Thursday, January 17, 2013

St. Antony: A Reminder to the Church of What It Means to be Truly Relevant

Today the Church honors and remembers St. Antony, considered to be one of the founders of monasticism who lived at a time when Christianity not only became legal, but the religion of the Empire. Antony believed that when the Church became mainstream, a part of the culture around it, that it would be lost. So he went out into the dessert.
 
Antony was born in Egypt to Christian parents around the year 251. When they died, he inherited a large estate. Like St. Francis some 900 years later, Antony took Jesus; words to heart: “Sell all that you have, give it to the poor, and come, follow me.” He did just that. 
 
At the age of 21, Antony became a hermit. During his time in the dessert, Antony was assailed by the devil who constantly reminded him what a life filled with pleasure he would have enjoyed if he had not given his wealth away.
 
When he was 55, Antony founded his first monastery; it consisted of scattered cells, each inhabited by a solitary monk. Antony did not stay with any of his monasteries long; rather, he visited them on occasion. Antony found that the interruptions to his solitude disturbed him at which point he would be tempted to despair. He overcame his temptations by prayer and hard work. Even though he mortified himself, Antony always maintained that perfection consisted not in mortification of the flesh but in love of God, and he taught his monks to have eternity always present to their minds and to perform every act with all the fervor of their souls, as if it were to be their last.
 
Antony died in 356.
 
Antony’s thinking about the place of Christianity in society is worth contemplating. When the Church adapts what secular society holds dear and important to the point that the Church approves what secular society does, it is time for the Church to engage in serious self-reflection asking itself whether it is being a witness to the Good News of Christ to the world. In an effort to become what they perceive as "relevant," many Churches have lost their true relevance, to be faithful to the Word made flesh whatever the cost. Antony is a reminder to us that the Church is called to be a witness to Christ in the world.
 
 Let us pray: O God, who by your Holy Spirit enabled your servant Antony to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil: Give us grace, with pure hearts and minds, to follow you, the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
 
Please pray for the Family of Robert Hacker whose mother died yesterday and for the Family of Frank LaBelle who died on Monday. Let us pray: Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servants Mary and Frank. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, sheep of your own fold, a lambs of your own flock, sinners of your own redeeming. Receive them into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.
 

CALENDAR REMINDERS
 
 17 January 2013: Seaside Seniors at St. Augustine.
 
 21 January 2013: MLK Day at St. Vincent’s House: Noon day prayers and celebration.
 
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially, Lee Runion and Randy Furlong.
 
Your servant in Christ,
 
 
The Rev. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

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