Renouncing Wealth and Finding God!

Saturday, January 17, 2026

Feast of St. Anthony, Abbot

1 Sam 9:1-4, 17-19, 10:1; Mk 2: 13-17

The feast of St. Anthony, Abbot, reminds us that the spiritual attributes of poverty, simplicity, and renunciation of worldly life are still relevant for our time and age. 

His life in solitude, in the quiet of the mountains, is not only a powerful expression of his love for God but also a loud reminder that the love of God differs from person to person. 

St. Anthony’s life inspires us with at least four lessons. 

1. St. Anthony gave enormous importance to safeguarding souls. To this end, his preaching contained earnest instructions on avoiding laziness and negligence which bring about death to our souls. He said, ‘If we make every effort to avoid death of the body, still more should it be our endeavor to avoid the death of the soul. There is no obstacle for a person who wants to be saved other than negligence and laziness of soul.’ In sum, St. Anthony wants Christian souls to be set ablaze for the love of God. If we do not burn brightly for God’s love, it amounts to wasting the noble vocation we have received from God. 

2. St. Anthony was strongly convinced that true intelligence is the ability to distinguish between good and bad so that we choose the good and avoid evil at all costs. He wrote, ‘Humans are often called intelligent wrongly. Intelligent beings are not those who are erudite in the sayings and books of the wise men of old, but those who have an intelligent soul and can discriminate between good and evil. They avoid what is sinful and harms the soul; and with deep gratitude to God they resolutely adhere by dint of practice to what is good and benefits the soul. These humans alone should truly be called intelligent.’ In sum, for St. Anthony, intelligence is what helps us walk in the way of the Lord. 

3. St. Anthony emphasises a life of prayer and penance as an antidote to the temptations of the devil. Since the advice flows from his very person and reflects what he practiced till the end of his life, it is far more convincing. He wrote, ‘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’s words reflect his own experience of combating evil through prayer, sacrifices, humility, goodness, love of Jesus, and the cross. 

4. Moreover, St. Anthony’s words on humility help us discover how we tend to blur the lines between self-esteem and pride. He writes, ‘Learn to love humility, for it will cover all your sins. All sins are repulsive before God, but the most repulsive of all is pride of the heart. Do not consider yourself learned and wise; otherwise, all your efforts will be destroyed, and your boat will reach the harbor empty. If you have great authority, do not threaten anyone with death. Know that, according to nature, you too are susceptible to death, and that every soul sheds its body as its final garment.’ We will never win our spiritual battles if we do not protect ourselves with the shield of humility. 

St. Anthony’s spirit of renunciation reflects his radical love for God. It is for this reason I believe that his life and words help us love God above all else and better. 

Let us pray that we may be touched by the austere, pious, and charitable love that St. Anthony had for God. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar