How I received my religious name:
In April of 2003, while on a pilgrimage to Rome with a senior brother of the community, we chose to visit a friend who was the parish priest of Percile, a small town near Rome. Joyfully welcoming us for the night in his quaint rectory situated elegantly over the medieval town, and following a pleasant dinner together, he then prepared a room for the sister, then a space in his office for us brothers to lay out several blankets on the ground for the night. Wishing all a good night, we said our final prayers and then went to sleep.
That night, interestingly enough, I had a dream whilst I slept, that remained vivid to the "eyes of my heart" (Eph 1:18) upon waking:
Standing in in the Square of Saint Peter’s at Rome, there was Saint Anthony the Abbott. He was wearing a sackcloth and had a long white beard. He had in his hand a pink ‘License of the Christian’ that our community is very well known for handing out as part of its efforts in evangelization, and he himself was evangelizing a young man wearing a baseball cap. As I watched him evangelize, the face of Saint Antony turned into my face, and I saw that in the end it was I who was evangelizing the young man.
The following day, we said our goodbyes to the priest who was hosting us and began to depart back for Sicily. As we were in a small Italian mountaintop town, there was little traffic, so before we found anyone to help us hitchhike down the hill, we happily decided to walk down the winding road, taking in the fresh air, admiring the beautiful scenery and praying the meditated Holy Rosary together.
When we finally reached one of the nearest towns, it was already noon. Seeking some rest from the long distance we had walked, we agreed that we would beg for some food and then pray midday prayer before we ate our lunch. After finding some generous people to provide us with some food, we saw an old church that was closed and decided to sit on the front steps, resting our backs on the wooden door whilst facing the passing road. Whilst we ate in peace, giving thanks to the Lord for having provided us with that meal, our souls soared on high, joyful for the wonderful freedom received through Christ in being able to live his Gospel.
Recognizing an appropriate time where my superior was free to answer my questions, I began to try to express with the help of the sister what I had seen the previous night in my sleep. Stopping to think about it, my superior asked me if I was praying to the Lord for my “to-be” religious name and if “Antonio” was one of them. Curiously enough, without my even telling him earlier, he had understood perfectly what was already in my heart: Yes, I was praying to understand what name to choose, and Antonio was one of the five names that I liked and had on a list to pray over!
As I stopped to reflect over this remarkable coincidence, my superior, head lifted, was looking off into the distance. Smiling even more and turning to me, he lifted his hand and pointed ahead of us. Looking ahead to try and glimpse whatever it was that he was calling my attention to, I saw to my great amazement a sign directly in front of us, no more than ten meters away, with the name of the Church that our very backs were resting over the front door. It read: “Chiesa di San Antonio Abbatte; Antica Collonna,” that is, “Church of Saint Antonio Abbott; Antique Column”!
From that moment forward, it became clear to me that the Lord was inviting me to take the new name of Antonio, and in my holy perseverance, in a certain way to also become a column of the church (Cf. 1Tim 3:15).
--Fr. AMS