Feast of St Anthony the Abbot.

“The illusions of this world soon vanish, especially if a man arms himself with the Sign of the Cross.
The devils tremble at the Sign of the Cross of our Lord, by which He triumphed over and disarmed them.” (St Anthony the Abbot).

"Brothers and sisters: God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name by having served and continuing to serve the holy ones.

"We earnestly desire each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfillment of hope until the end, so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who, through faith and patience, are inheriting the promises.

"When God made the promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, and said, I will indeed bless you and multiply you. And so, after patient waiting, Abraham obtained the promise. Now, men swear by someone greater than themselves; for them an oath serves as a guarantee and puts an end to all argument.

"So when God wanted to give the heirs of his promise an even clearer demonstration of the immutability of his purpose, he intervened with an oath, so that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to hold fast to the hope that lies before us.

"This we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and firm, which reaches into the interior behind the veil, where Jesus has entered on our behalf as forerunner, becoming high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." (Hebrews 6: 10 - 20).

Tuesday 17 January 2023 of the 2nd Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of St Anthony, Abbot (251 - 356). Also called St Anthony the Great, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Hermit, Anthony of Egypt.

Anthony inherited vast wealth from his parents who died when he was about 20 years old.
It is said that Anthony
"On his way to church one day, he found himself thinking about the words of Jesus, where He said, "Sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and come follow me." When he got to church, he heard the preacher speaking on those very words. He took this as a message from God for him, so having provided for the care of his sister, he gave his land to the tenants who lived on it, and gave his other wealth to the poor, and became a hermit, living alone for twenty years, praying and reading, and doing manual labor."
St Anthony is called the Father of Monasticism. He died at the age of 105.

Our key Scripture for today is from Hebrews 6: 10 - 20. I am lifted up by how God nourishes us through the Scriptures. As part of the penitential rite of the Liturgy, the priest may say to God: "You give us the consolation of the Scriptures. Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy..."

Today God is giving us plenty of consolation from holy Scriptures. An example:

"Brothers and sisters: God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name by having served and continuing to serve the holy ones."

God will never forget any of your prayers or sacrifices on His behalf. Rejoice! Rejoice!

"This we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and firm, which reaches into the interior behind the veil, where Jesus has entered on our behalf as forerunner, becoming high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."

St Anthony the Abbot pray for us.

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com