Prayer to St. Anthony
Anthony of Padua was a Franciscan preacher in the 1200s; the story goes that a novice ran off with his psalter and, after Anthony prayed, brought it back in a hurry. Ever since, people have asked him to find what they have lost. The prayer starts with the missing object but ends by asking for something bigger: never to lose God.
Traditional; St. Anthony of Padua, 13th century
St. Anthony, perfect imitator of Jesus,
who received from God the special power
of restoring lost things,
grant that I may find what has been lost.
At least restore to me peace and tranquility of mind,
the loss of which has afflicted me
even more than my material loss.
To this favor I ask another of you:
that I may always remain in possession
of the true good that is God.
Let me rather lose all things than lose God, my supreme good.
Let me never suffer the loss of my greatest treasure,
eternal life with God.
Amen.