From the Desk of Father Nathan

St Gabriel Catholic Church | Pompano Beach
God Bless You All

A Message from Father Nathan

My dearest people who are all close to my heart!
Lots of love, blessings, and prayers to you all.

the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua on June 13th

We will be celebrating the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua on June 13th. He is one of the great saints next to our Blessed Mother who leads innumerable back to Christ.

Unfortunately, that great popular devotion I found in the eastern culture I don’t witness in our culture.

the intercession of our St. Anthony

As a child, I witnessed hundreds and thousands of people coming to my village every week seeking the intercession of our St. Anthony. I was always inspired by it. People of every religion would be there in the church. Every Tuesday, we have a novena to St. Anthony. The simple faith of all the people would result in great miracles.

Who is St Anthony?

St. Anthony was born in 1195 (13 years after St. Francis of Assisi) in Lisbon, which is now known as Portugal. Given the baptismal name of Fernando, his parents, Martin and Mary Bulhorn, belonged to one of the most prominent families in the city.

At the age of 15, Fernando entered the religious order of St. Augustine and became a priest. Then later, the young Augustinian monk took vows of the Franciscan order and assumed the name of Anthony in honor of the patriarch of hermits.

Anthony was first recognized for his great gift of preaching at a gathering for the ordination of Dominicans and Franciscans in 1222. After they finished their meal, the provincial suggested that one of the friars give a short sermon. There were no immediate volunteers among the group, so Anthony was asked to give “just something simple” since he presumably had no education and at the time was only 27 years old.

Anthony, while resisting the offer at first, finally began to speak in a simple, artless way. The “fire” within him became evident. His knowledge was unmistakable, but it was the passionate manner in which he spoke that truly impressed everyone in attendance. We know that not everyone was impressed by his preaching.

Legend has it that one day, faced with deaf ears, Anthony went to the river and preached to the fish. That reads the traditional tale and got everyone’s attention. The story and tradition of devotion to St. Anthony of Padua began almost immediately upon his death on June 13, 1231.

St. Anthony is known for his love for the Eucharist, scripture, and for the Blessed Mother. Pope Pius XII, in 1945, awarded St. Anthony of Padua with the honor of Doctor of the Universal Church.

I have such a special love for this great saint.

God bless you all.

With lots of love and blessing.

Ever at your service.

—Fr. Sahayanathan Nathan

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Past Messages from Father Nathan

From The Desk Of Father Nathan | January 10, 2021

From The Desk Of Father Nathan | January 10, 2021

Together, We Are the Church. A universal body of believers, delivering God’s message of hope and love to everyone, everywhere. Your generosity to the Archbishop’s Charity and Development Drive, ABCD, serves the Church so that the Church can serve you.

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From The Desk Of Father Nathan | January 3, 2021

From The Desk Of Father Nathan | January 3, 2021

Happy New Year. Goodbye, 2020. Hello, 2021. We have all experienced a most unusual year. Our lives have had to adjust to never-ending uncertainties that shake our personal and public lives. We have witnessed a shutdown in our thoughts and actions all over the world…

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From The Desk Of Father Nathan | December 20, 2020

From The Desk Of Father Nathan | December 20, 2020

Merry Christmas to You! “JOY TO THE WORLD” Fourth Advent of Sunday. In this season…when the people were all tired, worried, concerned, and waiting with lots of perplexities, the Lord incarnated Himself and opened up a new world of love to His people.

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From The Desk Of Father Nathan | November 1, 2020

From The Desk Of Father Nathan | November 1, 2020

On November 2nd we are going to celebrate All Souls Day. This is a holy day set aside for honoring the dead. The day is primarily celebrated in the Catholic Church, but it is also celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox Church as well as a few other denominations of Christianity.

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From The Desk Of Father Nathan | October 25, 2020

From The Desk Of Father Nathan | October 25, 2020

Every week as we profess our faith, we express… “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic
Church and THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS.” The author of this letter to the Hebrews wrote. “Therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and the perfecter of faith.” (12.1-2)

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