Abba Anthony the Great - 5.0

Here are some sayings from the Apophthegmata Patrum to read and contemplate for your daily practice of spiritual direction + spiritual formation.



21. It happened one day that one of the brethren in the monastery of Abba Elias was tempted. Cast out of the monastery, he went over the mountain to Abba Anthony.
The brother lived near him for a while and then Anthony sent him back to the monastery from which he had been expelled. When the brothers saw him they cast him out yet again, and he went back to Abba Anthony saying, 'My Father, they will
not receive me.' Then the old man sent them a message saying, 'A boat was shipwrecked at sea and lost its cargo; with great difficulty it reached the shore; but you want to throw into the sea that which has found a safe harbour on the shore. 'When the brothers understood that it was Abba Anthony who had sent them this monk, they received him at once.

22. Abba Anthony said, 'I believe that the body possesses
a natural movement, to which it is adapted, but which it
cannot follow without the consent of the soul; it only
signifies in the body a movement without passion. There is
another movement, which comes from the nourishment and
warming of the body by eating and drinking, and this causes
the heat of the blood to stir up the body to work. That is
why the apostle said, "Do not get drunk with wine for that is
debauchery." (Ephes. 5:18) And in the Gospel the Lord also
recommends this to his disciples: "Take heed to yourselves
lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and
drunkenness." (Luke 21:34) But there is yet another
movement, which afflicts those who fight, and that comes
from the wiles and jealousy of the demons. You must
understand what these three bodily movements are: one is
natural, one comes from too much to eat, the third is caused
by the demons.'

23. He also said, 'God does not allow the same warfare
and temptations to this generation as he did formerly, for
men are weaker now and cannot bear so much.'
              
24. It was revealed to Abba Anthony in his desert that
there was one who was his equal in the city. He was a
doctor by profession and whatever he had beyond his needs
he gave to the poor, and every day he sang the Sanctus with
the angels.

Ciao!

+Tom