Many have fallen when they thought they were standing firm.
Do not boast about your faith. Do not say, “I am a good person.” Even if you fast, even if you pray, always beware of pride. For where pride exists, there can also come a fall.
The arrogant person does not see the danger. The humble person, however, asks for God’s mercy at every step.
The more you think that you are doing well spiritually, the more you should kneel down and say:
“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.”
But how can you become humble if you do not first learn who you truly are?
Saint Anthony leads us to a second great message: knowing ourselves.
He knew that self-knowledge is the beginning of salvation. Whoever truly knows himself can also come to know God.
Your greatest enemy is not another person. It is your own self: your thoughts, your passions, your self-love, and the pride hidden within your heart.
As long as you do not know who you really are, you will think that you have no problem. But when you begin to see the condition of your heart, you will fall to your knees and cry out to God with all your strength.
Self-knowledge is not merely psychology. It is a spiritual earthquake. It tears down the masks and brings you before God exactly as you are.
And when you stand before Him with nothing hidden, with brokenness and repentance, you will need the most powerful weapon of all: humility.
Saint Anthony knew that spiritual struggle is real. He faced temptations and demons without fear.
They frightened him, tormented him and tried to overcome him. Yet he remained steadfast and said:
“I am not afraid, because Christ is with me.”
The devil cannot bear to see a truly humble person—someone who prays with a sincere heart and struggles with faith.
Every time you humble yourself, every time you turn to God sincerely, you become stronger against temptation.
But this battle is not without obstacles.
The true Christian is tested—and not without reason.
Do not despair when temptation comes. Temptation is not only suffering. It can also become an opportunity for your faith to be revealed.
There you discover whether you truly love God.
Christ did not promise that our lives would be without pain. He showed us the way of the Cross.
When you are suffering, when you make mistakes, when you feel alone, your faith is tested and revealed.
And in the midst of temptation, one thing can keep you standing: prayer, fasting and humility.
Fasting is a spiritual weapon. It is not simply abstaining from food. It is a struggle against the old self within us.
Fasting, vigil and prayer can become weapons in the spiritual battle.
When you fast with prayer and humility, you are not fasting merely to deprive yourself. You are fasting in order to become free from the things that bind you.
Saint Anthony had wealth, but he abandoned it and followed the path of the desert. He understood that possessing material things is not itself evil; the problem begins when you depend upon them and make them the center of your life.
The person of God learns to give. And we can truly give when our hearts are no longer attached to material things.
Do not forget the tears.
Repentance is not a mechanical habit. It is the moment when the soul returns home—to God.
Therefore, learn to pray.
Learn to kneel.
Learn to say sincerely:
“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.”
And when you feel that you can go no further, do not rely on your own strength.
Trust in God.
For the humble person may fall, but does not despair. He rises, repents, and returns to Christ.
This is the power of humility.
This is the power of repentance.
This is the power of prayer.
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