September 6: Saint Pambo
Saint Pambo as a young man went into the desert to Saint Anthony to become one of his disciples. He asked Saint Anthony to give him a rule of conduct. Saint Anthony gave him the following rules:
1. He must take care to live always in the state of penance and remorse for his sins.
2. He must perfectly divest himself of all self-conceit and never rely on his own strength
3. He must continually watch over himself, and study to act so that he will never have anything to repent of.
4. And finally he must work to restrain his tongue and his desires.
Rev. Butler observes: The mortification of gluttony was usually laid down by the fathers as the first step towards bringing the senses and the passions into subjection; this consisting of something that is exterior and sensible, its practice more obvious, yet of great importance towards the reduction of all the sensual appetites of the mind, whose revolt was begun by the intemperance and disobedience of our first parents. Fasting is also, by divine appointment, a duty of the exterior part of our penance.
PRAYER: Saint Pambo lead us to mortify our gluttony by fasting and penance. Amen.
