Blessed Feast of St. Anthony the Great!

Today is the feast day of St. Anthony the Great, the patron saint of my Orthodox Christian parish. I am so thankful that St. Anthony led me to his parish almost 12 years ago. I had just read his life, written by St. Athanasius, in a college class at UCSD, of all places (it was a rare bright spot in my experience studying Literature there). Before that school term, I don't think I had any idea who St. Anthony was!

I came across the quote below in his life as it is told at www.oca.org.

"St. Anthony's staunchness was greater than the wiles of the Enemy. Taking the form of ferocious beasts, the devils tried to force the saint to leave that place, but he defeated them by trusting in the Lord. Looking up, the saint saw the roof opening, as it were, and a ray of light coming down toward him. The demons disappeared and he cried out, 'Where have You been, O Merciful Jesus? Why didn't You appear from the very beginning to end my pain?'

"The Lord replied, 'I was here, Anthony, but wanted to see your struggle. Now, since you have not yielded, I shall always help you and make your name known throughout all the world.' After this vision St. Anthony was healed of his wounds and felt stronger than before."

What a beautiful thought that the Lord is right here with us in our struggles, not absent, not indifferent, but watching intently to see our faithfulness, make His presence known, and bless us with greater strength!