17 January 2022
Memorial of Saint Anthony. Abbot
Before becoming pope in 555, the deacon Pelagius prepared a translation of monastic literature into Latin with the help of John the Subdeacon. Thanks to their scholarship, wise words have been preserved from the great St. Anthony of Egypt(d. 365), the father of Christian monasticism. St. Anthony said that “sunt quidam conterentes corpora sua in abstinentia ; sed quia non habuerunt discretionem, longe facti sunt a Deo.” In other words, “there are some who wear out their bodies with abstinence, but because they have no discretion, they are far from God.”
A saying of this kind is familiar to practitioners of Ignatian Spirituality. St. Ignatius filled his writings with references to the importance of discretion and prudence. For example, in the Constitutions, Ignatius warned of “indiscreet devotions which lead some to fall into illusions and errors of importance” (Const. 182). In other words, some devotions are not fitting in some circumstances, and can lead to disaster.
St. Ignatius Loyola and St. Anthony of Egypt were devout men committed to lives of regular prayer, and they both understood the need for discretion. They would tell some of us today that it’s time to step up our commitment to prayer, and they would tell others of us that it’s time to tone it down.