1 Samuel 8:4-7, 10-22a
Psalm 89:16-17, 18-19
Mark 2:1-12
Few would deny that a life of detachment and solitude is easier said than done. The solitary life in the desert brought Anthony into direct combat with demons, who sought to confound his undistracted intimacy with God.
One can attain to holiness in the active life, but not without a solid foundation of solitary prayer, a fact borne out by the lives of the saints, from St. Francis to St. Thomas More, from St. Augustine to St. Teresa of Calcutta – and most especially from the example of our Lord who often prayed in solitude through the night.
Be it a monk, a religious in the active life, or a committed lay person, solitary prayer brings us face to face with reality, with an awareness that we are separated, to whatever degree, from love itself"
The abbot Anthony said that he who sits in solitude and is quiet, hath escaped from three wars: Hearing, Speaking, Seeing. Yet, against one thing shall he continually battle; that is, his own heart.
(paraphrased from "The Sayings of the Fathers"
in "The Desert Fathers" Helen Waddell, p. 63)
Father Ed Bakker
Anglican Catholic Church / Original Province
Mission of Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne
Bendigo
Australia
