[marshmallow]

Poor Anthony.

He never read "Your Best Life Now".............He coulda been rich!!!

[bunkerhill7]

Obummer lives a tomb with coffins and T-shirts.

[bunkerhill7]

Obummer lives in a tomb with coffins and T-shirts.

[stuartcr]

The problem I’ve always had with people seeking spiritual growth like that, is that no matter how long they seek or what they endure, they will never know if they are right or not, as long as they are alive.

[Red Boots]

A very interesting book that explores St Anthony's experiences in the tombs, and puts them into the broader context of every person's spiritual struggles is called Invitation to Love: the Way of Christian Contemplation. By Thomas Keating.

St A showed the way of Christian contemplation both literally and figuratively, by going to the desert tombs which at that time were the stronghold of demons. His struggles there, with them, lasted 20 years, after which he emerged and served anyone who came to him for his help. The deserts, once a stronghold of demons, became the place for Christian monastics to go, and in the solitude, find God.

His journey is also metaphorical to the contemplative way, since the first battle a seeker must fight is the demons in his own mind. Anthony called them demons, but modern man would more aptly call them psychological issues. Only after these are conquered is one ready to help humanity. Otherwise, one's false self gets in the way of offerring true wisdom and help.

His life illustrated and formed the basis of the Christian contemplative way which has endured to this day. Truly a great man, a saint for all times. PS- I am not a catholic, either. Just a modern day contemplative who greatly admires St Anthony.