatic congregation who …
Then splashed as they received the preacher’s blessing,
While reprobates ashore began confessing.
Jesus testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. Marcus Aurelius posited that we all love ourselves more than others, but we value others’ opinions more than our own.
Margaret, “Preaching to the Fish” is a marvelous poem. It’s witty and sunny–and the latter quality is especially to be prized in this lugubrious world. The catalogue of fishes is not a dry list, but a delight in itself. (It reminds me somehow of the list of names of attendees at one of Gatsby’s parties in The Great Gatsby–zany and funny.) Also, there is some charming phraseology: “They took the bait commending gratitude….” I’m easily pleased by phraseology. Thanks for your good humor delivered with skill.