𝗦𝘁. 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁

𝘈 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.

St. Anthony of Padua lived during the 13th century and possessed a great zeal for the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. One day Saint Anthony heard of a man in Rimini named named Bononillo who did not share the same belief. In fact, Bononillo openly mocked people who believed that Jesus was truly present under the appearances of bread and wine.

St. Anthony tried his hardest to convince Bononillo with the proofs of scripture and argument, but discovered that the man was as stubborn as a mule.

Then St. Anthony received an inspiration. He challenged the wealthy merchant, “If the mule you ride adored the Body of Christ in the Eucharist, would you believe in the truth of the Blessed Sacrament?” Bononillo agreed, but decided to raise the stakes. Bononillo would starve his mule for three days and then bring it to the town square. Saint Anthony would bring the Blessed Sacrament to that same square. The mule then would be put in front of a pile of hay and St. Anthony would stand a few yards away with the Blessed Sacrament. What happened next would decide the victor.

To prepare for the event, St. Anthony fasted for three days, and Bononillo in turn told everyone in the town. Bononillo was convinced that the mule would think nothing of the Eucharist and ravenously eat the pile of hay.

On the day of the test, Bononillo brought his mule and placed the hay under the mule’s nose. St. Anthony came and stood a distance away with the Holy Eucharist. Defying all odds, the mule turned his head and walked over to Saint Anthony. When the mule was close, the animal bent his front legs and kneeled in adoration! When Bononillo saw this miraculous change of events, he immediately knelt down and professed his belief in the truth of the Real Presence.

What this short story tells us is that Eucharistic presence of Jesus is something miraculous and supernatural. It is a gift that Jesus gave to his Church, one that reason alone cannot explain. Faith is required to hold to such a fantastic belief. It reminds us that what we witness each Sunday (and every day) is beyond our understanding.

There are many other miracles associated with Anthony’s ministry, but they should not distract our attention from the fact that most of Anthony’s ministry was performed in simple everyday ways. It was his fervent life style, his prayer, his gentleness, his humble use of his great learning that brought people to conversion. Anthony also ministered to those ministering to others, for he taught theology to the friars in Bologna, Montpellier, Toulouse and Padua. This work and his writings earned him the title of Evangelical Doctor of the Church.

Source: Fear Not