St. Anthony's Feastday

I am preparing to make our St. Anthony Bread today in honor of one of our favorite saints. Unfortunately, most crisis control ministries will not take homemade items, so I will share the loaves with neighbors and reserve others to be taken to church on Sunday to be blessed by our priest and then enjoyed by my family.
Many miracles are attributed to this great saint of the church and he is most often associated with the finding of lost items. The custom of giving bread comes from the story of a mother whose child was drowned:

ST. ANTHONY BREAD is a term used for offerings made in thanksgiving to God for blessings received through the prayers of St. Anthony. Sometimes the alms are given for the education of priests. In some places parents also make a gift for the poor after placing a newborn child under the protection of St. Anthony. It is a practice in some churches to bless small loaves of bread on the feast of St. Anthony and give them to those who want them.

Different legends or stories account for the donation of what is called St. Anthony Bread. By at least one account it goes back to 1263, when it is said a child drowned near the Basilica of St. Anthony which was still being built. His mother promised that if the child was restored to her she would give for the poor an amount of corn equal to the child’s weight. Her prayer and promise were rewarded with the boy’s return to life.

Another reason for the practice is traced back to Louise Bouffier, a shopkeeper in Toulon, France. A locksmith was prepared to break open her shop door after no key would open it. Bouffier asked the locksmith to try his keys one more time after she prayed and promised to give bread to the poor in honor of St. Anthony if the door would open without force. The door then opened. After others received favors through the intercession of St. Anthony, they joined Louise Bouffier in founding the charity of St. Anthony Bread. (http://www.americancatholic.org/features/Anthony/Bread.asp)

In today's world, we often find ourselves a little cynical when it come to giving to the poor. Remember graces flow from giving, not the return that are reaped from the gift. Excuses for not giving to the needy often show our attachment to material goods. To be totally detached is to give freely and not think of the gift again. It is not our worry as to how the gift will be used. So go out and give freely what you have and ask God's blessing upon your gifts. Charity is simply to love God and offer all for Him.