17 Jan – Memorial for St. Anthony, abbot
Following the death of his parents when he was about 20, St. Anthony (251-356) ensured that his sister completed her education, then sold his house, furniture, and the land he owned, gave the proceeds to the poor, joined the anchorites who lived nearby, and moved into an empty sepulchre. At 35, he moved alone to the desert, living 20 years in an abandoned fort.
Anthony barricaded the place for solitude, but admirers broke in. He miraculously healed people and agreed to be the spiritual counsellor of others. His recommendation was to base life on the gospel. Word spread, and so many disciples arrived that Anthony founded two monasteries on the Bile, one at Pispir, one at Arsinoe. Many of those who lived near him supported themselves by making baskets and brushes, and from that came his patronage of those trades.
Anthony briefly left his seclusion in 311, going to Alexandria to fight Arianism, and to comfort the victims of Maximinus’ persecution. At some point in his life, he met with his sister again. She, too, had withdrawn from the world, and directed a community of nuns. Anthony retired to the desert, living in a cave on Mount Colzim.
Descriptions paint him as uniformly modest and courteous. His example led many to take up the monastic life, and to follow his way. He became a friend late in life of St. Paul the Hermit, and buried the aged anchorite, leading to his patronage of gravediggers. His biography was written by his friend St. Athanasius.
His relationship with pigs and patronage of swineheards is a little complicated. Skin diseases were sometimes treated with applications of pork fat, which reduced inflammation and itching. As Anthony’s intervention aided in the same conditions, he was shown in art accompanied by a pig. People who saw the artwork, but did not have it explained, thought there was a direct connection between Anthony and pigs — and people who worked with swine took him as their patron.
- Patron Saint Index
Heb 4:1-5,11
Mk 2:1-12
“…Who can forgive sins but God?”
Today’s Gospel tells of the paralytic and his friends. Jesus is teaching in a crowded place, where is no standing room and people spilling out onto the street. Some of these people are there to hear Jesus, some are there for healing — spiritual or physical. The paralytic and his friends have no way to get close to Jesus. One must applaud their ingenuity and tenacity. They climbed onto the roof with the paralytic, made a hole in it (assuming that they will patch it up), and lowered the stretcher on which the paralytic lay, right in front of Jesus. Don’t we all want friends like that who will go through extremes to help? But more importantly, they did whatever it took to get to Jesus!
Let’s reflect on this in our own lives. Undoubtedly, life gets busy — we all have commitments and responsibilities that are unavoidable; stresses of everyday life and things that urgently need our attention. I get it, because I lived it, and to some extent, still do. If I were to be honest, given the degree of difficulty the friends and the paralytic went through in the Gospel today, I am not sure I would have the tenacity to go through the same extremes to be face to face with Jesus. And that is the problem.
We are so blessed to be living in a time where Jesus can be found in so many places and so easily. The real issue is whether we want to find Him. He is present in every Mass, in every church, in every Blessed Sacrament and in every chapel. We can talk to Him in the solemnity of the church, in the comfort of our home, and in the quiet of our hearts. We can speak to Him and hear Him if we listen carefully, everywhere and every day. He is there if we only seek Him in our lives. But more often than not, we couldn’t be bothered.
It wasn’t so long ago that I would find excuses not to go to church on Sundays, never mind daily Mass. Then, a few years ago, there was a change of heart and I felt the need to go to Mass every Sunday, but daily Mass was still a little out of reach. It wasn’t until recently, when a fellow parishioner in my Life Group encouraged us to go to daily Mass, that I even contemplated the idea. In my whole life up to recently, I rarely went for daily Mass, even though it was so readily available. There are multiple churches with different Mass times around where I live, so I really have no excuse at all. But I always find an excuse — I am too tired, I have a lot to do, I just went to Mass on Sunday; you name it, I have convinced myself of it. What is really boils down to is my cavalier attitude in my relationship with Christ.
Unwittingly, my attitude was, “Jesus is God, a figure that is remote and I only seek out when in need or on Sundays.” Was I ever mistaken! Yes, Jesus is God. Even the scribes said, ‘Who can forgive sins but God?’ But He is not remote, He is not an ATM for wishes. Jesus is one Person of the Trinity, the Son who died on the Cross for us, resurrected to redeem us. He is one of the Three Persons in the Trinitarian God and He wants a relationship with us! Like all other relationships, it takes work and dedication. Unlike other relationships that can end for various reasons, our relationship with Him will never end if we continually seek Him.
I don’t know about you, but I want to be like the friends of the paralytic. Not only are they helping their friend in need, but they did whatever it takes to be with Jesus. Brothers and sisters in Christ, let’s challenge ourselves a little — let’s try to make it to a daily Mass or visit an Adoration Chapel once a week, or have daily prayer time. Let’s do whatever it takes to be with Jesus.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Winnie Kung)
Prayer: My most loving Lord, please grant us the desire to love You more every day; and the desire to seek You out, and the strength to do whatever it takes.
Thanksgiving: Heavenly Father, thank you for loving us, for wanting to be in a familial relationship with us. Thank you for giving Your only Son to redeem us, so that we can be reconciled to You.
OXYGEN 
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