have sympathy one with another
Athanasius, Life of Antony, section 55
St. Athanasius reports Antony urging the monks to examine their conduct. If they had sinned, they should cease from it; if they had remained faithful, they should avoid boasting. Self-examination was to produce amendment and watchfulness rather than a claim of superiority. Athanasius, Life of Antony, section 55
The same counsel rejects condemnation of neighbors and self-justification. Antony leaves hidden judgment to the Lord and asks for sympathy and shared burdens. Looking honestly at our own life should therefore make room for compassion toward someone else. The source keeps these duties together. Athanasius, Life of Antony, section 55
Paul asks the Corinthians to examine and test themselves in relation to the faith. Antony invokes this exhortation, applying it within his community’s discipline. We should distinguish the apostle’s original setting from Antony’s use while receiving the shared call to truthful examination before God. 2 Corinthians 13:5
Paul’s command to bear one another’s burdens appears in Galatians 6:2. The hosted Life attaches an incorrect verse number to this thought; the actual comparison is 6:2. Read with the preceding instruction about gentle restoration, it keeps attention to another person’s weakness joined to watchfulness about our own. Galatians 6:1–2
An examination of the day can therefore ask what needs repentance in our own conduct and what burden another person needs help carrying. Avoid using the exercise to build a case against a neighbor. Antony’s reported counsel directs us toward amendment, humility and sympathy; the apostolic passages give those acts their scriptural setting. Athanasius, Life of Antony, section 55
For prayer, use the Lord’s Prayer given by Christ in Matthew 6:9–13.
Sources and edition notes
- Athanasius, Life of Antony. Source. Translated by H. Ellershaw. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 4. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1892.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2811.htm.
Scripture references link to these comparison editions: NKJV. Biblical passages are paraphrased. Biblical language within a patristic quotation follows the identified historical English translation.