Saint Anthony Mary Claret (1807-1870), whose feast day we celebrate on October 24th, was a 19th-century Spanish archbishop and religious founder of the Claretians. Canonized in 1950, one of many notable aspects of his life is the fact that he lived not as a hermit, which he had long desired, but rather as a missionary with an insatiable desire to speak and write about Jesus. So reflects Mary Gates, pictured below, Editor of Faith Magazine, the official publication of the Diocese of Lansing.
Saint Anthony Mary wrote, published, and distributed millions of books and pamphlets as his zeal for souls drove him to evangelize in spoken and written word. As he traveled and preached, the Lord began working miracles through him, and Saint Mary Claret became even more committed to sharing the good news of salvation.
In his autobiography, Saint Anthony Mary wrote, “Love in a man who preaches the Word of God is like fire in a musket. If a man were to throw a bullet with his hands, he would hardly make a dent in anything; but if he takes this same bullet and ignites some gunpowder behind it, it can kill. It is much the same with the Word of God. If God’s Word is spoken only naturally, it does very little; but if it is spoken…filled with the fire of charity - the fire of love of God and neighbor - it will wound voices, kills sins, converts sinners, and works wonders.”
Saint Anthony Mary reminds us that the call to preach out of a heart of love is a summons for every evangelist, and therefore every Christian. The words we write and speak then must be born out of a genuine love of neighbor that ignites our hearts with a desire to share the truth of who Jesus is. Our own testimonies and stories, if shared, as Saint Mary Claret notes, naturally will not bear fruit. But if we are filled with the “fire of charity”, God will work wonders through our efforts to evangelize.
Saint Anthony Mary Claret, pray for us.
