St. Anthony of the Desert Archives

St. Anthony of the Desert Novena – Day 9 – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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St. Anthony of the Desert Novena – Day 9

Day 9

From the Sayings of St. Anthony of the Desert:

Abbe Pambo asked Abba Anthony, “What ought I to do?” and the old man said to him, “Do not trust in your own righteousness, do not worry about the past, but control your tongue and your stomach.”

“Our life and our death is with our neighbor. If we gain our brother, we have gained God, but if we scandalize our brother, we have sinned against Christ.”

“This is the Great Work of a man: always to take the blame for his own sins before God and to expect temptation to his last breath.”

Dear God,

St Anthony of the Desert accepted your call to renounce the world and to love you above all things.
He faithfully served you in the solitude of the desert by fasting, prayer, humility and good works.
In the Sign of the Cross, he triumphed over the devil.
Through his intercession, may we learn to love you better; with all our hearts, all our souls, all our minds, all our strength and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
St Anthony, great and powerful saint, intercede for us also for this special request (mention your request).
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Amen
St. Anthony of the Desert, pray for us.

For the entire 9-Day St. Anthony of the Desert Novena Mp3 audio and Text Page

The sayings of St. Anthony us, as translated by the late Sr Benedicta Ward SLG , are taken from her The Sayings of the Desert Fathers

St. Anthony of the Desert Novena – Day 8 -Discerning Hearts Podcasts

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St. Anthony of the Desert Novena – Day 8

Day 8

From the Sayings of St. Anthony of the Desert:

A brother renounced the world and gave his goods to the poor, but he kept back a little for his personal expenses. He went to see Abba Anthony. When he told him this, the old man said to him, “If you want to be a monk, go into the village, buy some meat, cover your naked body with it and come here like that.” The brother did so, and the dogs and birds tore at his flesh. When he came back the old man asked him whether he had followed his advice. He showed him his wounded body, and Abba Anthony said, “Those who renounce the world but want to keep something for themselves are torn in this way by the demons who make war on them.”

Dear God,

Amen
St. Anthony of the Desert, pray for us.

For the entire 9-Day St. Anthony of the Desert Novena Mp3 audio and Text Page

The sayings of St. Anthony us, as translated by the late Sr Benedicta Ward SLG , are taken from her The Sayings of the Desert Fathers

St. Anthony of the Desert Novena – Day 7 – Discerning Hearts Podcast

St. Anthony of the Desert Novena – Day 7

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:01 — 1.4MB) | Embed

Day 7

From the Sayings of St. Anthony of the Desert:

The brothers praised a monk before Abba Anthony. When the monk came to see him, Anthony wanted to know how he would bear insults, and seeing that he could not bear them at all, he said to him, “You are like a village magnificently decorated on the outside, but destroyed from within by robbers.”

A brother said to Abba Anthony, “Pray for me.” The old man said to him, “I will have no mercy on you, nor will God have any, if you yourself do not make an effort and if you do not pray to God.”

Dear God,

Amen
St. Anthony of the Desert, pray for us.

For the entire 9-Day St. Anthony of the Desert Novena Mp3 audio and Text Page

The sayings of St. Anthony us, as translated by the late Sr Benedicta Ward SLG , are taken from her The Sayings of the Desert Fathers:

St. Anthony of the Desert Novena – Day 6 – Discerning Hearts Podcast

St. Anthony of the Desert Novena Day 6

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Day 6

From the Sayings of St. Anthony of the Desert:

A hunter in the desert saw Abba Anthony enjoying himself with the brethren and he was shocked. Wanting to show him that it was necessary sometimes to meet the needs of the brethren, the old man said to him, “Put an arrow in your bow and shoot it.” So, he did. The old man said, “Shoot another,” and he did so. Then the old man said, “Shoot yet again,” and the hunter replied “If I bend my bow so much I will break it.” Then the old man said to him, “It is the same with the work of God. If we stretch the brethren beyond measure they will soon break. Sometimes it is necessary to come down to meet their needs.” When he heard these words the hunter was pierced by compunction and, greatly edified by the old man, he went away. As for the brethren, they went home strengthened.

Dear God,

Amen
St. Anthony of the Desert, pray for us.

For the entire 9-Day St. Anthony of the Desert Novena Mp3 audio and Text Page

The sayings of St. Anthony us, as translated by the late Sr Benedicta Ward SLG , are taken from her The Sayings of the Desert Fathers:

St. Anthony of the Desert Novena – Day 5 – Discerning Hearts Podcast

St. Anthony of the Desert Novena – Day 5

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:19 — 1.6MB) | Embed

Day 5

From the Sayings of St. Anthony of the Desert:

Some brothers came to find Abba Anthony to tell him about the visions they were having, and to find out from him if they were true or if they came from the demons. They had a donkey which died on the way. When they reached the place where the old man was, he said to them before they could ask him anything, “How was it that the little donkey died on the way here?” They said, “How do you know about that, Father?” And he told them, “the demons showed me what happened.” So they said, “That was what we came to question you about, for fear we were being deceived, for we have visions which often turn out to be true.” Thus the old man convinced them, by the example of the donkey, that their visions came from the demons.

Dear God,

Amen

St. Anthony of the Desert, pray for us.

The sayings of St. Anthony us, as translated by the late Sr Benedicta Ward SLG , are taken from her The Sayings of the Desert Fathers:

St. Anthony of the Desert Novena – Day 4 – Discerning Hearts Podcast

St. Anthony of the Desert Novena – Day 4

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Day 4

From the Sayings of St. Anthony of the Desert:

Abbe Pambo asked Abba Anthony, “What ought I to do?” and the old man said to him, “Do not trust in your own righteousness, do not worry about the past, but control your tongue and your stomach.”

Abba Anthony said, “I saw the snares that the enemy spreads out over the world and I said groaning, ‘What can get through from such snares?” Then I heard a voice saying to me, “Humility.’

Dear God,

Amen

St. Anthony of the Desert, pray for us.

The sayings of St. Anthony us, as translated by the late Sr Benedicta Ward SLG , are taken from her The Sayings of the Desert Fathers:

St. Anthony of the Desert Novena – Day 3 – Discerning Hearts Podcast

St. Anthony of the Desert Novena – Day 3

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Day 3

From the Sayings of St. Anthony of the Desert:

“When the demons see Christians, specially the monks, working joyfully and growing in the spirit, first they fight them with temptation, and by placing obstacles to hinder their growth, trying to inject evil thoughts in their minds; but there is no reason for fear from their temptations because their offenses fail instantly by prayer and fasting, especially if you have had armed yourself with faith and the sign of the cross.”

Dear God,

Amen

St. Anthony of the Desert, pray for us.

The sayings of St. Anthony us, as translated by the late Sr Benedicta Ward SLG , are taken from her The Sayings of the Desert Fathers:

St. Anthony of the Desert Novena – Day 2 – Discerning Hearts Podcast

St. Anthony of the Desert Novena Day 2

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Day 2

From the Sayings of St. Anthony of the Desert:

Someone asked Abba Anthony, “What must one do in order to please God?” The old man replied, “Pay attention to what I tell you: whoever you may be, always have God before your eyes, whatever you do, do it according to the testimony of the holy Scriptures; in whatever place you live, do not easily leave it. Keep these three precepts and you will be saved.”

Dear God,

Amen

St. Anthony of the Desert, pray for us.

The sayings of St. Anthony us, as translated by the late Sr Benedicta Ward SLG , are taken from her The Sayings of the Desert Fathers

St. Anthony of the Desert Novena – Day 1 – Discerning Hearts Podcast

St. Anthony of the Desert Novena – Day 1

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Day 1

From the Sayings of St. Anthony of the Desert:

When the holy Abba Anthony lived in the desert he was beset by acedia (lack of care, sloth), and attacked by many sinful thoughts. He said to God, “Lord, I want to be saved but these thoughts do not leave me alone; what shall I do in my affliction? How can I be saved?” A short while afterward, when he got up to go out, Anthony saw a man like himself sitting at his work, getting up from his work to pray, then sitting down again and plaiting a rope, then getting up again to pray. It was an angel of the Lord sent to correct and reassure him. He heard the angel saying to him, “Do this and you will be saved.” At these words, Anthony was filled with joy and courage. He did this, and he was saved.

Dear God,

Amen

St. Anthony of the Desert, pray for us.