(Vatican Radio IMAGE SHARE) POPE: ADVANCE IN WAYS OF ECUMENISM AND COOPERATE IN SERVICE OF MORE JUST AND FRATERNAL SOCIETY
Vatican City, 17 January 2013 (VIS) – Today the Pope received in audience an ecumenical delegation from the Lutheran Church of Finland during their annual pilgrimage to Rome on the occasion of the feast of Saint Henry of Uppsala, patron saint of Finland.
The Holy Father once again showed his pleasure in receiving the delegates on this traditional visit, observing that it was also fitting that the meeting took place on the eve of the celebrations to take place during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The theme for this year's ecumenical Week of Prayer, "What does God require of us?", is taken from a passage in the book of the prophet Micah.
Your Excellencies, Dear Friends, Once again I am happy to welcome your Ecumenical Delegation on its annual visit to Rome for the feast of Saint Henrik, the patron saint of Finland. It is fitting that our meeting takes place on the eve of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, whose theme this year is drawn from the Book of the Prophet Micah: “What does God require of us?” (cf. Mic 6:6-8). The Prophet makes clear, of course, what the Lord requires of us: it is “to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God” (v. 8). The Christmas season which we have just celebrated reminds us that it is God who from the beginning has walked with us, and who, in the fullness of time, took flesh in order to save us from our sins and to guide our steps in the way of holiness, justice and peace. Walking humbly in the presence of the Lord, in obedience to his saving word and with trust in his gracious plan, serves as an eloquent image not only of the life of faith, but also of our ecumenical journey on the path towards the full and visible unity of all Christians. On this path of discipleship, we are called to advance together along the narrow road of fidelity to God’s sovereign will in facing whatever difficulties or obstacles we may eventually encounter. To advance in the ways of ecumenical communion thus demands that we become ever more united in prayer, ever more committed to the pursuit of holiness, and ever more engaged in the areas of theological research and cooperation in the service of a just and fraternal society. Along this way of spiritual ecumenism, we truly walk with God and with one another in justice and love (cf. Mic 6:8), for, as the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification affirms: “We are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping and calling us to good works” (No. 15). Dear friends, it is my hope that your visit to Rome will help to strengthen ecumenical relations between all Christians in Finland. Let us thank God for all that has been achieved so far and let us pray that the Spirit of truth will guide Christ’s followers in your country towards ever greater love and unity as they strive to live in the light of the Gospel and to bring that light to the great moral issues facing our societies today. By walking together in humility along the path of justice, mercy and righteousness which the Lord has pointed out to us, Christians will not only dwell in the truth, but also be beacons of joy and hope to all those who are looking for a sure point of reference in our rapidly changing world. At the beginning of this New Year, I assure you of my closeness in prayer. Upon all of you I cordially invoke the wisdom, grace and peace of Jesus Christ our Redeemer. |
| AUDIENCES Vatican City, 17 January 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father received in audience six prelates from the Abruzzo-Molise region of the Italian Episcopal Conference, on their "ad limina" visit: - Archbishop Giuseppe Molinari of L’Aquila, with the diocese's auxiliary: - Bishop Giovanni D’Ercole, F.D.P., titular of Dusa, and - Archbishop Tommaso Valentinetti of Pescara-Penne, - Bishop Michele Seccia of Teramo-Atri, - Bishop Angelo Spina of Sulmona-Valva, and - Bishop Pietro Santoro of Avezzano. |
| OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS Vatican City, 17 January 2013 (VIS) – Today the Holy Father appointed Archbishop Charles Daniel Balvo as apostolic nuncio to Kenya as well as permanent observer to the United Nations Environment and Human Settlements Programs (UNEP and UN-Habitat). Archbishop Balvo, titular of Castello, was previously apostolic nuncio to New Zealand, Cook Islands, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Tonga, Vanuatu, and apostolic delegate to the Pacific Ocean region. |
AMERICA : USA : BISHOPS CALL FOR 9 DAYS OF PRAYER FOR LIFE
WASHINGTON—The U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities urges Catholics nationwide to participate in Nine Days of Prayer, Penance and Pilgrimage, January 19-27, marking the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The intentions for these nine days will be for healing and conversion, for elected officials who support abortion and for all people whose lives have been forever changed by an abortion.
"The bishops recognize that prayer is the foundation of all our efforts on behalf of human life," said Tom Grenchik, executive director of the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). "These nine days of focused prayer and sacrifice are a great opportunity for people across the nation to unite their voices in prayer to God. Through this prayer campaign, I hope that many will be blessed with a new spirit of faith and encouragement in their pro-life efforts."
Key events during the Nine Days are the National Prayer Vigil for Life, January 24-25 (http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/resources/index.cfm), and the Rally and March for Life, January 25 (http://www.marchforlife.org. . . ), all being held in Washington.
A youth video contest is open to middle and high school students, who are invited to submit a 30-60-second video that should be recorded while participating in activities surrounding the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Details of the contest are available at www.usccb.org/about/pro-life-activities/january-roe-events/video-contest-for-high-school-age-pilgrims.cfm. Also, young adults are encouraged to use their Facebook profile pictures to support the sanctity of life. Details are available atwww.usccb.org/about/pro-life-activities/january-roe-events/upload/Pro-Life-Profiles-Flyer.pdf.
USCCB will also feature guest bloggers the week of January 22 providing their personal pro-life testimonials at http://usccbmedia.blogspot.com.
Each day's novena content includes an intercession, brief prayers and a reflection, daily suggestions for concrete acts of prayer, penance and charity, and a powerful abortion-related myth/reality fact. People can sign up to receive the novena daily by email by visiting www.usccb.org/9days, or by text message by texting "9days" to 99000. The novena will also be posted daily on "People of Life," the USCCB Pro-Life Secretariat's Facebook page, and tweeted from "USCCB" on Twitter.
Additional activities may be sponsored by local parishes and/or dioceses. Suggestions include a special Mass or holy hour with a Blessing of Pro-Life Pilgrims for those traveling to distant Masses, rallies, marches, and other events marking the Roe anniversary, a "40 Hours Devotion" or a Holy Hour for Life, including a "Prayer Service for Forgiveness and Healing," and a closing "Holy Hour for Reparation and Healing." Prayer resources and program models for these suggested activities are available at www.usccb.org/9days.
SHARED FROM USCCB
AFRICA : BOTSWANA : 3 BUSH CHILDREN ARRESTED BY POLICE
CISA NEWS REPORT
GABORONE, January 15, 2013 (CISA) -Three Bushman children have been arrested by paramilitary police in Botswana. The arrests are the latest signs of a new government policy to intimidate Bushmen who have returned to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR).
The children were jailed last week for being in possession of antelope meat in the CKGR. All have since been released, but further reports of harassment and intimidation have surfaced, and there have been a growing number of Bushmen arrests.
On Wednesday, January 09, wildlife scouts beat up and confiscated fruit and berries from one Bushman, Amogelang Segootsane, telling him the food is ‘for animals, not humans!’ He was later treated in a local hospital.
One Bushman told Survival International, ‘The Bushmen are being hunted and their rights are being denied because of tourism. Police are given guns to go out and hunt and arrest Bushmen gathering bush food. The Bushmen of the CKGR cannot eat, cannot drink. How will they survive without food?’
The tribe relies on hunting game and gathering fruit and berries to feed their families. In 2006, the High Court confirmed the Bushmen’s right to live and hunt on their ancestral land in the CKGR, but not a single hunting license has been issued since.
They now risk starvation, or will be forced to rely on government handouts only available in the resettlement camps outside the reserve which they call ‘places of death’.
In November, two Bushmen were arrested and tortured for killing an antelope, and were fined US$190 each. Another four men await trial this week for hunting in the reserve.
The Botswana government has repeatedly targeted the CKGR’s indigenous inhabitants, often citing wildlife conservation as its motive. Yet the Bushmen have survived for centuries alongside Botswana’s game.
Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said January 15, ‘Conservation has long been the excuse used to terrorize the Bushmen into leaving their desert home and it is no coincidence that President Ian Khama is on the board of one of the world’s largest conservation organizations, Conservation International.
The American NGO obviously knows its board member’s atrocious human rights record. Does Khama really believe that a few hundred Bushmen endanger the welfare of the CKGR (an area twice the size of Rwanda) more than a diamond mine? Who knows? The only certainty in this case is Survival’s determination to do whatever it takes to back the Bushmen. Boycotts, protests, demonstrations, or supporting a court case: we will rule out none of these if this increase in harassment does not end now.’
SHARED FROM CISA NEWS
AMERICA : COLOMBIA : PRIEST STABBED TO DEATH AT HOME - AGE 55
Agenzia Fides REPORT - The diocesan priest Don José Francisco Velez Echeverri, 55, was found dead yesterday, January 16, with stab wounds in the courtyard of his house in the neighborhood El Albergue, in the south of Buga, about 250 kilometers from the capital Bogota, in Colombia. According to the note sent to Fides Agency, the neighbors reported seeing a person on a bicycle leaving from the priest’s house a few hours before the discovery of his lifeless body.
From the initial assumptions made by the authorities it seems to be a robbery which ended in tragedy. Don José was very much involved in social work and did not, according to the testimonies of the faithful, have any enemies. The murder has caused dismay and deep sorrow throughout the Diocese of Buga, led by His Exc. Mgr. José Roberto Ospina Leongómez.
Don José Francisco, was ordained a priest on January 20, 1990, for two years he had been parish priest at the Niño Jesús de Praga (Infant Jesus of Prague) parish, in the municipality of Tulua. He also worked in the parishes of Alto Bonito and San Vicente de Paul, in Buga, and in the parishes of Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Holy Family, in Sevilla.
According to the statistics annually carried out by Fides Agency, in 2012, for the fourth consecutive year, America registered the highest number of pastoral workers killed compared to other continents. In Colombia in 2012, a priest was killed; in 2011 6 priests and 1 lay person were killed; in 2010, three priests and a religious died; in 2009 five priests and one lay person died violently. (CE)
From the initial assumptions made by the authorities it seems to be a robbery which ended in tragedy. Don José was very much involved in social work and did not, according to the testimonies of the faithful, have any enemies. The murder has caused dismay and deep sorrow throughout the Diocese of Buga, led by His Exc. Mgr. José Roberto Ospina Leongómez.
Don José Francisco, was ordained a priest on January 20, 1990, for two years he had been parish priest at the Niño Jesús de Praga (Infant Jesus of Prague) parish, in the municipality of Tulua. He also worked in the parishes of Alto Bonito and San Vicente de Paul, in Buga, and in the parishes of Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Holy Family, in Sevilla.
According to the statistics annually carried out by Fides Agency, in 2012, for the fourth consecutive year, America registered the highest number of pastoral workers killed compared to other continents. In Colombia in 2012, a priest was killed; in 2011 6 priests and 1 lay person were killed; in 2010, three priests and a religious died; in 2009 five priests and one lay person died violently. (CE)
EUROPE : WOMAN WINS IN RELIGIOUS FREEDOM CASE
CATHOLIC HERALD RELEASE
By PETER SMITH on Tuesday, 15 January 2013
British Airways employee Nadia Eweida celebrates winning her case in London (Photo: PA)
AUSTRALIA : CATHOLIC CARE AFRICAN KIDS CAMP
ARCHDIOCESE OF MELBOURNE RELEASE
By Loretta Walshe
CATHOLICCARE has recently held their sixth African Dads and Kids Camp from 23 – 25 November in collaboration with Victoria Police to help refugee families strengthen their family bonds as they adjust to their new lives in Australia. The camp at Phillip Island involved 16 African men and 16 of their children aged between six and 15 years. Most participants were from Sudan and Eritrea and had escaped situations of terrible conflict.
CatholicCare’s African Dads and Kids Camp Coordinator and camp founder Kate McKernin says, “This camp used research based techniques to explore relationships and the variations and similarities between being a father in Australia and being a father in Africa. It was an opportunity for fathers to discuss how to renegotiate their own roles and keep their families close while they adapt to the pressures of a different culture.”
Kate says, “We need to acknowledge the critical leadership role that fathers play in refugee families. In Africa, the mothers have traditionally been the primary care givers. In Australia, it can help the children enormously if their fathers are hands on - even on an emotional level. This camp was an opportunity for fathers to become more attuned to the many challenges the children face in adapting to this new culture.” Camp activities with opportunities to strengthen the father-child bond included beach games, soccer and learning how to surf. This was a true adventure, considering this was the first time some of these fathers and children have ever seen the ocean.
Victoria Police’s Multicultural Liaison Officer Leading Senior Constable Richard Dove says, "Getting in at the grass-roots level, as this fantastic program does, to assist in keeping families of new arrivals strong and functional is of the utmost importance to Victoria Police because this will lead to a more positive settlement, reduce family breakdown and violence."
This is the third African Dads and Kids Camp that Melton father Godjok Dau has attended and this time, his seven year old son Baak Godjok Dau was thrilled to join him. As Godjok says, “When we have talks on camp, we get the chance to share our ideas and make new friends. I have seven children - three girls and four boys from 17 to five months of age. I would need much more money to take all my children on holidays because there is always food to buy and school fees to pay. But these camps are a chance for me to take my children away on holiday.”
Baak adds, “I loved playing in the water. This was my first time ever at the beach and my Dad helped me learn to surf. The waves kept coming up but I just kept saying to Dad, ‘Let’s do it again!’”
As a child, Godjok was forced to leave his home in South Sudan with his family in 1983 when the war started and the violence spread everywhere. Life in North Sudan was hard and when Godjok had almost finished school, he left in fear of being forced into the North Sudanese Army. As Godjok said, “They forced so many young boys to fight when they finished school. So many never got their school certificate because they died before they got the chance. If you made it back alive, you might be able to get your certificate and go to university. I would have been forced to fight against my own people – and maybe supposed to attack my own family and friends in South Sudan. I couldn’t do it.” When Godjok had a wife and three young children, it became very dangerous for them and they fled into Egypt. Thankfully, they were accepted into Australia as refugees a year later and in January 2005, they arrived to make a new home here.
To donate to the next African Dads and Kids Camp, contact CatholicCare on 9287 5516 orwww.ccam.org.au
Loretta Walshe attended the camp as a volunteer
Photos by Paul Grech and Leanne McKenner
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF MELBOURNE
By Loretta Walshe
CATHOLICCARE has recently held their sixth African Dads and Kids Camp from 23 – 25 November in collaboration with Victoria Police to help refugee families strengthen their family bonds as they adjust to their new lives in Australia. The camp at Phillip Island involved 16 African men and 16 of their children aged between six and 15 years. Most participants were from Sudan and Eritrea and had escaped situations of terrible conflict.CatholicCare’s African Dads and Kids Camp Coordinator and camp founder Kate McKernin says, “This camp used research based techniques to explore relationships and the variations and similarities between being a father in Australia and being a father in Africa. It was an opportunity for fathers to discuss how to renegotiate their own roles and keep their families close while they adapt to the pressures of a different culture.”
Kate says, “We need to acknowledge the critical leadership role that fathers play in refugee families. In Africa, the mothers have traditionally been the primary care givers. In Australia, it can help the children enormously if their fathers are hands on - even on an emotional level. This camp was an opportunity for fathers to become more attuned to the many challenges the children face in adapting to this new culture.” Camp activities with opportunities to strengthen the father-child bond included beach games, soccer and learning how to surf. This was a true adventure, considering this was the first time some of these fathers and children have ever seen the ocean.
Victoria Police’s Multicultural Liaison Officer Leading Senior Constable Richard Dove says, "Getting in at the grass-roots level, as this fantastic program does, to assist in keeping families of new arrivals strong and functional is of the utmost importance to Victoria Police because this will lead to a more positive settlement, reduce family breakdown and violence."
This is the third African Dads and Kids Camp that Melton father Godjok Dau has attended and this time, his seven year old son Baak Godjok Dau was thrilled to join him. As Godjok says, “When we have talks on camp, we get the chance to share our ideas and make new friends. I have seven children - three girls and four boys from 17 to five months of age. I would need much more money to take all my children on holidays because there is always food to buy and school fees to pay. But these camps are a chance for me to take my children away on holiday.”
Baak adds, “I loved playing in the water. This was my first time ever at the beach and my Dad helped me learn to surf. The waves kept coming up but I just kept saying to Dad, ‘Let’s do it again!’”
As a child, Godjok was forced to leave his home in South Sudan with his family in 1983 when the war started and the violence spread everywhere. Life in North Sudan was hard and when Godjok had almost finished school, he left in fear of being forced into the North Sudanese Army. As Godjok said, “They forced so many young boys to fight when they finished school. So many never got their school certificate because they died before they got the chance. If you made it back alive, you might be able to get your certificate and go to university. I would have been forced to fight against my own people – and maybe supposed to attack my own family and friends in South Sudan. I couldn’t do it.” When Godjok had a wife and three young children, it became very dangerous for them and they fled into Egypt. Thankfully, they were accepted into Australia as refugees a year later and in January 2005, they arrived to make a new home here.
To donate to the next African Dads and Kids Camp, contact CatholicCare on 9287 5516 orwww.ccam.org.au
Loretta Walshe attended the camp as a volunteer
Photos by Paul Grech and Leanne McKenner
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF MELBOURNE
TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : THURS. JAN. 17, 2013
| Mark 1: 40 - 45 | |
| 40 | And a leper came to him beseeching him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." |
| 41 | Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I will; be clean." |
| 42 | And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. |
| 43 | And he sternly charged him, and sent him away at once, |
| 44 | and said to him, "See that you say nothing to any one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to the people." |
| 45 | But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter. |
2013
TODAY'S SAINT : JAN. 17 : ST. ANTHONY ABBOT
St. Anthony the Abbot
ABBOT, PATRIARCH OF MONKS
Feast: January 17
 Information:
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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
CATHOLIC MOVIES - WATCH BELLS OF ST. MARY'S - PART 8
IN HONOR OF THE YEAR OF FAITH - JCE NEWS WILL BE SHOWING SOME OF THE TOP CATHOLIC MOVIES OF ALL TIME. TUNE IN TOMORROW FOR THE NEXT PART OFTHE BELLS OF ST. MARY'S -
PART 1 - HTTP://JCEWORLD.BLOGSPOT.CA/2013/01/CATHOLIC-MOVIES-WATCH-BELLS-OF-ST-MARYS.HTML
PART 2 - http://jceworld.blogspot.ca/2013/01/catholic-movies-watch-bells-of-st-marys_11.html
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