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Thursday, September 20, 2007

Peace of Soul

His face had a grace in it great and beyond belief. And he had this further gift from the Saviour: if he was with a company of monks and someone wished to see him who did not know him before, as soon as he arrived, he would pass over the others and turn straight to Antony as if drawn by his eyes. Not by appearance or figure was he different from others, but by his ordered character and the purity of his soul. For his soul being at peace, he had his outer senses also untroubled, so that from the joy of the soul his face also was joyous, and from the body's movements one saw and knew the state of his soul, according to the Scripture: When the heart is merry, the face is glad; when in grief, the face is gloomy (Prov. 15:13)... And so too was Antony known, for he was never troubled, his soul being tranquil; he was never gloomy, his mind being glad.
— Life of Saint Antony of the Desert (251-356), by Saint Athanasius.

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