VIS REPORTS: WEEK OF
PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY BEGINS TOMORROW
VATICAN CITY, 17 JAN 2012 (VIS) - The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is due to begin tomorrow, 18 January, under the theme "We will all be changed by the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ". The Week is promoted by the World Council of Churches (WCC), a worldwide fellowship of 349 Churches seeking unity, common witness and Christian service. The Catholic Church participates in this ecumenical initiative, despite not being a member of the WCC. (IMAGE SOURCE: RADIO VATICANA)
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is traditionally celebrated from 18 to 15 January in the northern hemisphere, and around the time of Pentecost in the southern hemisphere. It brings together Christian parishes and congregations from different confessional families all over the world, who meet and pray together in special ecumenical celebrations.
Each year ecumenical partners in a particular region are asked to prepare a basic text on a biblical theme. Then an international group with WCC-sponsored (Protestant and Orthodox) and Roman Catholic participants edits this text to ensure it is linked with the search for Christian unity. The text is jointly published by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and by the WCC's Commission on Faith and Order which also accompanies the entire production process of the text. The final material is sent to member Churches and Roman Catholic dioceses, which are invited to translate the text and contextualise it for their own use.
This year's theme comes from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians which promises the transformation of human life - with all its apparent dimensions of 'triumph' and 'defeat' - through the victory of Christ's resurrection.
Following the Angelus prayer on Sunday, Benedict XVI invited the faithful, "as individuals and in communities, to participate spiritually, and where possible practically in the Week of Prayer, to ask God for the gift of full unity among the disciples of Christ".
RV/ VIS 20120117 (320)
DAY FOR DIALOGUE BETWEEN CATHOLICS AND JEWS
VATICAN CITY, 17 JAN 2012 (VIS) - Today in Italy marks the Day for Dialogue between Catholics and Jews, an initiative launched by the Italian Episcopal Conference in 1990 with the aim of increasing mutual understanding among the members of the two religions.
In an interview with Vatican Radio Rabbi Giuseppe Laras, president emeritus of the Italian Rabbinic Assembly, explained that the aim of the Day "is to simplify and intensify Jewish-Christian dialogue. To this end, Jews and Catholics meet to reflect especially on those themes we can confront together, such as the search for peace and mutual understanding after two thousand years of misinterpretation and distressing events. Thus, both the Catholic and Jewish worlds await this Day with high expectations, because the more dialogue is consolidated the more the risk of anti-Semitism diminishes".
Some years ago the Italian Episcopal Conference and the Italian Rabbinic Assembly agreed to dedicate the Days to the Ten Commandments, and the theme for 2012 is "Thou shalt not kill". Rabi Laras commented: "The command not to kill is vital for men and women, irrespective of their membership of one religion or the other. It is vital to respect and honour human life in all its sacredness and uniqueness. This is an important theme for our own times, in which throughout the world respect for human life is often ignored and violated".
For his part, Fr. Gino Battaglia, director of the National Office for Ecumenism and Inter-religious Dialogue, observed that "the rich Jewish tradition, developed through millennia of studying the Law, makes a fundamental contribution. Yet the validity of this Commandment is evident, and not only in the literal sense of murder being a crime. I am thinking, for example, of the battle to abolish the death penalty, the problem of widespread violence, ... and of respect for life. In this sense, Jesus-Christian dialogue takes concrete form in its commitment to society and to the world".
.../ VIS 20120117 (330)
NEW DIRECTOR OF THE VATICAN PRESS
VATICAN CITY, 17 JAN 2012 (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. has appointed Fr. Sergio Pellini S.D.B. as director general of the Vatican Press.
VATICAN CITY, 17 JAN 2012 (VIS) - The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is due to begin tomorrow, 18 January, under the theme "We will all be changed by the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ". The Week is promoted by the World Council of Churches (WCC), a worldwide fellowship of 349 Churches seeking unity, common witness and Christian service. The Catholic Church participates in this ecumenical initiative, despite not being a member of the WCC. (IMAGE SOURCE: RADIO VATICANA)
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is traditionally celebrated from 18 to 15 January in the northern hemisphere, and around the time of Pentecost in the southern hemisphere. It brings together Christian parishes and congregations from different confessional families all over the world, who meet and pray together in special ecumenical celebrations.
Each year ecumenical partners in a particular region are asked to prepare a basic text on a biblical theme. Then an international group with WCC-sponsored (Protestant and Orthodox) and Roman Catholic participants edits this text to ensure it is linked with the search for Christian unity. The text is jointly published by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and by the WCC's Commission on Faith and Order which also accompanies the entire production process of the text. The final material is sent to member Churches and Roman Catholic dioceses, which are invited to translate the text and contextualise it for their own use.
This year's theme comes from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians which promises the transformation of human life - with all its apparent dimensions of 'triumph' and 'defeat' - through the victory of Christ's resurrection.
Following the Angelus prayer on Sunday, Benedict XVI invited the faithful, "as individuals and in communities, to participate spiritually, and where possible practically in the Week of Prayer, to ask God for the gift of full unity among the disciples of Christ".
RV/ VIS 20120117 (320)
DAY FOR DIALOGUE BETWEEN CATHOLICS AND JEWS
VATICAN CITY, 17 JAN 2012 (VIS) - Today in Italy marks the Day for Dialogue between Catholics and Jews, an initiative launched by the Italian Episcopal Conference in 1990 with the aim of increasing mutual understanding among the members of the two religions.
In an interview with Vatican Radio Rabbi Giuseppe Laras, president emeritus of the Italian Rabbinic Assembly, explained that the aim of the Day "is to simplify and intensify Jewish-Christian dialogue. To this end, Jews and Catholics meet to reflect especially on those themes we can confront together, such as the search for peace and mutual understanding after two thousand years of misinterpretation and distressing events. Thus, both the Catholic and Jewish worlds await this Day with high expectations, because the more dialogue is consolidated the more the risk of anti-Semitism diminishes".
Some years ago the Italian Episcopal Conference and the Italian Rabbinic Assembly agreed to dedicate the Days to the Ten Commandments, and the theme for 2012 is "Thou shalt not kill". Rabi Laras commented: "The command not to kill is vital for men and women, irrespective of their membership of one religion or the other. It is vital to respect and honour human life in all its sacredness and uniqueness. This is an important theme for our own times, in which throughout the world respect for human life is often ignored and violated".
For his part, Fr. Gino Battaglia, director of the National Office for Ecumenism and Inter-religious Dialogue, observed that "the rich Jewish tradition, developed through millennia of studying the Law, makes a fundamental contribution. Yet the validity of this Commandment is evident, and not only in the literal sense of murder being a crime. I am thinking, for example, of the battle to abolish the death penalty, the problem of widespread violence, ... and of respect for life. In this sense, Jesus-Christian dialogue takes concrete form in its commitment to society and to the world".
.../ VIS 20120117 (330)
NEW DIRECTOR OF THE VATICAN PRESS
VATICAN CITY, 17 JAN 2012 (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. has appointed Fr. Sergio Pellini S.D.B. as director general of the Vatican Press.
AFRICA : SOUTH SUDAN : 2 PRIESTS ABDUCTED
| IND. CATH. NEWS REPORT: | ||||
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http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=19664
EUROPE : BELGIUM: RIP PHIL BOSMANS AUTHOR
 |
KNA REPORT: The Belgian religious
and Author Phil Bosmans has died. By Christoph Arens (KNA)
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AUSTRALIA : PROFESSOR NEW BOOK ON BIOETHICS
ARCHDIOCESE OF MELBOURNE REPORT:
 Tuesday, 17 January 2012By Anna Krohn John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family and tutor in ethics “TOLD that I would die within five years (in 1977) and having become interested in philosophy, I saw no harm in making the latter my principal interest rather than following a career-orientated path," writes Professor Nicholas Tonti-Filippini, with disarming understatement, in the introduction to his timely new book entitled: About Bioethics: philosophical and theological approaches. The preface to Professor Nicholas Tonti-Filippini's recent book includes many biographical details and wry asides which cast a moving light on his own life, courage and faith. Although a bioethicist of very high profile, Professor Tonti-Filippini first revealed his own daily experiences of a painful, debilitating "end-stage" chronic illness in an letter originally intended for the South Australian parliament in 2011. The letter, which received widespread coverage (see The Age 5 July 2011) was as not simply another story of difficult suffering during terminal illness but a personalised account of the way in which the respect for the dignity of the terminally ill can be so easily undermined and influenced-both in the hearts and minds of patients, their carers and within society as a whole. He wrote of the apparently growing desire for euthanasia within the community: “ As many researchers have found, a request for death often incorporates hidden existential yearnings for connectedness, and care and respect.” For many, the Tonti-Filippini letter defined, with humanity and clarity, two ethically distinct paths within the very complex world of end-of-life care. One road accepts that the deliberate causing or hastening of death can be a legitimate and compassionate “option" in the face of suffering and disability: the other pursues wholistic care of the terminally ill person in the face of suffering and debility- insisting on imagination, good science and virtue but never the deliberate killing of the of the patient. At a recent seminar at St Gregory the Great's Parish, Doncaster designed to provide practical insight into the promotion and protection of patient dignity and involvement in the face of future care planning, Professor.Tonti-Filippini, explored some of the major fears and misconceptions which patients, their families and even medical professionals experience during important discussions about the end-of-life. View gallery The seminar was chaired by Mgr Tony Ireland and was part of the Archdiocese's Respect Life Sunday theme organised by the Life, Marriage and Family Office for 2011 and 2012- 'To Love ... to the End: Planning for a Good Death': is a year long resource and education project which aims to provide constructive and practical insights into the many spiritual, moral and social issues associated with end-of-life care. Professor Tonti-Filippini opened his seminar with a discussion about the very common anxiety experienced by many elderly and sick people: "the fear of being a burden” to family, friends and society. Many studies suggest for many people in Western society this fear is greater than the fear of unrelieved physical pain. Thisshis type of shame he reiterated can be generated at a very deep level by societal attitudes and language. He suggested that the really destructive fiction lying behind such pressure, was the notion human decision making should be made by individualised and "totally autonomous people" with the absolutely "controlled lives." Being "in need" is not, he said, a human "failing" nor is it abnormal. He challenged the audience to think of the positive place of interdependence in human lives and also the way in which "being disabled and needy" gives others around us and society in general the opportunity and stimulus to be "more humane". In responding to the needs of the sick and ageing, the community itself can become more united and learns to value both itself and those in need of care. Despite the fact that we all have times when we "need" the help of others, and despite the fact that our secular liberal society often proposes unrealistic expectations of "personal control", Dr Tonti-Filippini proposed an alternative ethics of "engaged" and active acceptance which enabled people to become involved in forward planning for disability or death in ways that were both consistent with a "culture of life" and attractive to those concerned about human dignity and informed consent in the face of future medical treatment. In Australia, as in other Western societies, there have been a number of methods, both statutory and regulatory, which attempt to preserve a person's ability to both appoint another person as a representative should they lose competency and to protect the person's wishes in the event of such events as dementia, unconsciousness or cognitive disability. Professor Tonti-Filippini briefly explained the options proposed by existing guardianship provisions, the notion of enduring power of attorney and the implementation of so-called "advance directives". He pointed out to the audience of over 80 people, that today many hospitals as well as laws in the Australian Capital Territiory, South Australia and Queensland propose the legally binding documentation of "advance directives": the documentation by a person at one point of time for the delegated future medical treatment choices based on the prediction of "outcomes" in the face of degrees of disability or loss of future loss of "quality of life." Professor Tonti-Filippini commented upon some of the practical and ethical difficulties which arise in some of the "advance directives" processes even when these are done in a fully guided and informed way. These difficulties were outlined as legal, practical and philosophical in nature. He noted that the legal status of advance directives is unclear. In three jurisdictions in Australia, documented directives are legally binding. In others (such as Victoria) they are not. Where they are legally binding the legal difficulties include doubt about the application of such a directive because it is very likely that what the person envisages months, or even years, before signing the directive document may not correspond in detail or completeness with the aactual situation at a later time.This causes great difficulties for the patient's family, the carers and for medical and nursing personnel. The directive may include an instruction that is no longer in the best interests of the patient, or is impossible to achieve or may no longer correspond with the probable wishes of the patient. Some advance directives assert that it is a patient's "quality of life" that is the outcome in the balance rather than promoting a discernment of the proportionate benefit or harm of a particular treatment option. This tends to divert attention from the comfort and well-being of the person in care, to a more utilitarian and yet vague attitude to the human capacity for adaptability and virtue in the face of suffering or diminished function. Professor Tonti-Filippini explained that in contrast with these problematic modes of decision making, and the very real legal difficulties connected with advance directives, a more palliative, flexible and wholistic approach, is entailed in what he called a "future planning" ethos. He briefly outlined the philosophy of "future planning" which promotes the involvement of a community of carers who are informed not only of theoretical or likely health outcomes but of the general wishes,goals and values of the person who formulates their “future planning”. The documentation of these values then offer a more helpful guide to those entrusted with advocating for the future patient or resident while allowing for unexpected medical outcomes and contexts. The "future planning" approach, explained Professor Tonti-Filppini assumes that the person's life no matter how disabled, requires appropriate and competent care- which does allow for appropriate withdrawal of treatment where it is burdensome or futile .and where this is consistent with the patient’s moral and spiritual care. Professor Tonti-Filippini suggested that documentation of these aspects of a person’s wishes can offer a rich, reassuring and fulfilling way for them to plan for disability and a "good death" while helping them to grow spiritually and personally. It enables those facing age and death to reflect pro-actively upon with the values which are most important to them and are shared by good palliative principles. The seminar provoked many questions and discussions and clearly met a genuine need within the Catholic and wider community. Therefore Professor Tonti-Filippini will repeat his presentation on “Future Care Planning” – the seminar will be presented on 16th February, 2012 at Sacred Heart Parish Kew. For more inquiries please contact Anthony Coyte on 03 412 3370 or the Diocesan Office for Life, Marriage and Family. Information on the 2012 Bioethics Colloquium public events in Melbourne, January 22 and 24, here |
ASIA : INDONESIA : RICHEST MAN DONATES TO ORPHANAGE
UCAN REPORT:
Says gifts meant in a personal capacity and nothing to do with politics
Bakrie with Sister Maria Irensia Liliana Kemat
An orphanage managed by Religious of the Virgin
Mary nuns in Kupang, capital of East Nusa Tenggara province, received donation
yesterday from Indonesia’s richest man, who said there was no political
motive.
“For us, this is an honor. There are many orphanages in this town but he chose us. This is also God’s gift that we must thank [Him] for,” said Sister Maria Irensia Liliana Kemat, who heads the Rosa Mystica Orphanage.
The donation from Aburizal Bakrie, Golkar party chairman and a former minister, of 25 million rupiah (US$2,717), contained the values of love and humanity, she said. “Through him, God visited small people and the disadvantaged,” she added.
She later recalled that the orphanage, officially opened in 2000, has only a few bedrooms for the 24 girls it serves. “We do need more bedrooms for them as well as other facilities including computers,” she continued.
Handing over the donation, Bakrie said: “I hope the nuns who manage this orphanage can accept my donation because it will surely be useful for those staying in this orphanage.”
He also asked the nuns not to take note of what political party he comes from. Instead, “please look at (my) sincere willingness to share with this orphanage’s children.”
Bakrie donated a further 50 million rupiah to five parishes located in remote areas and two other orphanages, respectively managed by Muslims and Protestants.
http://www.ucanews.com/2012/01/18/richest-man-donates-to-orphans/
“For us, this is an honor. There are many orphanages in this town but he chose us. This is also God’s gift that we must thank [Him] for,” said Sister Maria Irensia Liliana Kemat, who heads the Rosa Mystica Orphanage.
The donation from Aburizal Bakrie, Golkar party chairman and a former minister, of 25 million rupiah (US$2,717), contained the values of love and humanity, she said. “Through him, God visited small people and the disadvantaged,” she added.
She later recalled that the orphanage, officially opened in 2000, has only a few bedrooms for the 24 girls it serves. “We do need more bedrooms for them as well as other facilities including computers,” she continued.
Handing over the donation, Bakrie said: “I hope the nuns who manage this orphanage can accept my donation because it will surely be useful for those staying in this orphanage.”
He also asked the nuns not to take note of what political party he comes from. Instead, “please look at (my) sincere willingness to share with this orphanage’s children.”
Bakrie donated a further 50 million rupiah to five parishes located in remote areas and two other orphanages, respectively managed by Muslims and Protestants.
http://www.ucanews.com/2012/01/18/richest-man-donates-to-orphans/
AMERICA : ARGENTINA : MISSIONARY CHILDHOOD OPENS
Agenzia
Fides REPORT -The "School of the IAM Animators" (Missionary Childhood and
Adolescence) was opened yesterday in Buenos Aires, two levels (children and
teenagers) will be held at the headquarters of the Animators School of the
Pontifical Mission Societies (ESAM) from 16 to 22 January. According to
information sent to Fides from the National Directorate of the PMS of Argentina,
the ESAM is a fundamental reality of formation for animators (both new and
already committed) to enrich them and help them grow in their missionary service
to children and adolescents. The animators are trained through prayer, community
life, animation and theological, spiritual and methodological aspects, in
reference to the mission given to children in Level I and adolescents in Level
II.
The National Director of the PMS, Fr. Osvaldo Pablo Leone, on opening the event, welcomed the participating animators, who come from 7 of the 8 pastoral regions of Argentina, the religious and lay animators, and representatives of 17 dioceses in the Country. The National Director also announced that the Pontifical Society of Missionary Childhood and Adolescence in 2013 will celebrate its 170 years, "so for us - he said - as well as it being a great joy, it is also the time to thank God for everything that the Lord Jesus has done in the history of the Church through the missionary life of many children and adolescents. At the same time it will be a moment to review and evaluate our service, and project into the future the new lines of action. For us today, as in 1843 was for Mgr. De Forbin-Janson, children and adolescents are a treasure in the Church, a true potential, capable of transforming reality through a 'network of human and spiritual solidarity', as Pope John Paul II loved saying , referring to the IAM". (CE
http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=30788&lan=eng
The National Director of the PMS, Fr. Osvaldo Pablo Leone, on opening the event, welcomed the participating animators, who come from 7 of the 8 pastoral regions of Argentina, the religious and lay animators, and representatives of 17 dioceses in the Country. The National Director also announced that the Pontifical Society of Missionary Childhood and Adolescence in 2013 will celebrate its 170 years, "so for us - he said - as well as it being a great joy, it is also the time to thank God for everything that the Lord Jesus has done in the history of the Church through the missionary life of many children and adolescents. At the same time it will be a moment to review and evaluate our service, and project into the future the new lines of action. For us today, as in 1843 was for Mgr. De Forbin-Janson, children and adolescents are a treasure in the Church, a true potential, capable of transforming reality through a 'network of human and spiritual solidarity', as Pope John Paul II loved saying , referring to the IAM". (CE
http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=30788&lan=eng
TODAY'S GOSPEL AND MASS ONLINE : TUES. JAN. 17, 2012
| Mark
2: 23 - 28
| |
| 23 | One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. |
| 24 | And the Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?" |
| 25 | And he said to them, "Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: |
| 26 | how he entered the house of God, when Abi'athar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?" |
| 27 | And he said to them, "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; |
| 28 | so the Son of man is lord even of the sabbath." |
TODAY'S SAINT : JAN. 17 : ST. ANTHONY ABBOT
St. Anthony the Abbot
ABBOT, PATRIARCH OF MONKS
Feast: January 17
 Information:
|
|
St. Anthony is generally considered to be the founder and
father of organized Christian monasticism, although he himself preferred to live
the life of a true hermit, apart from any community, in the deserts of Egypt.
Most of the known facts about this famous "Desert Father" are derived from the
biography by St. Athanasius (ca. 296-373), the "Father of Orthodoxy."
Now we have been deputed through your affection to write down the triumphs of the blessed man Anthony, and to send by an envoy a history of them to you in writing which will show how it was that he began his discipleship, and what manner of life he led before this took place, and how he was living when he brought his days to a close, and whether all the words which have been spoken concerning him and have come to our hearing are true; and straightway with joy I have devoted myself to the fulfilment of your command. Now by merely writing a commemorative history of the blessed Anthony I also shall gain great benefit, for I am convinced, O my beloved, that by narrating these histories two things will be effected: we shall increase the renown of the man of God in honour and wonder, and we shall begin to instruct your minds step by step; for the acts of the blessed Anthony form a perfect example for the solitary ascetics....
Now, by race the blessed Anthony was an Egyptian, and he was
descended from a noble family, and was, indeed, an owner of slaves. His
forefathers were believers, and from his earliest childhood he was brought up in
the fear of our Lord; and when he was a child and was being reared among his own
kinsfolk, he knew nothing of his father or of what went on among his own people.
He was so silent in disposition, and his mind was so humble, that he did not
even trouble his parents by asking them questions. He was exceedingly modest,
and he was honest beyond measure He was unable to read or write because he could
not bear the rough behaviour of the boys in the school; his whole desire was to
be even according to what is written about Jacob, "He was a simple man, and a
dweller in tents." He clung closely to his parents, and when they came to church
he would run before them in the flow of his affection; and he was not like an
ordinary child, the course of whose customary attendance is broken by the
amusements of childhood. He never neglected the observance of any of the seasons
of the Church, and he neither neglected them in his childhood, nor held them
lightly in his early manhood. And from the time when he was a child and knew how
to distinguish between good and evil, his going to church was not a mere matter
of custom, but was the result of discerning understanding. And, moreover, he did
not wait for the members of his family to be admonishers unto him, because by
his life and acts he became a teacher unto them. For they reamed by the
experience of his childhood that he did not live among them like an ordinary
simple child, and they accepted the proof of the rectitude of his early manhood;
he paid them honour after the manner of a full-grown man, and they regarded him
as the master of the house.
Now when the time arrived and they brought their days to an
end, and they departed from this world when he was about eighteen or twenty
years old, he and one little sister were left behind, and it happened from sheer
necessity that he had to rule the house and take care of his sister. And when as
yet not six months had passed since the death of his parents, and when,
according to his wont, he was continually in the church, it came to pass one
day, when he was in the church, that a righteous idea entered his mind, and that
he began to meditate within himself how the blessed Apostles forsook everything
and followed after our Redeemer; and how the others who succeeded them and
walked in their footsteps sold everything which they had possessed and laid the
money which they received at the feet of the Apostles, that it might be spent
upon the poor; and how great was the blessing of those who had in this wise
obeyed the voice of our Redeemer. Now whilst he was meditating these and
such-like things, the Lesson was being read, and when the Scriptures were ended
the Gospel was read, and he heard the words of our Lord, who said unto the rich
man, "If thou wishest to be perfect, go and sell everything which thou hast, and
give to the poor, and take thy cross, and come after Me, and there shall be unto
thee treasure in heaven." And the blessed Anthony received the word of the
Gospel as a sign to himself, and he reflected that this reading had not taken
place as a matter of chance, but in order that the righteous idea which had
taken up its abode in him might be confirmed. And straightway he went out from
the church, and departed and set in order his house and the possessions which he
had inherited from his parents. Now he had three hundred fields, a great estate
which produced abundant crops, and these he handed over to the people of his
village, so that they might trouble neither himself nor his sister; but the
remainder of his other possessions which were in the house he sold, and gathered
in money not a little, which he distributed among the poor, but he laid by a
little which was sufficient for his sister's wants . . .
Now unto his sister he spake words of love, and of truth,
and of the fear of God, and he made her mind to be like his own; and he
delivered her over to certain chaste nuns who were living there at that time.
And when he had made an end of these things, he forthwith became a solitary
monk, and he took no care for anything whatsoever except his soul, and he began
to train himself in the habits of the strictest abstinence and self denial. Now
he dwelt alone in a house which was by the side of the village, for as yet there
were no monasteries for ascetics in Egypt, and among the monks there was no man
who had any knowledge of the inner desert; and everyone who wished to have a
care for his soul used to seek out an habitation of this kind. Saint Anthony did
not betake himself to the mountain at a great distance from the village, but
only at a sufficient distance therefrom, so that he might be somewhat apart from
the habitation of men....
Now Saint Anthony was the storehouse of fasting, and of
prayer, and of ascetic labours, and of patient endurance, and of love, and of
righteousness, which is the mother of them all, but towards those who were young
monks like himself he was not envious, except in one matter only, that is to
say, he would not be second to any of them in fair works. And he contrived in
every possible manner not to give offence to the wicked man; on the contrary, he
wished that those who were yoked together with him might be drawn to his opinion
by his solicitude and by his graciousness, and that they might make progress in
their career. And he toiled in his labours in such a manner that they were not
only not envious of him, but they rejoiced in him and gave thanksgiving for him.
Now by reason of these triumphs every man used to call him "Theophilus," which
is, being interpreted, "God-loving," and all the righteous gave him this name;
and some of them loved him like a brother, and some of them like a
son.
And when the Enemy, the hater of the virtues and the lover
of evil things saw all this great perfection in the young man, he could not
endure it, and he surrounded himself with his slaves, even as he is wont to do,
and began to work on Anthony. At the beginning of his temptings of the saint he
approached him with flattery, and cast into him anxiety as to his possessions,
and solicitude and love for his sister, and for his family; and for his
kinsfolk, and the love of money and lusts of various kinds and the thought of
the rest of the things of the life of this world, and finally of the hard and
laborious life which he lived, and of the weakness of body which would come upon
him with the lapse of time; and in short, he stirred up in him the power of the
thoughts so that by means of one or other of them he might be flattered, and
might be made to possess shortcomings and be caught in the net through his
instigation. Now when the Enemy saw that his craftiness in this matter was
without profit, and that the more he brought temptation unto Saint Anthony, the
more strenuous the saint was in protecting himself against him with the armour
of righteousness, he attacked him by means of the vigour of early manhood which
is bound up in the nature of our humanity. With the goadings of passion he used
to trouble him by night, and in the daytime also he would vex him and pain him
with the same to such an extent that even those who saw him knew from his
appearance that he was waging war against the Adversary. But the more the Evil
One brought unto him filthy and maddening thoughts, the more Saint Anthony took
refuge in prayer and in abundant supplication, and amid them all he remained
wholly chaste. And the Evil One was working upon him every shameful deed
according to his wont, and at length he even appeared unto Saint Anthony in the
form of a woman; and other things which resembled this he performed with ease,
for such things are a subject for boasting to him....
And it came to pass that in the process of time his fame
reached all the monks who were in Egypt, and all the other folk therein who did
not lead the life of the ascetic and recluse, and men of distinction, and monks
in Egypt began to come unto him in large numbers. The Egyptian monks came that
they might copy the manner of his life and deeds, and I the laity came that he
might pray over them, and might heal certain of them of their sicknesses. One
day, when a multitude of people had come there in a body to see him and they had
besought him repeatedly to speak to them, and he had answered them never a word,
they lifted the door out of its socket, and threw themselves down on their faces
before him, and made supplication unto him and pacified him, and then each man
among them stood up, and made known his request unto him. And having gone forth
to them even like a man who goeth forth from the depths of the earth, they saw
that his appearance was like unto that of an angel of light, and they marvelled
why it was that his body had not been weakened by all his confinement, and why
it was that his under standing had not become feeble, and why, on the contrary,
his appearance, and his bodily stature, and his countenance were then as they
had known them always to have been in the times which were past....
Now when he saw that much people were gathered together to
him, and that the trouble which men and women caused him increased, he became
afraid either lest he should be unduly exalted in his mind by reason of the
things which God had wrought by his hand, or lest others should esteem him
beyond what was right and more than he deserved, and he determined to go away
from that place and to enter the Thebaid. Then he took a little bread and went
and sat down by the side of the river, and waited until he should see a boat
going to that district to which he was ready to go. And as he was pondering
these things in his mind, suddenly a voice from heaven was heard by him, and it
called him and said unto him, "Anthony, whither goest thou? Why art thou
departing from this place?" Now he was not afraid of the voice which came to
him, but like a man who was accustomed to do so he spake with it, and answered
and said, "Because, O my Lord, the people will not permit me to enjoy a little
silent contemplation; it is for this reason that I am wishing to go up to the
Thebaid, and especially do I desire it because the people are seeking at my
hands that which is wholly beyond my powers." . . .
It is meet that we should call to remembrance his death, and
should relate how it took place, and in what manner he finished his life, for I
know that ye will be exceedingly pleased therewith. Now he was accustomed to go
out and visit the memorial stones of the brethren in the outer mountain. Now the
matter of his death also was not hidden from him, and he went forth to visit
them even when he knew that his departure was nigh. And after he had spoken to
the brethren according to his wont, he said unto them, "This act which ye have
just performed is the end of all acts; and I marvel at this world. Let each look
for himself alone; for it is time for me to die." Now he was then about one
hundred and five years old....
Now when the brethren heard concerning the matter of his
departure, they entreated him that he would remain with them in order that his
course might be ended there, but he would not accede to their request for many
reasons which he had made known in his silence, but for the following reason
especially. The Egyptians were in the habit of taking the dead bodies of
righteous men, and especially those of the blessed martyrs, and of embalming
them and placing them not in graves, but on biers in their houses, for they
thought that by so doing they were doing them honour. And the blessed old man
had on very many occasions besought the bishops to preach to the people and to
command them to cease from this habit. And he himself used to entreat and exhort
the multitudes who came to him, saying, "This work is neither seemly nor right.
Moreover, the burial places of the early Fathers, and of the prophets, and of
the Apostles are known unto this day, and even the grace of our Lord who rose on
the third day." And by these words he shouted forth that it was a transgression
of a command for a man not to hide in the ground the bodies of those who were
dead, even though they were righteous men. Therefore many hearkened and were
persuaded not to do so, and they laid their dead in the ground, and buried them
therein, and they thanked God because they had accepted his entreaty, which was
seemly. And it was through fear of this thing that he would not grant the
entreaty of the brethren and remain with them, but departed to his own
place.
And after a few months he became sick, and he cried out to
the brethren who were with him (now these were only two in number, and they had
been with him from the time when his old age began, which was nearly fifteen
years before, and they ministered unto him with the greatest care), and said
unto them, even as it is written, "Behold, I go the way of my fathers, for I
have felt within myself for some days past that I have been called by my Lord.
Observe ye now how carefully ye can maintain this contest, and take good heed
that ye lose not the long-suffering which ye have acquired, and that, like men
who are just beginning the strife, ye increase it more and more and add to it
day by day. Ye are well acquainted with the baneful devils and their craftiness,
and ye know well this fact, that if ye please they shall be accounted as nothing
by you. Be ye therefore not terrified by them, but always take refuge in Christ.
And remember ye everything which ye have heard from me during all this time
which ye have been with me, that ye have no intercourse whatsoever with the
Arians, the heretics, for ye know how filthy they are in my sight because of
their blasphemy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Take ye also heed then diligently at
all times that ye cleave to the Spirit of Christ and agree therewith, and be ye,
moreover, friends and associates of just men that they may receive you into
their everlasting habitations as friends and men of whom they have good
knowledge. Therefore meditate ye upon these things and keep them in your minds.
And if your minds are set upon me, and ye remember me as a father, permit no man
to take my body and carry it into Egypt, lest, according to the custom which
they have, they embalm me and lay me up in their houses, for it was to avoid
this that I came into this desert. And ye know that I have continually made
exhortation concerning this thing and begged that it should not be done, and ye
well know how much I have blamed those who observed this custom. Dig a grave
then, and bury me therein, and hide my body under the earth, and let these my
words be observed carefully by you, and tell ye no man where ye lay me; and
there I shall be until the resurrection of the dead, when I shall receive again
this body without corruption.
"And divide ye my garments into lots, and give one leather
tunic to Bishop Athanasius, and the covering of this my bed which he gave unto
me when it was new; but now it hath become old. And to Bishop Serapion do ye
give the other leather coat; and this covering of my bed which is made of hair
ye yourselves shall keep; now therefore, my children, abide in peace, for,
behold, Anthony bringeth his journey to an end, and he goeth whither Divine
Grace shall bring him." And when he had spoken these words, he straightway
stretched out his legs, whereupon the brethren began to cry out to him, and to
kiss him; now his face was full of joy unspeakable at the meeting of those who
had come for him, and it resembled that of a man when he seeth a friend whom it
rejoiceth him to meet. So the blessed man held his peace and died, and was
gathered to his fathers....
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source: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/A/stanthonytheabbot.asp#ixzz1jqpDA9Wp
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