Gems From the Desert

St. Anthony once asked God about the reason why children die young while those who are advanced in age live for many years, why godly people are poor while evil people are rich, why some people see while others are blind, why the righteous suffer from the pains of illness while the unrighteous are healthy.

He heard a voice from heaven answering, "Anthony, focus on yourself, for these things are within God's wisdom."


Another time, St. Anthony saw the devil's snares set-up all over the earth. He sighed and wondered, "O Lord, who can escape from all this?"

A voice answered from heaven, "The humble ones escape."

Tribulations

St. Augustine is my favorite church father of all times when it comes to quotations. In light of the fact that several of us are going through a rough time right now, I wanted to share some of his sayings regarding tribulations:





"In the midst of their pain and persecution, the martyrs asked for the salvation of those who persecuted them."

"The soul does not return to God unless it is removed from the world, and nothing truly removes it like pain and tribulation."

"He who refuses to endure tribulation will not be saved from it by his lack of patience."

"Fire tests the clay pot and tribulation tests the righteous."

"Success is more dangerous on the soul than hardship is on the body."

"God does not lead anyone into tribulation, but only allows for those who leave Him to enter into tribulation."

"Neither the vine becomes wine, nor the olive becomes oil, unless they are crushed by the press."