This coming Saturday, January 17th, is the feast of St. Anthony the Abbot, also known as St. Anthony of Egypt, St. Anthony the Great, and the “Father of Monks.” (Not to be confused with St. Anthony of Padua.)
St. Anthony lived during the third century and has been credited with being the very first Christian to open a monastery for those who desired to devote themselves completely to God and live a monastic lifestyle.
Earlier today I was asked if I knew of any ideas for celebrating his feast with our children at home. We have not done much (other than read about him) in past years, but I thought I would see what else I could find and post it here for all of you. Thank you, Sharon, for the inspiration and prompting! Here are a few suggestions for celebrating his feast…
Reading:
You can read about St. Anthony the Abbot in the Picture Book of Saints
St. Anthony was born in 251 in a small village in Egypt. When he was twenty years old, his parents died. They left him a large estate and placed him in charge of the care of his younger sister. Anthony felt overwhelmed and turned to God in prayer. Gradually he became more and more aware of the power of God in his life. About six months later, he heard this quotation of Jesus from the Gospel: “Go, sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven” (Mark 10:21). He took the words as a personal message in answer to his prayer for guidance. He sold most of his possessions keeping only enough to support his sister and himself. Then he gave the rest of the money to people who needed it.
Anthony’s sister joined a group of women living a life of prayer and contemplation. Anthony decided to become a hermit. He begged an elderly hermit to teach him the spiritual life. Anthony also visited other hermits so he could learn each one’s most outstanding virtue. Then he began his own life of prayer and penance alone with God.
When he was fifty-five, Anthony built a monastery to help others. Many people heard of him and sought his advice. He would give them practical advice such as: “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 visited Paul the hermit whose feast is celebrated on January 15. He felt enriched by the example of Paul’s holy life. Anthony died after a long, prayerful life. He was 105. St. Athanasius wrote a well-known biography of St. Anthony of Egypt. St. Athanasius’ feast day is May 2.
We should never become discouraged when the devil tempts us to do wrong. Remember that Jesus is right beside us. If we pray, he will help us. He will reward us for our love and faithfulness.
Crafts:
In The Big Book of Catholic Customs and Traditions for Children’s Faith Formation
You could also make a Spoon Saint, Wee Felt Saint, or maybe a Painted Wooden Saint in honor of St. Anthony.
If you are talented with a sewing machine, how about making a Monk’s Bag?!?
Food:
In Catholic Traditions In The Home And Classrooms
Cooking With the Saints
Another option would be to prepare some Monastic Soup
Prayer:
Saint Anthony, you spoke of the importance of persevering in our faith and our practice. Help us to wake up each day with new zeal for the Christian life and a desire to take the next challenge instead of just sitting still. Amen.
I’d love to hear any other ideas you all have, so please feel free to leave them in the comments.
My Annuncia’s 1st birthday on St Anthony’s feast and I have a lovely pork roast in the freezer, so pork it is!!
First, I will tell you that I did confuse it with St. Anthony (of Padua). Silly me! I guess I should have done a better job of reading my calendar. However, I made a New Year’s resolution (more practical than the usual weight loss — which I have never succeeded with!) to try to celebrate more of the liturgical year at home. Those that we did celebrate last year were a big hit.
At the very least, I have a pork tenderloin in the freezer and will cook him up in honor of St. Anthony “the Abbott”. Maybe we can make dot/stipe art on chickens and cows — paper of course. Don’t have any live ones handy. 😉
Thank you for all the other great ideas and references too! I have two books, but they did not provide for activities for many of the lesser known saints/feasts so I’ll have to check out some of these that you recommend.
Holy St. Anthony, pray to God for us.
He’s pre-schism, so we commemorate him as well.
Happened upon your website today, caught by its name. (As a child, I had a big picture of the Little Flower above my bed. Didn’t mean much to me, and I still don’t appreciate her as much as I should, but. . . ) Very nice site.
The priest mentioned St. Anthony this a.m. during the homily. Apparently, he told one of his followers to go to a certain rock and yell at it, kick it and abuse it, then come back to him. The follower did so and St. Anthony asked him what the rock did. He told him ‘nothing – it was slent.’ St. Anthony said that is what we should do when we are abused and scorned by others. Hmmmmm. . .
God bless and happy new year,
Dan
Blood sausage has never been appealing to me, however, I do regret not trying it when in Ireland. A college friend from Uraguay loves blood sausage. So for some reason blood sausage in Spain doesn’t surprise me. Along the streets in Madrid are “pork houses” which is a great place for lunch!
Thanks for the wonderful ideas!