St. Athanasius - Life of St. Anthony, pt. 2

“Do not be fearful when you hear of perfection, nor be surprised at the word, for it is not far from us… the Lord has already told us: the kingdom of God is within you.”

We last left St. Anthony as he began his life in the desert, taking up residence in an abandoned fort - an appropriate setting, given the spiritual combat Anthony had gone out into the desert to wage.

At the beginning of this second installment, Athanasius fast-forwards us 20 years. Others inspired by Anthony have since also come to the desert to imitate his way of life. Anthony addresses the crowd of monks gathered to hear from him, and this discourse given by Anthony - a long sermon on the ascetical life -  could be considered the very first monastic rule.

Whereas last episode we heard tale of Anthony’s struggles, in today’s episode we’ll hear from Anthony himself, strengthened by his struggles.

Translation courtesy of Catholic University of America Press: https://verbum.com/product/120446/early-christian-biographies

Alternate Translation at CatholicCulture.org: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=3080

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Theme music: 2 Part Invention, composed by Mark Christopher Brandt, performed by Thomas Mirus. ©️2019 Heart of the Lion Publishing Co./BMI. All rights reserved.