SAINT ANTHONY MARY CLARET
<http://olrl.org/lives/claret.shtml>http://olrl.org/lives/claret.shtml
Spanish Light of the Church
Fr. Claret's first appointment as a young priest
was as assistant to the pastor of his hometown,
Sallent. But, though his work there was
fruitful, he felt himself called to be a laborer
in the foreign missions. With this view in mind
and being impelled by a desire to shed his blood
for Christ, he went to Rome to consult the
Prefect of the Propagation of the Faith. As the
Prefect was absent, he began his annual spiritual
exercises under a Jesuit director. After this
retreat he was invited to enter the Jesuit
novitiate in Rome, and he gladly accepted. But
after some months of happy community life with
the Jesuits – catechizing, preaching to convicts,
ministering to hospital patients – he developed a
chronic, crippling pain in his right leg. The
General of the Society of Jesus pronounced this a
sign that God had other plans for Father Claret.
By the time he reached his next assigned post,
the mountain parish of Viladrau, Catalonia, he
found himself cured. That district, despoiled by
the recent Carlist civil war, was still scourged
by robber bands. The doctors had abandoned the
town and sickness and misery were everywhere.
"What else could I do," the saint wrote, "but
become a doctor of corporal as well as spiritual
ailments...?" By applying simple herbs and
salves, he cured the most severe and varied
diseases, even in people at the point of
death. The cures, he believed, were God's way of
calling attention to the importance of the Word
of God, which he, God's missionary, was preaching to them.
Late in 1842, Father Claret was appointed an
Apostolic Missionary to all of mountainous
Catalonia, with its 13 cities and 400
towns. Religious practice there had suffered
much from the French invasions, the Carlist war
and the shift of political power into the hands
of the anti-religious Liberal Party.
The Miracles and Virtues of Father Claret
In these years of traveling and preaching in
Catalonia, Father Claret worked countless wonders
of healing, both bodily and spiritual. On his way
to a certain town to deliver a scheduled sermon,
he was crossing a mountain pass when two armed
robbers stopped him and searched him for money.
Angry that he had none, they threatened to kill
him. Father Claret was unafraid but asked them,
as a favor, to wait. He had to preach to the
people who were expecting him. When he had
finished he would return and put himself at the
bandits' disposal. The robbers let him go. The
next day, at the same hour, he was back. The
robbers, overcome by his faithfulness to his
word, did not shoot him, but rather knelt and confessed their sins to him.
To demonstrate against the rising vice of greed,
Father Claret always traveled from mission to
mission as the poorest of men. His baggage
consisted of a razor, a pair of socks, a
breviary, a map of Catalonia, and half a loaf of
bread. Father Claret explains the necessity of
poverty which he possessed so fervently: "I knew
it was the will of God that I should not have
money nor accept anything, except the necessary
food, only at the moment in which I should take
nourishment, but not receive provisions necessary
to take me from one point to another. Noticing
that such abnegation edified everyone and made a
deep impression, I did all in my power to
continue the practice." This habit of holy
poverty created a horror of money in his heart
which the world does not understand, as is proved
in an incident referred to by him: "Putting my
hand into my pocket one day, I became frightened
because I thought I had a coin in it. I took it
out to throw it away or to give it to a beggar,
but on looking at it, I found it was a medal."
"If at times," he said, "money was offered me for
sermons, I refused it saying that I did not need
it, for on my trips I neither need horses nor
coaches; neither do I lack money for clothes or
shoes, because God preserves them for me for a long time."
He never went by carriage, or even by mule, but
always walked: often by back roads, trails, and
cross-country; in rain, in snow, and in burning
sun. He put each of his missions – from three
days to nine or more days long – in the hands of
our Blessed Mother, and before beginning a sermon
would have the congregation recite the rosary
with him. Then he would begin to preach, perhaps
on one of the four last things, or the gravity of
sin, or perseverance in virtue, or on the
conversion of St. Mary Magdalen or St. Augustine.
As much as he hated and dreaded sin, he did not
scold, ridicule, or terrify sinners, for he
learned that only meekness could win them to
repentance. With these softer qualities, in which
he trained himself, he touched their hearts. Of
help to him, too, was his eloquence in the
Catalan language and his apt metaphors drawn from
the life of Catalonian cities and countryside.
People came from miles around to hear him
preach. Once they heard him, they waited outside
his confessional for hours or even days with
lunches they had brought from home. Often he
could read the consciences of these penitents far
better then they themselves could. The pulpit,
the altar, and the confessional occupied almost
his entire day. He ate and slept very
little. Sometimes he found time for apostolic
writing or planning for his project, the
Religious Publishing House. For 30 consecutive
days people filled the huge Church of St. Stephen
in Olot to hear his three hour sermons. Although
he himself heard confessions as long as 15 hours
a day, 24 other confessors were also kept busy in
Olot. Three priests spent the entire morning
distributing Holy Communion. The voices of those
reciting the rosary in the afternoon sounded like
"rolling thunder". And in one chapel, there
constantly were people making the Way of the
Cross. Souls had come from distant places for
this event: The "Great Mission" of Olot. God was
able to accomplish this wonderful and indeed
miraculous spiritual movement of souls through
His humble servant, Father Claret.
Missionary to the Canary Islands
When Fr. Claret's life was threatened by
anti-clerical enemies, his bishop sent him to the
Canary Islands, a Spanish possession off the
coast of West Africa. Father Claret reached this
post in March of 1848 and started the same life
and work that he had pursued in
Catalonia. Though he had now to preach in
Spanish with a Catalan accent (which some
scoffers mimicked), his success was once again overpowering.
On May 1, 1848, he opened a 28-day mission in the
town of Telde, on Gran Canaria Island. The place
was experiencing a great drought and the farmers
were preoccupied with fear for their crops. He
said to them, "I can promise you, brethren, that
before this mission is over there will be a
plentiful rain that will revive your plants,
quiet your homes, and rejoice your
hearts." While he was preaching the closing
sermon, the rain began. Morals were lax in
Telde; theft was especially prevalent. The
mission of Father Claret wrought a great
change. The pastor of Telde wrote to the
bishop: "This town has never seen the like of
it. The bitterest of enemies have made
peace. Scandals, both public and private, have
been terminated, and amends made. Broken
marriages have been mended. Restitutions have
been made. Why? Because no one can withstand
the fire of his preaching, the kindness and
liveliness of his manner, his forceful
reproofs... and the impact of his
reasoning. The appeal of his words breaks his
listeners' hearts, and everybody, even the
proudest nature, falls at his feet weeping." But
it was not only his preaching that won the
veneration of the townsfolk for Father
Claret. Many of his penitents here made known
that in the confessional he had seen into their
consciences, reminding them of sins that through
ignorance or forgetfulness they had failed to
mention. And there were droves of penitents. He
began hearing their confessions at dawn but they
started lining up the evening before. Here at
Telde he also performed two striking cures. One
was that of Antonia Hilaria, 25, afflicted with
epilepsy from early childhood. During her
convulsions six to eight men were required to
restrain her. The most casual event could bring
on one of her spells. One occurred during an
evening service at Father Claret's mission. As
he came into the sacristy he asked what the crowd
of people was doing there. "My sister has taken
a nervous spell," a man said, "and when that
happens she needs the help of all of us." Father
Claret took the girl's handkerchief, dipped it in
holy water, and then said to the people holding
her, "Let her free! Let her free!" They could
not, they replied, for she would throw herself on
the floor and hurt herself. "Let her free,"
Father Claret insisted. "No harm will come to
her." They did so. He put the moistened
handkerchief on her eyes. The girl sat up and
was quiet. "Take the cloth from her eyes,"
Father Claret said. Usually her eyes were glazed
and bulging after an attack. Now they were calm
and natural. She walked home, slept peacefully
and shortly afterward was able to take a
job. She lived many years, but never had another epileptic spell.
Early in July he opened the mission in Arucas,
also on Gran Canaria. So many people gathered
that the large church could not contain them all.
It was decided, therefore, that Father Claret
would preach his sermons each evening in the
plaza before the church, from an improvised
pulpit. As the square was without illumination,
each family was asked to bring a lantern from
home. Suddenly, one night, a mysterious wind
swept in to the plaza and blew out all the
lanterns. At the same moment an invisible force
snatched the lanterns from their owners' hands
and dashed them to the pavement. Then,
throughout the plaza, the voice of Father Claret
was heard: "Don't be frightened, brethren. The
demon has put out the lanterns. The demon has
thrown them to the ground. But be assured, not
one lantern has been broken. God has not given
him permission for that. Just pick them up and
relight them." They did this and found every lantern intact.
Father Claret tried to organize the Missions so
that they were held at a time most favorable for
the people, but at times his excessive work and
the commands of his superiors arranged the
date. This happened in a certain town. He was
obliged to give a Mission during harvest
time. The wheat was ripe, and the people were
obliged to work in the fields. Father Claret
visited the homes of the principal workmen and
told them: "Do not fear to come to the Mission;
God will bless you." "But Father," they replied,
"that is impossible. The entire harvest may be
lost in a single day. We are Catholics and
appreciate what pertains to the church, but we
cannot lose so many days." "God is the master of
the fields, of the wheat, of the rain, and of
hailstorms", was Father Claret's reply. "In
God's name I say to you, that if you come to the
Mission, your wheat fields will be more
productive, and all danger of rain and hailstorms
will be averted. If, however, you do not come,
your harvest will be destroyed." Father Claret
said no more and began his Mission. Some heeded
the call; others did not. In two days all the
people saw the fields of those who did not attend
the Mission in ruins and their crops lost. A
heavy hailstorm had unexpectedly fallen upon the
fields. The fields of those who made the
Mission, however, were preserved. The stalks
heavily laden with the golden grain remained
erect and not a grain was touched by the hail in
spite of the ruined adjacent fields. The news of
this happening spread rapidly through the
district and served as a salutary warning.
God manifested Fr. Claret's holiness by
extraordinary signs. Among these was the
resplendent light that surrounded him while he
celebrated Holy Mass. This declaration was made
by Father Paul Coma of the Oratory of St. Philip
Neri, in the informative process. The following
are his words: "When I was fifteen years of age,
I entered the parish church of St. Eugenia of
Bergo, diocese of Vich. At the "Rosary" altar, I
noticed an unusual splendor surrounding the then
unknown celebrant. I drew near and then
recognized Father Claret, whose face was
transformed. This strange brightness spread its
rays as far as the sacristy. I do not remember
whether there was, besides myself, any other
person in the church. This happened while the
servant of God was giving Missions in Catalonia."
Discernment of consciences was one of the
singular graces with which God favored His
servant. By a single word of the penitent he
knew the secrets of his soul. There were
occasions on which, without ever having seen the
persons, he knew the state of their consciences.
On a certain day a lady presented herself for
confession to him for the first time. Father
Claret, without even having heard her confession,
said to her: "Madam, God bless you and preserve
you in His grace. You may receive Holy Communion,
for you are not guilty of even a venial
sin." The lady was greatly surprised and
received Holy Communion with all
tranquility. She told the story herself,
affirming that in reality she was not conscious
of having sinned. Other penitents said that if,
through ignorance or forgetfulness, they had
failed to confess some of their sins, Father
Claret would ask them: "Do you not remember other
sins? My son, why do you not confess such a sin,
which you have committed on such a day, with such
a companion, and in such a place?" And he
reminded them of the minutest circumstances of
the sins not confessed. Many persons knew that
Father Claret had this particular gift of
penetrating into the secrets of consciences, and
for that reason they tried to place themselves
under his authority and direction.
In Vich, when Father Claret was giving the
Spiritual Exercises to the Discalced Carmelites
of St. Theresa, a deep and serene joy inundated
the souls of the religious. What was the reason?
The Mother Prioress, Sister Maria Esperanza of
the Conception gave the explanation: "Father
Claret has heard our confession. He told us in
one of his conferences not to be uneasy about
these confessions, because at that very moment he
was reading out consciences. All of us have
experienced that he was telling the truth; he
knew the faults of each on better than the
interested person." What the orators of the day
most admired in Father Claret was his consistency
in preaching his sermons. One day, Don
Hermenegildo Coll de Valdemia preached a
brilliant and animated sermon. Father Claret
assisted at the function. Don Hermenegildo
received congratulations for his
discourse. Father Claret, however, retired
silently. On the following day, early in the
morning, the celebrated orator visited Father
Claret; greatly disturbed, he said to him: "Your
Excellency, pardon me for troubling you with this
inopportune visit. I need to unburden my heart
to your Excellency. I have not been able to
sleep all night. Tell me, archbishop, did my
sermon not please you yesterday? Your silence has
been a warning and a reproof for me!" Then Father
Claret consoled and encouraged him, but at the
same time gave this salutary advice: "Tell me,
Don Hermenegildo, have you ever preached on the
salvation of the soul or on the terrible
misfortune of the damned?" "No, Your Excellency,
I have not yet preached on those subjects." "Have
you preached on death, on judgment, on hell, on
the necessity of conversion, on avoiding sin and
doing penance?" "I have not preached directly on
these subjects either." "Well then, my friend, I
am going to speak to you with all sincerity,
since you have asked me to do so. It did not
please me, nor can I approve the procedure of
those who in their sermons omit these great
truths of Christianity and only touch upon such
subjects as serve but little to convert souls. I
do not think that such sermons are either
agreeable to or shall be approved by Our Lord,
Jesus Christ." Don Hermenegildo listened and was
silent. A few days later the people of Madrid
saw a radical change in the oratory of that
famous preacher. Formerly, they applauded his
discourses, but now they wept at the unction of his sermons.
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Lord, may everything we do begin with Your
inspiration and continue with Your help,
so that all our prayers and works may begin in You and by You be happily ended.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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