The Wisdom of Antony for the New Year
He observed that in saying today he was not counting the time passed, but as one always establishing a beginning, he endeavored each day to present himself as the sort of person ready to appear before God - that is, pure of heart and prepared to obey his will, and no other…
“And in order that we not become negligent, it is good to carefully consider the Apostle’s statement: I die daily. For if we so live as people dying daily, we will not commit sin. The point of the saying is this: As we rise daily, let us suppose that we shall not survive till evening, and again, as we prepare for sleep, let us consider that we shall not awaken. By its very nature our life is uncertain, and is meted out daily by providence. If we think in this way, and in this life - daily - we will not sin, nor will we crave anything, nor bear a grudge, nor will we lay up treasures on earth, but as people who anticipate dying each day we shall be free of possessions, and we shall forgive all things to all people.”
Athanasius of Alexandria, The Life of Antony and the Letter to Marcellinus, pp. 37, 46
So writes Athanasius of the fourth century Desert Father Antony of Egypt. It strikes me as salutary wisdom for the beginning of a new year and, indeed, for the beginning of each day. It reminds one, of course, of Christ’s teaching on the Sermon of the Mount: Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you. Do not be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
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