I found this book in the library yesterday while browsing around and I am posting pieces that I find interesting.
St. Anthony of Egypt (c. 251 -- 356 )
Anthony developed a pattern that he followed for eighty-five years. He ate once a day, never before sunset, and his meal consisted of six ounces of bread soaked in water, sometimes seasoned with a little salt. When he was elderly, he occasionally allowed himself a few palm dates and a little oil. He wore sheepskin garments with the hair against his body. Weaving mats of palm fronds was his ordinary work. Later, when he moved to the desert, he tilled a small garden, growing wheat to make his bread and vegetables for his guests.
All day and all night, Anthony prayed. At any time, a visitor might find him rapt in mystical ecstasies. He loved to pray at night and sometimes complained that the sunrise robbed him of the greater inner light of contemplation.
Once, however, he became depressed because he did not feel strong enough for lengthy prayer. He took comfort from a vision in which an angel showed him the value of balancing prayer and work. The angel alternatively wove mats and then rose to pray. After a while, the angel said, " Do this, and you will find relief. " So Anthony adjusted his pattern. However, St. Athanasius says, he continued to pray a little while he worked.............
Remarkably, Anthony's lifelong austerity does not seem to have damaged his body. Even in his old age he appeared strong. " His eyes did not wax dim," said Athanasius, " and not one of his teeth dropped out, and both his feet and his hands were sound and healthy. Even though he ate so little, his appearance was more glorious than of those who fed themselves on dainty meats."
Not bad for an old monk who reportedly fasted every day for eighty-five years.
Acquiring virtueLet us continue to be strenuous in the pursuit of virtue. Let us not grow tired of seeking it, for our Lord has become a guide for us and for every person who has a desire for the virtues. And so that it might not be tedious for us, Saint Paul became our example when he said, " I die daily " ( see 1 Corinthians 15:31 ). Now, if we were to think each day that we had to die that day, we would never sin at all. This is the explanation of Paul's saying....If we were to keep the imminence of our death in mind, we would never be overcome by sin; lust which is fleeting would not reign over us; we would never harbor anger against another human being; we would not love the possessions which pass away; and we would forgive every person who offended us.... Therefore, O my beloved, let us be zealous in carrying out the work we have committed ourselves to, and let us travel to the end on the road on which we have begun our journey.
~~~~ St. Athanasius
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