Saints celebrated on the 12th June
SAINT ONUPHRIUS, HERMIT OF THEBES
St Onuphrius lived [in the 4th century] some time in an austere monastery of one hundred monks, near Thebes in Egypt. A desire of imitating the solitude of St John Baptist moved him to seek a retreat in the most solitary wilderness of that country.
HE OVERCAME THE TEMPTATIONS
He for some years struggled with grievous temptations; but by perseverance overcame them, and by the exercises of holy solitude prepared his soul for the closest communications with God, in which he found the repose of his heart, the comfort of his earthly pilgrimage, and a kind of anticipation of the eternal enjoyment of heaven.
He spent in this retirement sixty years, unknown to the world - but by his prayers never ceased to implore the divine mercy on its behalf, and for the protection of the Church under the persecutions of the two Arian emperors, Constantius and Valens. A date-tree and a palm-tree which grew near his cell furnished him with food. He died on June 12 [around A.D. 400].
PRAYER:
Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Saint Onuphrius may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
From Fr Butler's Lives of the Saints
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