7the Day of the Novena - The Bread of St. Anthony

 

After my discharge from the hospital, I have been privileged to celebrate or concelebrate eucharist in our church...the novenas are prayed in honour of St. Anthony and regular devotees find tine to be in the church to show their love and gratitude him. I have been preaching for last four novenas on different themes connected with the life of saint. The first day he was dedicated to reflecting on role of eucharist in the life and spirituality of st. Anthony, second day we meditated on various miracles performed by Anthony, third day we dwelt on the aspect of actions speak louder than the words and how st. Anthony led the way for his devotees and yesterday we reflected upon the charm of Anthony as a well known, simple and humble preacher of the word of God. How his preaching brought about changes in the lives of the hearers. 

Today I am gonna speak about the importance of the bread of st. Anthony and its its importance, value and significance today amidst the pandemic which has created havoc, poverty, misery, orphans etc.  Bread in every culture has an important place in families and especially on the dinning table. It is called or named differently but the gradients are same all over the world. The bread has the capacity to bring smiles on the face of a hungry face, it can strengthen a hurry person, it can build up relationships and communion when shared with one another. How Anthony came to be connected with bread shared among the poor on every Tuesday? the history and story we can easily access in the Franciscan history.

St. Anthony’s Bread is an expression of devotion reminding of St. Anthony’s love and aid to the poor when he was alive. The tradition dates back to the 13th century, stemming from a story when a young child fell into a barrel of water and drowned. The mother begged St. Anthony to help, promising to donate grain the weight of her child to the poor if her daughter was restored. The child arose as if only asleep. Thus began the tradition of promising and giving alms to the poor for favors answered through St. Anthony’s intercession. 

The actual name of “St. Anthony’s Bread” originated from a the story of a French woman named Louise Bouffier in 1890, who promised loaves of bread for the poor when St. Anthony helped her with opening the broken lock of her small linen shop. After his help, her shop was the basis of St. Anthony’s Bread, where she generously fed the poor with loaves of bread in St. Anthony’s name.

In modern times, the term “St. Anthony’s Bread” often refers merely to the money collected for the poor in St. Anthony’s name and there is no actual bread exchanged. The money given to the poor will help them buy food.