Witnessing a St. Anthony Miracle
Praying for healing
Some years ago, I interned in the spiritual care department at a hospital, where I witnessed a St. Anthony miracle I have never forgotten. Many of the patients who requested prayer, or whose families requested prayer, were quite seriously ill. I was a new volunteer and assisting one of the senior chaplains.
I remember visiting a family to pray for their loved one in the ICU. She was an elderly woman who had been intubated. She was unable to breathe on her own and completely unconscious. Her life hung in the balance. There stood her husband, children, and even grandchildren, gathered about her bed. We prayed the Lord’s Prayer and some Hail Marys. The family told me with unwavering faith that they were praying the St. Anthony Novena for her, and so we prayed that too.
The next time I visited, the woman was still unconscious. I remember the handmade quilt that her family had brought from home to cover her with. I remember them standing beside her bed and praying in unison, for how long I do not know. This was their wife, mother, and grandmother. They needed her to come back to them. There she lay, eyes closed. And they prayed the St. Anthony Novena.
When I returned a third time, only a few days later, things were different. This time, the family was sitting around, relaxed and chatting amiably. The patient was no longer in her bed. She was seated comfortably at a small table, where she was eating lunch, smiling and talking with everyone, as if nothing had ever gone amiss with her health. The sun was shining through the window. My jaw must have dropped, because the father smiled at me and nodded, reminding me of the goodness of St. Anthony.
I did not see the family again, because this beloved wife, mother, and grandmother was discharged in good health. I have never forgotten that most amazing intercession by St. Anthony. It renews my faith whenever I think of it. I hope this story will do the same for you.
--Florence
To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour...
--William Blake
We’d love to hear your St. Anthony story too. Use our Contact Page or Email: shrine@franciscan.org or call Colleen Cushard at: 513-721-4700. Share your prayers with us and our online community at our Prayer Page. You can donate to St. Anthony Bread or any of our ministries at our Donation Page.
Posted in: Prayer, Saint Anthony
