January 15 | Saint Paul of Thebes

Welcome, young history buffs and curious minds, to My Daily Saint, the podcast that digs deep into the incredible lives of the saints, those remarkable people who shaped history and continue to inspire us today. Forget dusty old portraits and boring stories. Today, we aren't going to a city, or a cathedral, or a palace. We are going into the deep desert. Imagine you are 15 years old. You have everything you could ever want. Money, status, a bright future ahead of you. But suddenly, your world collapses.

The government turns against you, your family is gone, and the one person left who is supposed to protect you decides to sell you out to your enemies. You have two choices. Face almost certain death, or run into a wilderness so harsh that most people wouldn't last a week. Today's saint chose to run. And he didn't just survive, he became a legend who was fed by birds and guarded by lions. Today, we are talking about the very first Christian hermit, St. Paul of Thebes.

Let's set the scene. The year is roughly 230 AD, in Egypt. Paul is a young guy, living a normal life, or actually, a better than normal life. We know from history that Paul received a very thorough education, and was set to inherit a lot of money. But when he was just 15 years old, tragedy struck. The Roman Emperor Decius launched a vicious persecution against Christians.

Paul lost both of his parents around this time, likely killed during these very persecutions. Suddenly, Paul was an orphan. But he was a wealthy orphan. He received his parents' fortune and had to go to court to defend his claim to the inheritance.

Now, here is where the story turns into a thriller. Paul had an uncle. You'd think your uncle would have your back, right? Not this one. Paul was trying to keep his Christian identity a secret to stay alive, but his greedy uncle saw an opportunity. To get his hands on the money, the uncle attempted to betray Paul to the Roman authorities. Realizing he had no allies left, Paul left everything behind. He fled into the remote desert, finding a cave to hide in.

Paul probably thought he would only hide for a little while until the heat died down. But something strange happened in that cave. He found water. And get this, a raven started showing up every single day, bringing him a loaf of bread. It was a miracle. Paul realized he didn't need the money or the city. Even though he was forced into the wilderness just to survive, he found himself thriving in this life of intense poverty and prayer.

He decided never to go back. He stayed in that desert for the rest of his life, which, amazingly, lasted until he was about 113 years old. Historians consider Paul to be the first of the Christian hermits, even before the famous St. Anthony of the desert.

And, speaking of St. Anthony, that brings us to the most famous crossover event in ancient history. St. Anthony thought he was the first holy man living in the desert, but one night, St. Anthony was told of Paul's existence in a dream.

God basically said, Anthony, you're doing great, but there's a guy out there who's been doing this longer than you. Go find him. So, Anthony went on a trek to find this mysterious cave. When he finally arrived, he met a very old St. Paul. Now, remember, Paul hasn't seen a human being in decades. He has no internet, of course, no newspaper, no mail. But when Anthony walked up, Paul created him by name. That's not all. Paul asked Anthony for news about the Roman Empire.

He then made a very specific request. He asked Anthony to go back and get a cloak that had been given to Anthony by a bishop named Saint Athanasius. This blew Anthony's mind. St. Athanasius was born after Paul had already gone into hiding. There was no physical way Paul could have known Athanasius existed.

Paul knew all of this strictly through heavenly gifts of knowledge. Paul knew his time on earth was ending. Anthony rushed back to get the cloak, and on his return journey, he saw a vision of Paul's soul leaving the earth for paradise.

When Anthony arrived back at the cave, Paul had passed away. Anthony wrapped the saint's body in that cloak he had asked for. But then, Anthony realized he had a problem. He himself was an old man alone in the desert with no shovel. How was he going to dig a grave in the hard ground? Suddenly, two lions appeared from the desert, but they didn't attack. According to the record kept by St. Jerome, the lions came forward and dug the grave for the saint.

Once the lions finished their work, Anthony buried Paul. Anthony took Paul's simple garment, a tunic made of palm leaves, and wore it himself, telling the story of Paul's holiness to all his students. Today, St. Paul of Thebes is honored as the patron saint of the Order of St. Paul the First Hermit, and a patron saint of children.

His story didn't end in the sand. His relics, his physical remains, were eventually recovered. They traveled from the desert to Alexandria, then to Venice, and finally to Hungary, where they rest today. Paul's life was defined by noise versus silence. His life started with the noise of lawsuits, threats, and betrayal. He found peace by unplugging from the world completely.

You don't have to move to a cave, but you can find your own desert. Sometime this week, try a 15-minute hermit challenge. Turn off your phone, put it in another room. No music, no screens, not even a book. Just sit in silence for 15 minutes.

It might feel boring or awkward at first, just like the desert probably felt scary to Paul. But in that silence, ask God to help you see the things you usually miss. Just like Paul was able to know things he should never have known, St. Paul of Thebes proves that you don't need to be the loudest person in the room to change history.

Sometimes, you just need to be the quietest. Thank you for joining us on My Daily Saint. We look forward to sharing another incredible story of faith and courage with you tomorrow.