Truth and Vigilance - St Anthony the Great

Abba Anthony said to Abba Pojmen that this is the great work of man: to always bear his guilt before God and to expect temptation until his last breath.

Looking at this apophthegm, there are two thoughts to consider. The first speaks of a kind of honesty in one's approach to oneself and at the same time in one's relationship with God. It also seems to derive from a profound knowledge of human nature, in which there seems to be an inherent mechanism for putting oneself in the best possible light, even to the point of being dishonest.

To take one's guilt upon oneself is to stand before God in the truth about oneself. Also in relation to those events in our lives that are not something to be proud of. 

Of course, one can cling to the fact that Abba Anthony emphasises the negative.... but if we think about it a little more, we have to admit that it makes sense. First of all, when it comes to bragging about what we've achieved, what we're proud of, we don't need much encouragement. That's something we can do ourselves, often more than we need to.

Admitting guilt, on the other hand ... is sometimes difficult, even for ourselves.

It seems to me that Abba Anthony's way of thinking lets us know that the attitude of taking one's guilt upon oneself is valuable in that it can be the beginning of conversion. Acknowledging one's guilt leads to repentance, and repentance becomes a source of healing in one's relationship with God and with others. Nor is Anthony in any way anxious to take on a burden of guilt that will lead to depression or breakdown. He knows that God wants to bring healing to the sinner. Relief. 

The second thought contained in this apophthegm is a warning that grows almost directly from the words of Christ, who says Look! Anthony, an experienced monk who had fought temptation more than once, knew that Satan was a powerful and intelligent adversary who used deception masterfully. A momentary pause in the experience of temptation can be a fortress that makes a person lazy and gives him the conviction that he has won. And if the vigilance is let down, then comes the blow that can lead to a fall. Therefore, a person should always be vigilant so that he does not allow thoughts to enter his heart until the last moment that will lead him to sin and thus away from God.

Three Counsels - St Anthony the Great

Someone asked Abba Anthony: "What should I do to please God?" The old man replied: "Observe these commandments of mine: wherever you go, always keep God before your eyes; whatever you do or say, base it on the Scriptures; and wherever you once dwell, do not easily depart from it. If you do these three things, you will be saved.

A man who wants to please another man is prepared to do a lot. A change of attitude, a change of behaviour - everything is on the table, especially if there is a tangible gain in sight.

But what should a person do if he wants to please God? 

Whoever put this question to Anthony received an answer consisting of three tips.

1. Always have God before your eyes - that is, live with the awareness that God exists and that your every action, your every word, your every thought is clear and obvious to Him. There are no secrets from God.

This injunction is not meant to make me believe that I am a participant in some "God's Reality Show" or that I am under some kind of constant surveillance.

Keeping God always before my eyes does indeed mean that I should remember Him in all my actions and treat Him with seriousness and respect. 

Having God always before my eyes is also not an invitation to build some kind of neurotic vision of Christianity (I recently read such a term somewhere on Facebook in reference to a more traditionally understood religiosity). It is an invitation to show the same respect to the personal God as to a loved one. To include God in one's plans and actions in the same way that one includes a husband, wife and children in one's daily life. ....

2. Whatever you do or say, base it on Scripture - this sounds like a big nudge to modern man, who is often unfamiliar with Scripture, and even if he is, he does not necessarily see it as a source of inspiration for his words and actions.

This reference, however, is a testimony to the way in which St Anthony and his contemporaries approached the Word of God. For them, it was not just one of the many "cultural texts" which, of course, are worth reading, but with which they should not concern themselves... For them, the way to study Scripture was to go into the desert and learn it by heart, if not in its entirety, then at least in fragments. Their journey into the desert usually began with inspiration from the words of Scripture.

In addition, they came with the quite reasonable conviction that the more in line with Scripture their words and actions were, the closer they were to what God was calling his followers to do.

3. Wherever you live, don't just leave - in a world as interconnected as ours, this seems impossible. After all, many modern people move at least several times in their lives. It is increasingly difficult to achieve stability, understood as a fixed place in the world.

But this injunction can be understood more sincerely, even though monks did indeed attach themselves firmly to their goals and cared deeply about what the Rule of St Benedict developed into the vow of stabilitas loci. A broader understanding will be concerned primarily with perseverance. Especially perseverance in the pursuit of the good. Perseverance in the pursuit of heaven. 

It can be expressed, for example, in faithfully getting up every morning and starting the day with prayer. It can be expressed in devoting 15 minutes a day to reading the Scriptures. It can be expressed in ...

This injunction is also about developing the ability to see your resolutions through to the end. Not getting discouraged too easily.

It can also be about not giving in to the volatility and instability that is so fashionable today, but building your life on something sustainable.