Saint Anthony, Father of monastic life
by VP
Posted on Wednesday January 17, 2024 at 12:26AM in Quotes
Painting of Saint Anthony, by Piero di Cosimo, c. 1480
"Wrath is about to strike the Church and she is about to be delivered up to men who are like to senseless beasts. For I saw the table of the Lord's house, and mules around it standing on all sides in a ring and kicking up their hoofs at what was within, the same as the kicking you have when a frisking herd runs wild. You surely heard," he said, "how I moaned; I heard a voice saying: "My altar shall be desecrated."
So spoke the old man; and two years later came the present assault of the Arians and the plundering of the churches, when they took the vessels by force and had them carried away by the pagans; when, too, they forced the pagans from the shops to their meetings and in their presence did as they pleased on the sacred table. Then we all realized that the kicking of the mules presaged to Antony what the Arians are now doing like so many senseless beasts.
When he saw this vision, he consoled his companions, saying: "Do not be discouraged, Children, for as the Lord has been angry, so will He bring us recovery later. And the Church will quickly regain the beauty that is hers and shine with her wonted splendor. You will see the persecuted restored and irreligion retreating again to its proper haunts and the true faith asserting itself everywhere with complete freedom. Only, do not defile yourselves with the Arians. This their teaching is not of the Apostles, but of the demons and their father, the Devil. Indeed, it is sterile and unreasonable, and it lacks right sense - like the senselessness of mules."(...)
"He exhorted them "not to grow lax in their efforts nor to lose heart in the practice of the ascetic life, but to live as though dying daily; and, as I have said before, to work hard to guard the soul from filthy thoughts; to emulate holy men. Do not go near the Meletian schismatics, for you know their wicked and unholy teaching. Have nothing to do with the Arians, for the irreligion of these is plain to everyone.And if you should see the judges supporting them, you must not permit yourself to be confused: this will come to an end - it is a phenomenon that is mortal and bound to last for but a short time. Therefore, keep yourselves clean from these and watch over the tradition of the Fathers, and, above all, the orthodox faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, as you have learned it from the Scriptures and as you have often been put in mind of by me."
Source:The Life of Saint Antony, by St. Athanasius
"He was remarkable from his childhood for his temperance, "close attendance on church duties, and punctual obedience to his parents. Having heard these words read in the Gospel: If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and come, follow me; he understood them as spoken to himself, sold all that he had, and distributed it to the poor. Pray for a like obedience to all the commands of Christ, and that as often as you read the Scripture, it may be with the like fruit to your soul. Pray for poverty of spirit; that your affections being taken off from the things of this world, you may ever be in readiness to forsake all. If you find your heart too eagerly set on anything here, have you not reason to judge yourself unsafe? If forsaking creatures be the way of perfection, must not seeking and loving them be very dangerous ?
St. Antony retired from his father's house into a desert, where he lived in the exercise of prayer, rigorous fasting, and the constant practice of all virtues, to the age of a hundred and five years. He separated himself as much as pos sible from all creatures, that his heart might not be withdrawn from God. Pray for this spirit. Your obligation of seeking and loving God is as great as his; but your difficulty in doing it is so much greater than his, as you are more engaged with creatures than he was. If the life of hermits who had quitted the world, was so mortified, are not greater watchfulness and self-denial necessary for you, who are in much greater danger than they were?
In that retirement, St. Antony was assaulted with much greater temptations than before. But he went on with courage, not fearing what the devil could do. Pray for constancy like his. Be not dejected by the most violent temptations: the devil
may terrify, but he cannot hurt you, unless you are willing. If God is
pleased thus to exercise you, submit with patience and humility, ever
placing your confidence in his assistance. Peaceable devotion is more to
your inclination; but a life of greater exercise is also one of greater merit, and if you overcome, will gain you a greater crown." The Catholic Year by Rev. Fr. John Gother
Prayer: " We unite, great Saint, with the universal Church in offering you the homage of our affectionate veneration, and in praising our Emmanuel for the gifts He bestowed on you. How sublime a life was yours, and how rich in fruit were your works! Verily, you are the Father of a great people and one of the most powerful auxiliaries of the Church of God. We beseech you, therefore, pray for the Monastic Order, that it may re-appear in all its ancient fervour, and pray for each member of the great Family. Fevers of the body have been often allayed by your intercession and we beg for a continuance of this your compassionate aid — but the fevers of our soul are more dangerous and we beg your pity and prayers that we may be delivered from them. Watch over us, in the temptations which the enemy is unceasingly putting in our way. Pray for us that we may be vigilant in the combat, prudent in avoiding dangerous occasions, courageous in the trial and humble in our victory.
The angel of darkness appeared to you in a visible shape, but he hides himself and his plots from us. Here again, we beg your prayers that we be not deceived by his craft. May the fear of God’s judgements and the thought of eternity penetrate into the depth of our souls. May prayer be our refuge in every necessity, and penance our safeguard against sin. But above all, pray that we may have that which you counselled above all —the love of Jesus — of that Jesus who, for love of us, deigned to be born into this world so that He might merit for us the graces with which we might triumph — of that Jesus who humbled Himself even so far as to suffer temptation that so He might show us how we were to resist and fight."
Source: Dom Prosper Gueranger:
