2024-01-05 02:00:00
By Central Editorial
January 5, 2024 / 12:38 AM
Today, January 5, the Church remembers Saint Simeon, the Stylite. The monks who appeared in the Middle East from the 5th century onwards were called “stylites” and who had the particularity of living completely isolated, in prayer and penance, on a platform placed on top of a ‘column’ (stylos, in Greek). Normally, a stylite remained in these conditions for many years, even until death came.
Be holy as God is holy
Simeon was born around the year 400 in the town of Sisan, in Cilicia (today Turkey), near Tarsus, where Saint Paul was born. As a child he dedicated himself to herding sheep in the fields, but in his heart and mind he carried an intense desire to be holy and see the Father in heaven. That desire grew as he grew in age and at the age of 15 he knocked on the door of a nearby monastery and was admitted. In that place he dedicated himself to praying intensely and doing demanding penances seeking the purification of his soul and strengthening himself to fight against temptations. There he also learned to offer his life for the salvation of sinful souls.
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