“. . . you should know that there is present with you the angel whom God has appointed for each man. . . This angel, who is sleepless and cannot be deceived, is always present with you; he sees all things and is not hindered by darkness. You should know, too, that with him is God.”

St. Anthony the Great

Today in the liturgical calendar of the church St. Anthony the Great, or St. Anthony of Egypt, is remembered. St. Anthony was the famed ascetic desert father who went out to the desert to escape the temptations and struggles of the world to stay true to his calling cultivating a deep relationship with God and triumphantly fighting the struggles and temptations of the heart that beset those dedicated to cultivating a rich life with the Divine.

I love this quote of the appointed angel and how one is never truly alone. St. Anthony also has a few other quotes that I hope strengthen you along your journey like they’ve enriched my meditations and prayers and strengthened me on my journey.

“The person who abides in solitude and quiet is delivered from fighting three battles: hearing, speech, and sight. Then there remains one battle to fight-the battle of the heart.”

St. Anthony the Great

This quote about solitude and quiet resonates deeply with my own journey and trying to find balance between the need for personal prayer in solitude and quiet counterbalanced by that need to fight loneliness by journeying in faith in community with family and friends and our church communities.

“One should not say that it is impossible to reach a virtuous life; but one should say that it is not easy. Nor do those who have reached it find it easy to maintain.”

St. Anthony the Great

This quote about the virtuous life reminds me that although all of us aren’t called to go to the desert and live a life of solitude like the desert fathers and mothers did, the virtuous life is possible for each and everyone of us. Just because it is possible, doesn’t mean it is easy to reach nor easy to maintain but a life that reveals and unveils itself as the will of God unfolds in our daily lives and we open ourselves up, offer ourselves up in response to following it.

May remembering St. Anthony the Great on his feast day in the church strengthen you and your soul in this journey.