The Many Callings of the Practical Life

This practical life, then, which rests on a twofold system as we have said, is divided among many different callings and pursuits. Some make it their whole aim to seek the hidden life of the anchorite and purity of heart. So we know that in the past Elijah and Elisha, and in our own day the blessed Antony and others who followed with the same aim, were joined most closely to God by the silence of solitude. Some have given all their effort and care to the discipline of the brothers and the watchful oversight of the coenobium. So we remember that recently Abbot John, who led a large monastery near the city of Thmuis, and some other men of like merit, were distinguished by the signs of apostles. Some find their pleasure in the kindly service of the guest house and the welcoming of visitors. By this the patriarch Abraham and Lot pleased the Lord in the past, and so, recently, did the blessed Macarius, a man of rare courtesy and patience, who was in charge of the guest house at Alexandria in such a way that he was counted second to none of those who sought the solitude of the desert. Some choose the care of the sick. Others devote themselves to intercession, which is offered on behalf of the oppressed and afflicted, or give themselves to teaching, or give alms to the poor, and are outstanding among people of excellence and renown because of their love and goodness. [a]