Show notes
It’s the Feast of St. Anthony the Hermit, 3rd Class, with the color of White. In this episode: the meditation: “The Lord of the Family”, today’s news from the Church: “United States: Bishops Ban “Gender Transition” Procedures”, and today’s thought from the Archbishop.
Have feedback or questions about the DD or our other shows? podcast@sspx.org
Sources Used Today:
- “The Lord of the Family” – From Epiphany to Lent
- “United States: Bishops Ban “Gender Transition” Procedures” (FSSPX.news)
- The Spiritual Life – Archbishop Lefebvre (Angelus Press)
Saint Anthony the Hermit stands at the threshold of Christian monasticism, a man whose decision to seek God in solitude reshaped the spiritual imagination of the Church. Born around the year 251 in Upper Egypt to a well off Christian family, Anthony heard the Gospel read in church one day with disarming force. The words struck him personally: “If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, give to the poor, and come follow Me.” Anthony did not analyze or delay. He distributed his inheritance, entrusted his sister to a community of consecrated women, and withdrew into the desert to live for God alone.
What followed was not escape, but battle. Anthony’s solitude became a place of intense spiritual struggle. Ancient accounts describe his temptations vividly, not as symbolic metaphors, but as real interior and exterior trials. He wrestled with fear, despair, pride, and distraction, learning through long nights of prayer that holiness is forged through perseverance rather than ease. His wisdom grew slowly. Anthony did not rely on books or teachers. He learned by listening, fasting, and standing firm when everything in him wanted to flee. Over time, the peace he gained became unmistakable.
Though he sought anonymity, others found him. Men drawn to the radical seriousness of his life began settling near him, asking for guidance. Anthony never founded an order or wrote a rule, yet his influence shaped generations. He taught that prayer must be simple, constant, and rooted in humility. He insisted that manual labor, charity, and discernment were essential safeguards for the soul. When persecution broke out under Emperor Maximinus, Anthony left the desert briefly to support imprisoned Christians, proving that withdrawal from the world did not mean indifference to suffering.
Late in life, Anthony emerged again to defend the faith during the Arian controversy, publicly supporting the divinity of Christ alongside Saint Athanasius. His authority did not come from office or education, but from holiness tested by time. He returned to solitude and died peacefully around the year 356 at more than one hundred years of age, instructing his disciples to keep his burial place hidden so that honor would not distract from God.
Devotion to Saint Anthony spread rapidly through the Life written by Athanasius, one of the most influential spiritual biographies ever composed. His feast on January 17 was observed with prayers for perseverance, deliverance from temptation, and freedom from attachment. He became a patron of monks, hermits, and all who seek God through simplicity and discipline.
Saint Anthony the Hermit reminds us that the desert is not a place of emptiness, but of encounter, and that silence faithfully embraced can shape the Church for centuries.
Saint Anthony the Hermit, father of monks, pray for us!
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