Today we read about St Anthony of Egypt in the book In Caelo et in Terra. He lived in the 3rd century after Jesus, and one day when he went to church he heard the words of Jesus that said, "If you would be perfect, sell all that you have and give the money to the poor and come follow me." He felt that God was speaking those words directly to him, so he did just that. He took the wealth that his parents had left him when they died and sold it, gave the money to the poor, and moved to the desert to live as a hermit. Eventually more Christians joined him in the desert and he taught them. There were healings attributed to him. He was strongly tempted to sin throughout his life, but when the temptation came, he prayed and fasted even more and resisted the temptation. You can read more about him here.
God calls you to follow Him, too. Is He speaking to you now? Do you need to sell everything and give the money to the poor and follow Him? Do you need to simplify your life and donate more of your time and money to helping the poor, following Him in doing so? How is God calling you to live like St Anthony of Egypt?
God, thanks for the example of this hermit saint. St Anthony of Egypt, pray for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment