![\"Alvise](\"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/06\/Coleman-6-14.png\")
<\/a>Alvise Vivarini, Sacra Conversazione (1480)
(l-r, Ss. Louis, Anthony, Anna, the Virgin and Child, Joachim, Francis and Bernardino)Further, though we may think of St. Anthony as the \u201cfinder of lost things\u201d or identify his popularity with Italian and Portuguese Catholics, St. Anthony reminds me most of the goal of theology.<\/p><\/div>\n
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Further, though we may think of St. Anthony as the \u201cfinder of lost things\u201d or identify his popularity with Italian and Portuguese Catholics, St. Anthony reminds me most of the goal of theology.<\/p>\n
While theology is the diligent study of sacred realities, we can often stress the activity (diligent study) over the object (sacred realities). As a mentor of mine is fond of saying: theology is about transformation, not information. Few religious orders have incorporated this belief into their spiritual legacy as profoundly as the Franciscans and, in particular, St. Anthony was acutely aware that the goal of theology is eternal beatitude \u2013 not the accumulation of facts and certainly not an academic degree.<\/p>\n
St. Anthony joined the Franciscans, after first becoming an Augustinian, while they were still in their infancy. He was the Order\u2019s first reader of theology, or \u201cofficial theology teacher,\u201d and yet no manuals or scholastic disputations have survived from his work. What we possess from St. Anthony\u2019s writings are a collection of sermons. Like many Patristic Fathers before him, St. Anthony was most concerned with living<\/em> the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and his homilies are rich examples of a probative explication of Scripture at the service of the conversion of souls.<\/p>\n Rather than provide a quotation from one of his homilies which demonstrates this point, I would instead like to share a letter which was written to St. Anthony by St. Francis. The occasion for this correspondence was the instillation of St. Anthony as the Order\u2019s first reader of theology. The entire letter is the following:<\/p>\n \u201cBrother Francis [sends his] wishes of health to Brother Anthony, my overseer. It pleases me that you teach sacred theology to the brothers, as long as \u2013 in the words of the [Franciscan<\/em>] Rule<\/em> \u2013 you \u2018do not extinguish the Spirit of prayer and devotion\u2019 with study of this kind.\u201d<\/p>\n El Greco, St. Anthony of Padua (1577)<\/p><\/div>\n St. Anthony reminds us that theology is an activity which serves the Church, seeks the conversion of souls, and aims at our eternal communion with God. Without these goals, theology is just another collection of facts and figures like any other academic discipline. And if theology remains the latter, it can more easily \u201c\u2018extinguish the Spirit of prayer and devotion\u2019\u201d than inspire it.<\/p>\n A painting of St. Anthony which communicates this well is by the artist known as El Greco (a.k.a., Domenikos Theotokopoulos). El Greco combines the more traditional imagery of St. Anthony with that which will soon become standard. In doing so the artist reminds us that, for St. Anthony, theology is a lived activity; an activity of mind (book), heart (Child Jesus), and body (lily). The integration of these elements can be seen in St. Anthony\u2019s posture, as he looks serenely upon a book which upholds the Child Jesus and holds a lily as if it were a pen. The senses gaze upon the sacred mysteries, which are then communicated through intellectual and physical<\/em> acts. St. Anthony reminds us that the goal of theology is a living relationship with Christ which embraces every dimension of the human person, not simply an intellectual activity.<\/p>\n Anthony Coleman<\/strong> teaches theology for the Saint Joseph’s College Online Theology Program<\/a>. This post originally appeared on June 14, 2015.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of my goals when teaching the lives and writings of the saints to an undergraduate audience is to take these figures \u201cout of stained glass.\u201d That is to say, I endeavor to teach this material in such a way … Continue reading <\/a>