The verse that changed St. Anthony Mary Claret’s life

Anthony was born in 1807, the fifth of 11 children. His parents, Juan Claret and Josefa Clará, were pious and very devoted to the Blessed Sacrament, so all their children were baptized and educated in the faith.

“From a very young age, I felt inclined toward piety and religion (...) With what faith I attended all the functions of our holy religion! The functions I liked best were those of the Blessed Sacrament: in these, which I attended with extraordinary devotion, I enjoyed myself greatly,” he wrote in his autobiography (PDF).

That faith he experienced at home led him to receive his first vocational calling: even as a child, he expressed a desire to become a priest. He began to receive lessons from a priest, but shortly thereafter, at the age of 12, the lessons ceased and he entered the family's thread and fabric factory to do many different kinds of tasks with his father.

Anthony devoted himself to his work and performed his duties with dedication and willingness. “I did everything as well as I knew how so as not to displease my dear parents, whom I loved very much and who loved me too,” he wrote.

Anthony's dedication to his work, combined with the gifts and talents he had received from God, resulted in a good reputation within the industry that began to spread throughout the region.

The future saint left his village to move to Barcelona, which, in addition to success and prestige, also brought economic benefits to him and his family.:

During this time, Anthony describes how his life of faith suffered. Although he prayed and received the sacraments, he did not do so with the same fervor as before. “My whole purpose, my whole desire, was manufacturing,” he acknowledged.

Even at Mass, his thoughts turned to his profession, to improvements and new ideas. This happened to such an extent that he acknowledged, “During Mass, I had more machines in my head than there were saints on the altar.”

Despite his difficulties in fully experiencing Holy Mass while finding so much appreciation for the things of the world, one day, a phrase caught his attention. “For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?” (Mt 16:26).

This Bible verse moved him deeply. In his biography, he describes it as “an arrow that pierced my heart; I thought and pondered what I would do, but I couldn't figure it out.” This deep impression was joined by other signs by which the Lord gradually called him.

Moved by this verse, he sought help in the cloister of St. Philip Neri, where a priest encouraged him to study Latin. “The fervor of piety and devotion awakened in me, I opened my eyes, and I recognized the dangers I had gone through with my body and soul,” the saint recounts.

At that moment, Anthony recognized the protection of the Virgin Mary, who had saved him from drowning in the sea the previous summer, and the mercy of God, who rescued him from the world and delivered him from numerous dangers.

Disillusioned with the world and convinced that he would only find happiness in Jesus, he left the factory and revealed his priestly vocation to his father. He was saddened, but as a man of faith, he supported his son’s decision.

Anthony María Claret was ordained a priest on June 13, 1835. He traveled throughout Catalonia and the Canary Islands on foot as a missionary and tireless preacher. He lovingly cared for the poor and the sick.

He became an archbishop, confessor to the queen, founder of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and of the Congregation of the Religious of Mary Immaculate Claretian Missionaries, and participated in the First Vatican Council.

We remember this saint, who went from success in the textile industry to a life of poverty and service in the priesthood, every October 24.