Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Saint Antony of the Desert

If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.

One morning at Mass the young Antony hears these words of Jesus to the rich young man, and his heart is pierced. He knows the message is for him; he quickly sells all his belongings and flees to a desert place.

What word, which words of Christ Jesus have touched us so deeply that we understood his call to us, sensed his nearness so unmistakably that our hearts were opened, our lives transformed?

Duccio di Buoninsegna, The Calling of the Apostles Peter and Andrew, 1308-1311, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.