From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   January 15th - Paul the First Hermit (RM)   
    (also known as Paul of Thebes)   
      
   Born in Thebaid, Egypt c. 230; died c. 342; feast day in the West was   
   formally January 10; Eastern feast day is either January 5 or 15.   
      
   Saint Paul was from the lower Thebaid in Egypt and lived during a period in   
   which Christians were hunted down like criminals for endangering the safety   
   of the state. Paul, orphaned at 15, had a property inheritance; and his   
   pagan brother-in-law saw a double opportunity in betraying him to the   
   officers of Emperor Decius: first to get the reward promised to those who   
   turned in Christians, and second to obtain for himself the inherited   
   property.   
      
   The 22-year-old Paul, already in hiding in a remote village, was warned by   
   his sister and fled into the desert, not so much as a permanent place to   
   live as much as a refuge because he feared that his faith may not be strong   
   enough to endure persecution. Later, however, the thought of returning to   
   his home left him, and the vastness of the desert surged up before him as   
   the place where he would find God. (Remember that this is part of our Judaic   
   heritage. The Israelites "found" God in the desert, where He led them as a   
   pillar of fire.)   
      
   Silence and solitude frighten most of us; we are afraid to be really alone.   
   That was the first fruit of the life in the desert for Paul: he was   
   strengthened in spirit, he learned to consecrate his soul to God alone, and   
   to be alone with the alone. All masks fall away in such a solitary place;   
   God's voice is no longer choked.   
      
   Second, Paul learned in the desert to trust in God to supply all his needs.   
   Having renounced all things, Paul needed very little: a palm tree to clothe   
   him and perhaps to protect him from the sun, bread to nourish his body, and   
   water to slake his thirst. The palm tree also provided his only food until   
   he was 43 (about 21 years). Then, it is said that, like Elias, he was fed   
   miraculously each day; a raven descended carrying just the right amount of   
   bread for the day. Whether we trust such stories or not, life must have been   
   difficult enough and it must have taken an enormous simplicity and trust in   
   God for Paul to survive.   
      
   The story of Paul is full of the comings and goings of a 'rival' hermit of   
   the desert: Saint Antony. How they overcome their singular rivalry; how they   
   sit down to eat their miraculous banquets together; how they pray and fast   
   in a combat of spirituality: these are the tales biographers give us. They   
   also suggest the profound friendship that must have existed at the deepest   
   possible level for these two men of identical, yet altogether unusual,   
   vocations.   
      
   It is said that God first revealed Paul's existence to Antony, because he   
   was tempted to vanity at the thought that he had served God longest in the   
   desert. After the revelation, Antony searched three days to find Paul (here   
   Jerome's narrative becomes a little bizarre with centaurs and satyrs, etc.).   
   Finally, he followed a thirsty she-wolf into a cave thinking to find water   
   for himself, and found Paul, too. They knew each other at once and praised   
   God.   
      
   While they were talking, a raven flew towards them, and dropped a loaf of   
   bread before them. Upon which Paul said, "Our good God has sent us dinner.   
   In this manner I have received half a loaf every day these 60 years past;   
   now you are come to see me, Christ has doubled his provision for his   
   servants."   
      
   On that first meeting, it seemed that they would never eat. Paul insisted   
   that his guest must have the privilege of breaking the bread, whereas the   
   90-year-old youngster Antony wanted to defer to the elder Paul. The   
   stalemate was broken before the bread grew too stale-they acted   
   simultaneously.   
      
   Paul predicted to Antony the time of his death, and asked him to wrap and   
   bury his body in a cloak given to Antony by Athanasius, bishop of   
   Alexandria. Rushing to obtain the cloak, Antony saw Paul's body in a vision   
   carried up to heaven attended by angels, prophets, and apostles. He found   
   Paul's body kneeling in prayer with his arms stretched out, as was the   
   custom. For the rest of his own life, Saint Antony cherished Paul's   
   palm-leaf clothing, and wore it himself on important church feasts.   
      
   According to Saint Jerome who was one of the hermit's biographers, Paul died   
   in 342 at age 113, having spent about 90 years in the desert. It is said   
   that two lions came and dug his grave.   
      
   He is called Paul the First Hermit, not because he was the first desert   
   solitary-though he may have been the first who was Christian, but in order   
   to distinguish him from other hermits named Paul. Saint Jerome's Life of   
   Paul, based on a Greek original, is almost the only source for the details   
   of the hermit's life, but it is a mixture of fact and fantasy (Attwater,   
   Benedictines, Bentley, Butler, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Waddell).   
      
   In art Saint Paul can be identified as an old man in plaited palm leaves   
   breaking bread with Saint Antony (). At times (1) a raven brings them bread,   
   (2) he is naked with only a girdle of palms leaves (not to be confused with   
   Onuphrius) (3) with a hind by him, or (4) buried by Saint Antony with two   
   lions nearby (Roeder). Scenes from Paul's life, especially the meeting with   
   Antony, are depicted on the Ruthwell cross (c. 700) and on some Irish   
   crosses. He also appears on the 15th-century rood-screen of Wolborough   
   (Devon) with other monastic saints (Farmer).   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   We must begin with a strong and constant resolution to give ourselves wholly   
   to God, professing to Him, in a tender, loving manner, from the bottom of   
   our hearts, that we intend to be His without any reserve, and then we must   
   often go back and renew this same resolution.   
   -St. Francis de Sales   
      
   Bible Quote   
   11 For the grace of God our Saviour hath appeared to all men; 12 Instructing   
   us, that, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly,   
   and justly, and godly in this world, 13 Looking for the blessed hope and   
   coming of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, 14 Who   
   gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and might   
   cleanse to himself a people acceptable, a pursuer of good works. 15 These   
   things speak, and exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise   
   thee.  (Titus 2:11-15)   
      
   <><><><>   
   Saint Anthony, Generator of Charity   
      
   Dear St. Anthony, God wants us to see Christ, our brother, in   
   everyone and love Him truly in word and in deed. God wills   
   that we share with others the joy of His boundless love. St.   
   Anthony, Generator of Charity, remember me in the Father's   
   presence, that I may be generous in sharing the joy of His   
   love. Remember also the special intentions I now entrust to   
   you. (Name them.)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)