St.

Paul
of Thebes
St. Jerome tells us that as a young
man, he was gifted in learning and
filled with a deep love of God.
Unfortunately, he lost both parents
when he was about 16, leaving him
and his married sister a
rich inheritance.
 So Paul chose to flee into the
desert until the persecution should
pass. However, he soon fell in love
with this new life and stayed.
Solus cum Deo solo
alone with God alone
Solus cum Deo solo
alone with God alone
He would survive this time in the desert
living in a cave where a stream of water
flowed. He would eat the dates from the
palm tree that grew outside and use its
leaves to weave a course garment. God
would also begin to send him a raven with
half a loaf of bread each day, recalling the
time in the desert of Elijah the prophet.
Before his death, after nearly 90 years in
the desert, St. Paul would receive his first
visitor. The account given to us tells us that
St. Anthony the Abbot was tempted to think
he was the first and the greatest of the
hermits. However, God revealed to him in a
dream that there was another.
He asked him to bury him in
the cloak St. Athanasius had
given him.
St. Anthony hurried off to fetch it, but
on the way back, he saw the soul of St.
Paul taken up into heaven. When he
arrived, he was troubled that he had no
means of digging a grave to bury the
saint.
 Then, two lions came and dug the
needed grave with their paws.
St. Anthony then wrapped him in the
cloak and buried him. After that, he
would take St. Paul’s garment of palm
leaves with him and only wear them on
the most solemn of occasions.

- Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit (OSPPE). https://paulinefathers.org.au/about/st-paul/

 SOURCE:

- Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit (OSPPE).

https://paulinefathers.org.au/about/st-paul/