Today’s deep thought by another foolish follower…
“The gift of inspiring others to have greater faith. I want that one God! St Anthony was said to have had it, St Francis certainly did, why not us!” (an anonymous monk)
As many of us these days, are tapping back into early monasticism, finding a living and needed stream and anecdote there for our materialistic times, it is good to think about what their personal spiritualities really looked like. Reading some of the sayings of the desert father. Considering, not just there outer “orders” or rules (which at times for some became just religious), but what made them fruitful and abundant in the character of Christ, as many were. Perhaps their main gift is this one Anthony asked for—to inspire us to greater active faith. To be a living portent pointing towards faith, the ladder into the Father’s lands-that’s a good thing to want to be moving in! To be a living symbol like King David asked for, and some of these early monks, who still inspire us thousands of years later, carried and became, in themselves.