Tuesday, January 17,
2017
Memorial of Saint Antony of Egypt
I was speaking with someone last
night who is struggling against a particular temptation, and has been for quite
a long time. “I feel,” he said, “as if something has sunk its claws deep into
my back and is trying to pull me down off my feet and throw me into a pit.”
Notice that he has visualized the temptation as some sort of monster seeking to
destroy him.
Today is the memorial of Saint
Antony of Egypt (251-356) who lived for 20 years in a cave in the desert and
who then attracted followers and built a monastery and became their Abbot, and
therefore we celebrate him as a great monastic saint.
While living in isolation, Antony
was assailed by terrible psychological and spiritual ordeals. His biographer,
Saint Athanasius, tells us that the demons would appear to him in various
guises, some horrifying and hideous monsters and others which were very
attractive and alluring. Antony withstood them all and attached himself to the
life that God alone can give.
How do you view your own
temptations? Are they monsters with claws and hooks, or are they perhaps disguised
as attractive and alluring and yet just as dangerous and just at lethal? Always
remember that they are illusions and they are lies and even if they offer us
seemingly beautiful things, their aim is to cause our downfall and our ruin.
Are you perhaps struggling with
some particular demon or temptation? If so, turn to Saint Antony and ask him to
pray for you and may Christ, the source of life, send to you the same powerful
help that He graced Antony with during his time of struggle. And never forget
that God loves you in your struggles, whether you succeed or whether you
fail, and that one of the many beautiful things about you that God loves is the
fact that no matter what is assailing you, you are willing to struggle.
In that willingness, you are particularly blessed.
God bless you!
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