The Daily Prayer
FRIDAY, January 17, 2020
Anthony of Egypt (251—356)
Anthony was born in Egypt in the middle of the third century and lost his parents at a young age, inheriting a fair amount of land and wealth. Soon after, when he heard a gospel reading in church prompting him to “go sell what you possess and give to the poor,” he did just that, vowing to dedicate his life thereafter to God. Anthony lived for a time in his native home, pursuing prayerful asceticism. After fifteen years, at the age of thirty-five, he withdrew to the solitude of the desert and began his monastic life of prayer, study, and work. After many years of living in the desert, Anthony remained whole and healthy, and he radiated compassion and joy. He lived to the age of 105 and is remembered as the father of the church’s first monastic movement.
Abba Anthony wrote, “From our neighbors is life and death. If we gain our brother, we gain God, but if we cause our brother to stumble, we sin against Christ.”
Lord, we know that to live by the flesh is death, but to live by the Spirit is life. Still, you have redeemed the flesh of the world through your incarnation. Teach us how to be in the world but not of it. Amen.
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