Saint Anthony summons the fish of the river and the sea to listen to his sermon, converting an entire city of heretics

The Sermon to the Fishes and the Conversion of Rimini 

Saint Anthony of Padua was one of the greatest preachers of the Catholic Church, always speaking the words of God with great inspiration from the Holy Spirit for the conversion of as many people as possible. 

But when preaching in the city of Rimini , Italy, where a vast amount of heretics resided , things did not go as expected. The situation has already started badly due to the fact that the local authorities have forbidden the population to listen to his sermons. But he did not stop at political obstacles. He climbed into a pulpit and preached the truth to the ears of the population. But their hearts tough and passionate about worldly life, they were reluctant to accept God's ways, leading those citizens to ridicule him. Most of them simply left, leaving a small part that converted. It wasn't enough for him, already used to converting crowds, leaving him indignant. He withdrew for a moment of prayer and asked God for help in the conversion of that city. 

God then inspires you! After the prayer, he went straight to a beach in the city where a river flows into the Adriatic Sea, calling on the population to follow him. Many just went after him out of mere curiosity. Arriving at the seaside, he climbed on another pulpit and launched words in a loud voice towards the waters, summoning the fish of the river and the sea to listen to the words of God in the place of the heretics of the city who did not listen to him. The most grandiose miracle began to take place before the eyes of all those present: 

At the same moment, a vast amount of all kinds of fish, never seen before in the region in such quantity, began to move towards the saint with their heads out of the water, forming lines and distributing themselves by species . And more: the smaller ones were positioned closer, followed by the medium-sized ones and the tallest ones in the background . It looked like a "fish garden", of the most varied colors, types and sizes. The sunlight hit their scales and reflected on the impious populace who saw them clearly and with deep admiration and amazement.

All the fish fixed their gazes on Saint Anthony as he delivered his sermon in gratitude for answering his call: 

"My fish brothers, you must feel very grateful in your own way to the Creator, who destined for you as a dwelling such a noble element, so that you can have salty or sweet waters, whichever is more convenient for you. established for you multiple forms of refuge to avoid the snares of storms. He also offered you a transparent and clean element so that you could clearly see the places where you walk and find the food you need. The Creator himself helping you in your indispensable nutrition for life. At the creation of the world you received from God as a blessing the order to multiply. And while in the flood all other animals perished, except those collected in the ark, only you were preserved from extermination (reference to Genesis, 7 ) . Armed with fins and strong, you can swim wherever you want.One of you was given the power to swallow the prophet Jonah and return him unharmed to the earth (reference to Jonah, 1-4). It was you who provided that coin to Our Lord, being poor as he was, he could not pay the tax (reference to Saint Matthew, 17, 24-27) . And you were still, before and after the Resurrection, the food of Our Lord. In view of these gifts, it behooves you to praise and bless the Lord from whom you have received such singular benefits in preference to other animals." 

As they listened to this preaching, some fish even uttered voices , others opened their mouths , while some tilted their heads. praising God, as well as with any other sign that was physically possible for them. Seeing these signs of attention and praise from the fish, Saint Anthony exalts them to God for praising Him more than the human heretics of that city, even though they are irrational animals. 

The fish still remained in an organized and motionless position for a long time until all the wicked in the city arrived little by little as the news spread of the great miracle that was happening in the sea. All present in the city at that miraculous sight, fell at his feet with great repentance, asking that he also address his words to them. Saint Anthony, under strong inspiration, gives them a sermon on the Catholic faith and manages to convert them all, as he had previously asked God in prayer! 

Incorrupt tongue and vocal cords 

Saint Anthony dies on June 13, 1231 at just 36 years old, but the miracles for his intercession and conversions for his miraculous words will be marked in eternity. And not only that, your own tongue and vocal chords too. Yes. After more than 750 years of his passing, his tongue and strings vocals are uncorrupted , that is, they have not decayed. It was Saint Boaventura who first helped to exhume his body in 1263 to transfer his remains to the basilica built in Padua in his honor. He noticed that his tongue remained uncorrupted! Then he exclaimed: 

"O blessed tongue that always glorified the Lord and led others to glorify Him, now we are allowed to appreciate how great were your merits before God!" 

He placed it in a reliquary, being in the same place until today, which is admired by his devotees as a divine sign of the miraculous conversions of multitudes he achieved through his words. 

Incredibly, it was only in 1981 , in a third exhumation, carried out at the request of Pope John Paul II, that his ropes were found. also uncorrupted vocals . The reliquary with its tongue and vocal cords can be seen in the Basilica of Padua, in the chapel of the relics.

_{Referências: Santuário de Santo Antônio do Descoberto (Goiás), Tradição Católica Deo Grátias, Paroquia Santo Antônio de Pádua (Presidente Prudente), Paroquia Santo Antônio de Pádua (Bento Gonçalves), Christo Nihil Præponere}