St. Arsenius, Anchoret (19 July): Butler's Lives of the Saints

About this sermon

St. Arsenius the Great (c. 350–449) is one of the greatest Desert Fathers in the history of Christianity. A Roman nobleman, scholar, and tutor to the sons of Emperor Theodosius the Great, he abandoned a life of unimaginable luxury after hearing God's call: "Flee the company of men and thou shalt be saved." Leaving behind wealth, honor, and political influence, Arsenius entered the deserts of Egypt where he spent over fifty-five years in prayer, fasting, silence, tears of repentance, and continual contemplation of God. In this reading from Fr. Alban Butler's Lives of the Saints, discover the extraordinary humility of the man who once commanded thousands of servants but later rejoiced in begging for alms, refused a vast inheritance, and sought only obscurity before God. His famous maxims— "Flee. Be silent. Pray." have inspired monks, priests, religious, and lay Catholics for over fifteen centuries. If you've ever wondered how to cultivate silence, humility, repentance, and constant prayer in an age of distraction, the life of St. Arsenius remains one of the greatest guides ever written. Topics Covered Life of St. Arsenius the Great Tutor of Emperor Theodosius' sons Leaving wealth for the Egyptian desert Desert Fathers Silence and solitude Tears of repentance Christian humility Prayer and contemplation Spiritual warfare Butler's Lives of the Saints Early Christian monasticism Catholic saints 00:00 Introduction 00:17 Arsenius' noble Roman upbringing 00:40 Chosen to educate the emperor's sons 01:31 Longing for the hidden life 02:19 God's command: "Flee the company of men" 03:06 "Flee, be silent, and be at peace" 04:03 Refuses to return to the imperial court 04:56 Humility tested by the Desert Fathers 05:54 Learning true mortification 06:42 Extreme poverty and penance 08:55 Rejecting a wealthy inheritance 09:51 Nights spent entirely in prayer 10:47 Love of solitude and silence 11:34 The lesson given to Melania 12:52 "I have often regretted speaking" 13:23 The alphabet of the saints 14:47 His continual tears of repentance 16:28 Advice for resisting temptations 17:01 Living in constant remembrance of death 18:28 Final years in the Egyptian desert 19:09 His final instructions before death 20:03 Holy fear before judgment 20:35 Death of St. Arsenius 21:05 His lasting influence on Christian monasticism https://sensusfidelium.com/the-lives-of-the-fathers-martyrs-and-other-principal-saints/july/st-arsenius-anchoret/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 Support Catholic Businesses here - https://sensusfidelium.com/catholic-businesses/ Sensus Fidelium Press - https://sensusfideliumpress.com/ Sensus Fidelium Apps - https://sensusfidelium.tv/ Support Sensus Fidelium - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 🙏🏻PLEASE HELP OUR CHANNEL GROW 🙏🏻 ▶ 1. Become a Channel Patron: https://www.patreon.com/SensusFidelium ▶ 2. Visit the website https://www.sensusfidelium.com for Gueranger, Saint of the Day, Apologetics, Meditation by the Saints, Scripture Study and more. ▶ 3. Subscribe to Other Video Platforms 🔴 BitChute --- https://www.bitchute.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium/ 🔴 Rumble --- https://rumble.com/c/c-298311 🔴 My Catholic Tube - https://mycatholictube.com/videos/sensus-fidelium-channel/ 🔴 LBRY.tv --- https://lbry.tv/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 ODYSEE - https://odysee.com/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 UGETube - https://videos.utahgunexchange.com/@Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 BrandNewTube - https://brandnewtube.com/@SensusFidelium 🔴 GabTV - https://tv.gab.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 GloriaTV - https://gloria.tv/Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 Brighteon - https://www.brighteon.com/channels/sensusfidelium ▶ 4. Paypal, Bitcoin, Anedot, Stripe, Square & PO Box donations - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ ▶ 5. YouTube: Click Subscribe, then Click "Notification Bell" = 🔔 Please "Like" our videos so that Youtube shares it to others by clicking the "Like" thumbs-up under the video = 👍🏻 ▶ 6. Please share this video 📲, and help others find Christ inside the Catholic Church! Please share this video on Facebook and Twitter using the share button. ▶ 7. Follow on Social Media: 🔴 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SensusFidelium/ 🔴 Twitter: https://https://twitter.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 Parler: https://parler.com/profile/Sensusfidelium/posts 🔴 SP3RN: https://www.sp3rn.com/community/pages/14-sensus-fidelium 🔴 GAB: https://gab.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 Bastyon: https://bastyon.com/sensusfidelium 🔴 GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/sensus_fidelium 🔴 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/sensusfidelium/ 🔴 Telegram: https//t.me/RealSensusFidelium 🔴 Truth Social - @SensusFidelium ▶ 8. Follow on iTunes: 🔴 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sensus-fidelium-catholic-podcast/id1477010758 #StArsenius #DesertFathers #CatholicSaints #LivesOfTheSaints #Catholic #ChristianHistory #EarlyChurch #Monasticism #Prayer #Silence #Humility #Repentance #CatholicChurch #Or