Elder Anthimos+ on Remembering Judgement
“The phrase of Abba Evagrios in the Gerontikon: ‘Always remember eternal judgment and do not forget your departure, and no fault shall be imputed to your soul’… ‘By the daily repetition of this phrase, we restrain the weakening of our zeal and of falling into sin. Our mind must be turned to seek God and ceaselessly commemorate the final Judgment of our justly judging Lord. Only thus will our passions be tamed and wiped out. The memory of death is inextricably associated with the fear of God. We drive Him far away from us when we do not contemplate death and the punishment which awaits us. When we do not pay attention to ourselves, when we do not examine how we spent the day, what we did, in what we transgressed, but we live indifferently and keep company with spiritually indifferent people. The three things which help a person preserve virtue in his soul are mourning, tears for sins, and the constant remembrance of death. He who considers the day he is living as the last one of his life will not sin.”
– ‘Elder Anthimos of Saint Annes’