Every evening numerous dramas are played out as husbands and wives come home from work, bringing with them a chaotic mass of negative feelings from the office. They are glad to see each other, but they are full of thoughts from work. And thus there is no meeting of minds; people talk past each other and unload problems dragged in from elsewhere. Here it would be a good exercise to take the path home more carefully, to leave time to consciously free oneself from the emotions of the workplace. Then we can openly encounter the family waiting for us. Then we will be alert and awake to whatever is on their mind.
Anthony is the source of the saying: “If possible the monk should confidently tell the elders how many steps he takes, or how much water he drinks in his cell, to be sure that he is not sinning.” The external shaping of life is very important for the monks. They can tell from that whether they are healthy or not, whether they are really seeking God or only themselves. External order brings the monks internal order. It purifies their thinking and feelings; it creates space in which to become internally clear and transparent.
The spirituality of the early monks had the power to work out their lives to the last detail. Nowadays we are in danger of only writing about spirituality. But it doesn’t appear in concrete life; it has no power to shape our lives. One evening I was staying at a rectory where during the meal the priest found nothing better to do than to turn on the TV. I thought to myself, he can preach all he wants tomorrow morning. If your life doesn’t add up, then the sermon doesn’t add up either; in that case spirituality is worthless.
The spirituality of the monks created a culture of life. It challenges us today to penetrate our lives with the spirit, to develop a spiritual culture of life that is also visible from the outside.
For the monks the path to a spiritual culture of life was always concrete practice. Generally there were three counsels that an elder would give a young monk when asked about the way to true monasticism.
“A man who lived together with other brothers, asked Father Bessarion: ‘What should I do?’ The old man answered him: ‘Be silent and don’t measure yourself against others.”’ Silence and giving up comparisons were to be sufficient exercises for the monks. If they consistently stuck with it, they would purify their thinking and feeling; they would be open to God.
Anthony shows us other exercises: “Father Pambo asked Father Anthony: ‘What should I do?’ The old man answered: ‘Don’t count on your own righteousness, and don’t regret something that is past, and practice restraint of the tongue and the belly.'” Once again Anthony is assigning quite concrete exercises. He doesn’t assign some complex construct of ideas; he sends him off to perform practical life tasks that will become habitual for him, will lead him into the mystery of God and the mystery of humanity.
~Anselm Gruen, Heaven Begins Within You: Wisdom from the Desert Fathers
