11 St. Anthony the Great Quotes To Inspire You to Greater Holiness
St. Anthony the Great quotes touch to the core. It’s amazing how close to God the Church Fathers were.
St Anthony the Great (251-356 AD), also called Anthony of Egypt, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Anthony the Hermit, and Anthony of Thebes. He is a Saint in both the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.
St. Anthony the great was desert father, which means he was a hermit who lived a life of great ascetism. Anthony had visited Paul the hermit, who lived in the mountains and was inspired by him to also live a life of seclusion.
He spent his time in prayer and under holy poverty.
During the Diocletian persecution, rumors of his holiness grew far and wide and he would get visits for his counsel.
Which one of these St. Anthony the Great quotes really resonate with you?
St Anthony the Great Quotes
“A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him, saying, “You are mad; you are not like us.”
~St. Anthony the Great
“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
“Regard as free not those whose status makes them outwardly free, but those who are free in their character and conduct. For we should not call men truly free when they are wicked and dissolute, since they are slaves to worldly passions. Freedom and happiness of soul consist in genuine purity and detachment from transitory things.”
~St. Anthony the Great
“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
“This is the great work of a man: always to take the blame for his own sins before God, and toexpect temptation to his last breath.”
~St. Anthony the Great
“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
“Reject pride, and consider everyone more righteous than yourself.”
~St. Anthony the Great
“If a man loves God with all his heart, all his thoughts, all his will, and all his strength, he will gain the fear of God; the fear will produce tears, tears will produce strength; by the perfection of this the soul will bear all kinds of fruits.”
St. Anthony othe Great
“All sins are despised by God, especially pride. My beloved, rebuke yourselves, and confess your own sins, so that God my elevate you.”
~St. Anthony the Great
“It is absurd to be grateful to doctors who give us bitter and unpleasant medicines to cure our bodies, and yet to be ungrateful to God for what appears to us to be harsh, not grasping that all we encounter is for our benefit and in accordance with His providence.”
“The devil is afraid of us when we pray and make sacrifices. He is also afraid when we are humble and good. He is especially afraid when we love Jesus very much. He runs away when we make the Sign of the Cross.”
~St. Anthony the Great
Let us know which other St. Anthony the Great quotes are your favorite!
