Saint Anthony: How Is Your Soul Today?
Today, January 17th, the Orthodox Church always remembers the life of Saint Anthony the Great. He was born in 251 and lived a remarkable 105 years. His life was so amazing that he is known as “The Father of all Monastics.” The book on his life was written by St. Athanasius who actually knew Anthony.
As we celebrate the memory of the life of Saint Anthony, this UpWord Glance concerns some simple quotes from him:
“If we make every effort to avoid death of the body, still more should it be our endeavor to avoid death of the soul. There is no obstacle for a man who wants to be saved other than negligence and laziness of soul.”
Please ponder these words of St. Anthony and then consider the priorities we have set in our lives. Human beings are complex indeed. We have a physical body, a mind that thinks and reasons (perhaps too much at times), and we have a soul. So then…
- How much of our lives do we spend on improving our bodies through exercise and proper diet?
- How much of our lives have we spent on improving our intellect?
- And finally, how much of our lives have we spent on our souls and matters of eternity?
Here’s another quote from St. Anthony concerning our need to be concerned about our souls:
“Men are often called intelligent wrongly. Intelligent men are not those who have great knowledge of the sayings and books of the wise men of old, but those who have an intelligent soul and can discriminate between good and evil. They avoid what is sinful and harms the soul; and with deep gratitude to God they resolutely adhere by dint of practice to what is good and benefits the soul. These men alone should truly be called intelligent.”
Recently, I was speaking with someone about sin and the person was complaining how easily they ran after certain sins. I explained to them that sin was usually pleasurable and that we enjoy it greatly at the moment. It isn’t until later that we realize what harm it has done to our souls. It is when we recognize this truth that we can actually begin to purposely avoid these things. These sins can be very small or they can be gigantic in nature. Either way, they should be avoided. This, Saint Anthony would say, is true intellect…to be concerned for our souls. So then, how do we care for our souls? Saint Anthony said this:
“The truly intelligent man pursues one sole objective: to obey and to conform to the God of all. With this single aim in view, he disciplines his soul, and whatever he may encounter in the course of his life, he gives thanks to God for the direction and depth of His providential ordering of all things. For it is absurd to be grateful to doctors who give us bitter and unpleasant medicines to cure our bodies, and yet to be ungrateful to God for what appears to us to be harsh, not grasping that all we encounter is for our benefit and in accordance with His providence. For knowledge of God and faith in Him is the salvation and perfection of the soul.”
Is it humanly possible to actually give thanks to God for all that we encounter in each day? Obviously, Saint Anthony though it possible and actually put it into practice as a way to care for the soul. We can indeed begin caring for our souls each and every day. It can begin with our prayers. Here is a simple prayer to begin each day (The Morning Prayer of St. Philaret):
O Lord, grant me to greet the coming day in peace. Help me in all things to rely upon Your holy will. In every hour of the day reveal Your will to me. Bless my dealings with all who surround me. Teach me to treat all that comes to me throughout the day with peace of soul and with firm conviction that Your will governs all. In all my deeds and words, guide my thoughts and feelings. In unforeseen events, let me not forget that all are sent by You. Teach me to act firmly and wisely, without embittering and embarrassing others. Give me strength to bear the fatigue of the coming day with all that it shall bring. Direct my will; teach me to pray; pray Yourself in me. Amen.
If you have never read The Life of Saint Anthony, it would be well worth your time. There are good copies online and books for sale at most great reads type bookstores. You can read a very nice copy it for free at: http://www.orthodoxebooks.org/node/213