Who Is St. Anthony Selfish

Not all people of wealth are selfish, greedy, and arrogant. St. Anthony of the Desert is proof of this statement. Born from a wealthy family in Coma, Egypt in 251 AD, Anthony was a good man from his early to his later years. His parents were Christians; therefore, Anthony was brought up as a Christian, as well. Also in his beginning years, he attended the Lord’s House with his parents. He proved to be obedient to his father and mother, and attentive to his studies and readings from the Lord. A few years later at the age of 18 or 20, he gathered all of his wealth from his parents, after their deaths. Answers to the exact date are not clear. In the near future, Anthony went to the Lord’s House and came upon readings of the Apostles. At this
time, there were no Apostles left, so he strived to be like them. He read that the Apostles gave up all of their belongings, cared for the poor, and followed the Lord. Soon after, Anthony went to church one day and heard the Gospel of Matthew being read. In this, he took out the same information that he read earlier. With this information, he heard from the Lord to get rid of his belongings to the poor and he will be granted the treasure in heaven. With this in mind, he hastily gave all of his possessions to his forefathers to the villagers, and to the poor. Despite giving up all of his money, he saved some to care for his sister. Thereon after, St. Anthony taught himself self-discipline. Using this, he went into a desert and stayed on top of a mountain as an ascetic hermit for about twenty years. An ascetic hermit is a person living in solitude as a religious discipline. Whilst in on this mountain, Anthony came upon many temptations, one being a silver dish sent from the devil. With his wisdom, Anthony knew it was an evil work and denied his proposal. Along with these temptations, Anthony remained untouched and not moved by anyone or anything, except by the words and works of God.