The First Monks and Martyrs
Walking with the Earliest Saints
“This is the great work of a man: always to take the blame for his own sins before God and to expect temptation to his last breath.”
—Saint Anthony the Abbot, The Sayings of the Desert Fathers translated by Sr. Benedicta Ward, SLG
New Saint Design!
Saint Sebastian, renowned for his patronage of athletes and holy deaths, joined the Roman Army around 283, celebrated for his bravery and unwavering faith. His influence led to numerous conversions among Rome's elite. Famously surviving an attempted execution by arrows and nursed back to health by St. Irene of Rome, Sebastian soon after bravely confronted Emperor Diocletian about his injustices against Christians. His insistence on challenging Christian persecution, as vividly depicted in Jacobus de Voragine's "The Golden Legend," highlights his courageous stand against the Emperor.
‘The bishops of the idols deceive you evilly which accuse the christian men to be contrary to the common profit of the city, that pray for your estate and for the health of Rome.’
Diocletian said: ‘Art thou not Sebastian whom we commanded to be shot to death.’
And Saint Sebastian said: ‘Therefore our Lord hath rendered to me life to the end that I should tell you that evilly and cruelly ye do persecutions unto christian men.’
It was after this encounter that Dioceltion had Sebastian thrown into prison and condemned to be beaten to death - dying a martyr against the cause of Christian persecution.
St. Sebastian, Pray for Us!
Saints and Feasts this Week
January 17 — St. Anthony the Abbot
January 20 — St. Sebastian
January 21 — St. Agnes
The Church of Apostles and Martyrs Vol I, Vol II — Henri Daniel-Rops
A Note on the Book Selections:
We hope you will enjoy tracking down some of these incredible accounts of the saints. Perhaps you already have one of these books and can take some time to revisit it.
There is a clear and brilliant connection between all the saints we are celebrating this week: It is their having lived (and died) during the Church’s earliest centuries. There is a powerful sense every Christian age has felt of the love shared between Christ and those first monks and martyrs. They are saints long remembered, celebrated, beseeched.
Even today you can visit any of the world’s great art galleries and find clear signs of the light these saints radiated upon the Christian imagination. There are countless paintings which proclaim the devotion to Christ they have aroused in the hearts of the faithful. These three saints of the early church are some of the most commonly appearing in Christian art. We find Sebastian pierced with arrows, Agnes with her lamb, Anthony with his staff, or a bell, and sometimes even a pig!
But something that also marvels us is to see that we are handed on accounts of their lives that were written by other saints of their time. The great Athanasius himself wrote of Anthony of Egypt, the great father of Eastern monasticism. St. Ambrose, the spiritual father of St. Augustine, wrote of the Martyrdom of St. Sebastian and his companions — Sebastian himself being a native of Milan where Ambrose was bishop. We also have accounts of St. Agnes’ martyrdom from Ambrose, and sermons from Augustine as well. We even find pope Damasus as having heralded these saints, a pope with quite a colorful life and list of accomplishments, who himself had a life full of interactions with Sts. Basil, Jerome, Athanasius, and Ambrose. Damasus is credited with having written epigrams for Sts. Agnes and Sebastian at respective Roman churches, lauding their martyrdom.
Another fascinating relic of this early time is the traditional “Sayings of the Desert Fathers.” These passages of the early eastern monastic tradition have been incredibly preserved, to pass on remarkable wisdom from saints who cultivated their souls in the desert. It is wonderful to think men and women went to seek Christ in their strange way and learn from Him the way of perfection. The school of desert monasticism is one of the lovely quirks of Christian history, so strangely inviting to our modern selves. It is so ridiculous that it is obviously brilliant.
Inspiration for the Week
For our visual followers - A very cool walk-through of the The Monestary of St. Anthony and his cave
Jesus said to him, If thou hast a mind to be perfect, go home and sell all that belongs to thee; give it to the poor, and so the treasure thou hast shall be in heaven; then come back and follow me.
Matthew 19:21
Habits like a Monk
There has been a resurgence in interests of Monastic life recently, especially for lay people living in a family context. I suppose it’s not a huge surprise, because it wasn’t too uncommon in medieval days for towns to slowly crop up around monasteries. I suppose lay people appreciated the influence of the monks then, just as we do today. Here are some of our favorite resources to put a little of the monastic wisdom into your own life.
Monk Manual - It’s about doing the most important things well, and eliminating the rest.
Tsh Oxenrider’s Guide - Create Your Rule of Life
Beeswax Candles - There is a deeper meaning of burning candles in prayer. It symbolizes a sacrifice of labor, both the work of the bees and human effort in candle making. By lighting it, we offer these efforts to God. This ongoing flame extends our prayer, embodying a meaningful tradition where our labor becomes a spiritual offering.
15 Minute Hourglass - An hourglass is a great option for setting a timer to get small tasks done, set time for prayer, or to stay on track reading.
Online Breviary / Phone App - For those who like to keep everything in one place
Breviary — Four Volume Set - For those who prefer the physical copy