Selected Sayings of the Desert Fathers

from Larry Holly

from The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, by Sr. Benedicta Ward, SLG

for the “Love and Mysticism” retreat held at

Mercy Center, Slaton, Texas -- May 26-31, 2003

SAY TO ME A WORD, FATHER

Abba Pambo asked Abba Antony, “What ought I to do?” and the old man said to him, “Do not trust in your own righteousness, do not worry about the past, but control your tongue and your stomach. (#6, p. 2)

NB: (numbers in parenthesis) refer to items and page numbers in Sr. Benedicta’s book.

Boldface, Underlinings and exclamation marks {!!!} denote emphases added by Larry Holley.

!!! Blessed Archbishop Theophilus, accompanied by a magistrate came one day to find Abba Arsenius. He questioned the old man, to hear a word from him. After a short silence the old man answered him, “Will you put into practice what I say to you?” They promised him this. “If you hear Arsenius is anywhere, do not go there.” (#7, p. 10)

A brother questioned Abba Arsenius to hear a word of him and the old man said to him, “Strive with all your might to bring your interior activity into accord with God, and you will overcome exterior passions.” (#9, p. 10)

As he was dying, Abba Benjamin said to his sons, “If you observe the following, you can be saved, ‘Be joyful at all times, pray without ceasing, and give thanks for all things.’” (#4, p. 44)

A brother questioned Abba Hierax saying, “Give me a word. How can I be saved?” The old man said to him, “Sit in your cell, and if you are hungry, eat; if you are thirsty, drink; only do not speak evil of anyone, and you will be saved.” (#1, p. 104)

Abba Theodore of Pherme asked Abba Pambo, “give me a word.” With much difficulty he said to him, “Theodore, go and have pity on all, for through pity, one finds freedom of speech before God.” (#14, p. 198)

Abba Sisoes asked Abba Or, “Give me a word,” and he said to him, “Do you trust me?” He replied that he did. Then he said to him, “Go, and what you have seen me do, do also.” Abba Sisoes said to him, “Father, what have I seen you do?” The old man said, “In my own opinion, I put myself below all men.” (#7, p. 247)

Some brothers who had some seculars with them went to see Abba Felix and they begged him to say a word to them. But the old man kept silence. After they had asked him for a long time, he said to them, “You wish to hear a word?” They said, “Yes, abba.” Then the old man said to them, “There are no more words nowadays. When the brothers used to consult the old men and when did what was said to them, God showed them how to speak. But now, since they ask without doing that which they hear, God has withdrawn the grace of the word from the old men and they do not find anything to say, because there are no longer any who carry their words out.” Hearing this, the brothers groaned, saying, “Pray for us, abba.” (#1, p. 242)

…AND YOUR CELL WILL TEACH YOU EVERYTHING

Abba Antony said, “Just as fish die if they stay too long out of water, so the monks who loiter outside their cells or pass their time with men of the world lose the intensity of inner peace. So like a fish going towards the sea, we must hurry to reach our cell, for fear that if we delay outside we will lose our interior watchfulness.” (#10, p. 3)

The brethren asked Abba Isaac the Theban, “Abba Isaac, why do you flee from the brethren at the end of the service?” He said to them, “I am not fleeing from the brethren, but from the wicked ruse of the demons. When someone is holding a lighted lamp, if he lingers in the open air, the lamp goes out because of the wind. We are the same, if, when we are illuminated by the Holy Eucharist, we linger outside our cell; our spirit is darkened.” Such was the way of life of the holy Abba Isaac. (#2, p. 110)

A brother asked Abba Poemen, “How should I live in the cell?” He said to him, “Living in your cell clearly means manual work, eating only once a day, silence, meditation; but really making progress in the cell, means to experience contempt for yourself wherever you go, not to neglect the hours of prayer and to pray secretly. If you happen to have time without manual work, take up prayer and do it without disquiet. The perfection of these things is to live in good company and be freed from bad.” (#168, p. 190)

EATING and FASTING

Evagrius also said that one of the Fathers used to say, “Eat a little without irregularity; if charity is joined to this, it leads the monk rapidly to the threshold of apatheia [apatheia is defined as “the state of being unmoved by passion; this involves control of the passions rather than their destruction.”] (#6, p. 64)

Abba John the Dwarf said, “If a king wanted to take possession of his enemy’s city, he would begin by cutting off the water and the food and so his enemies, dying of hunger, would submit to him. It is the same with the passions of the flesh: if a man goes about fasting and hungry, the enemies of his soul grow weak.” (#3, p. 86)

Abba Joseph asked Abba Poemen, “How should one fast?” Abba Poemen said to him, “for my part, I think it is better that one should eat every day, but only a little, so as not

to be satisfied.” Abba Joseph said to him, “When you were younger, did you not fast two days at a time, abba?” The old man said, “Yes, even for three days and four and the whole week. The Fathers tried all this out as they were able and found it preferable to eat every day, but just a small amount. They have left us this royal way, which is light.” (#31, p. 171)

The begumen [head man] of a monastery asked Abbe Poemen, “How can I acquire the fear of God?” Abba Poemen said to him, “How can we acquire the fear of God when our belly is full of cheese and preserved foods?” (#181, p. 192)

Amma Syncletica said, “Just as the most bitter medicine drives out poisonous creatures, so prayer joined to fasting drives evil thoughts away.” (#3, p. 231)

A brother asked Abba Tithoes, “How should I guard my heart?” The old man said to him, “How can we guard our hearts when our mouths and our stomachs are open?” (#3, p. 236)

SLEEP

Abba Arsenius used to say that one hour’s sleep is enough for a monk if he is a good fighter. (#15, p. 11)

SILENCE

It was said of Abba Agathon that for three years he lived with a stone in his mouth, until he had learned to keep silence. (#15, p. 22)

Abba Theophilus, Archbishop of Alexandria (d. 412), came to Scetis one day. The brethren who were assembled said to Abbot Pambo, “Say something to the archbishop, so that he may be edified.” The old man said to them, “If he is not edified by my silence, he will not be edified by my speech.” (#2, p. 81)

Abba Poemen said, “The victory over all afflictions that befall you, is, to keep silence.” (#37, p. 172)

They said of Abba Or that he never lied, nor swore, nor hurt anyone, nor spoke without necessity.” (#2, p. 246)

DISCERNMENT

Abba Poemen said that Abba Ammonas said, “A man can spend his whole life carrying an axe without succeeding in cutting down the tree; while another, with experience of tree-felling, brings the tree down with a few blows. He said that the axe is discernment.” (#52, p. 174)

TALK

Abba Pambo said, “By the grace of God, since I left the world, I have not said one word of which I repented afterwards.” (#5, p. 197)

Abba Sisoes expressed himself freely one day, saying, “Have confidence: for thirty years I have not prayed to God about my faults, but I have made this prayer to him: ‘Lord Jesus, save me from my tongue,’ and until now every day, I fall because of it, and commit sin.’ (#5, p. 213)

Abba Or said to his disciple Paul, “Be careful never to let an irrelevant word come into this cell.” (#3, p. 246)

HUMILITY

Abba Poemen said, “If you take little account of yourself, you will have peace, wherever you live.” (#81, p. 178)

A brother asked Abba Poemen, “How should I behave in the place where I live?” The old man said, “Have the mentality of an exile in the place where you live, do not desire to be listened to and you will have peace.” (#191, p. 194)

OBEDIENCE

It was said of Abba John the Dwarf that he withdrew and lived in the desert at Scetis with an old man of Thebes. His abba, taking a piece of dry wood, planted it and said to him, “Water it every day with a bottle of water, until it bears fruit.” Now the water was so far away that he had to leave in the evening and return the following morning. At the end of three years the wood came to life bore fruit. Then the old man took some of the fruit and carried it to the church, saying to the brethren, “Take and eat of the fruit of obedience.” (#1, pp. 85-86)

JUDGING

Whenever Abba Agathon’s thoughts urged him to pass judgment on something which he saw, he would say to himself, “Agathon, it is not your business to do that.” Thus his spirit was always recollected. (#18, p. 23)

A brother asked Abba Euprepius, “How does the fear [reverential awe] of God dwell in the soul?” Abba Euprepius said, “If a man is possessed of humility and poverty, and if he does not judge others, the fear of God will come to him.” (#5, p. 62)

One day Abba Isaac the Theban went to a monastery. He saw a brother committing a sin and he condemned him. When he returned to the desert, an angel of the Lord came and stood in front of the door of his cell, and said, “I will not let you enter.” But he persisted, saying, “What is the matter?” and the angel replied, “God has sent me to ask you where you want to throw the guilty brother whom you have condemned.” Immediately Abba Isaac repented and said, “I have sinned, forgive me.” Then the angel said, “Get up, God has forgiven you. But from now on, be careful not to judge someone before God has done so.” (# 1, pp. 109-10)

There was at that time a meeting at Scetis about a brother who had sinned. The Fathers spoke, but Abba Pior kept silence. Later, he got up and went out; he took a sack, filled it with sand and carried it on his shoulder. He put a little sand also into a small bag which he carried in front of him. When the Fathers asked him what this meant he said, “In this sack which contains much sand, are my sins which are many; I have put them behind me so as not to be troubled about them and so as not to weep; and see here are the little sins of my brother which are right in front of me and I spend my time judging them. This is not right, I ought rather to carry my sins in front of me and concern myself with them, begging God to forgive me for

JUDGING -- continued

them.” The Fathers stood apart and said, “Truly, this is the way of salvation.” (#3, pp. 199-200)

Abba Poemen said that Abba Paphnutius used to say, “During the whole lifetime of the old men, I used to go to see them twice a month although it was a distance of twelve miles. I told them each of my thoughts and they never answered me anything but this, ‘Wherever you go, do not judge yourself and you will be at peace.’” (#3, pp. 202-03)

Abba Hyperechius said, “It was through whispering that the serpent drove Eve out of Paradise, so he who speaks against his neighbor will be like the serpent, for he corrupts the soul of him who listens to him and he does not save his own soul.” (#5, p. 238)

ANGER

Abba Agathon said, “A man who is angry, even if he were to raise the dead, is not acceptable to God.” (#19, p. 23)

Abba Poemen heard of someone who had gone all week without eating and then had lost his temper. The old man said, “He could do without food for six days, but he could not cast out anger.” (#203, p. 194)

When Abba Romanus was at the point of death, his disciples gathered round him and said, “How ought we to conduct ourselves?” The old man said to them, “I do not think I have ever told one of you to do something, without having first made the decision not to get angry, if what I said were not done; and so we have lived in peace all our days.” (#1, p. 211)

THE PRACTICAL SPRITUALITY OF THE DESERT FATHERS

Abba Anoub asked Abba Poemen about the impure thoughts which the heart of man brings forth and about vain desires. Abba Poemen said to him, “Is the axe any use without someone to cut with it? (Isaiah 10:15) If you do not make use of these thoughts, they will be ineffectual too.” (#15, p. 169)

A brother came to see Abba Poemen and said to him, “Abba, I have many thoughts and they put me in danger.” The old man led him outside and said to him, “Expand your chest and do not breathe in.” He said, “I cannot do that.” Then the old man said to him, “If you cannot do that, no more can you prevent thoughts from arising, but you can resist them.” (#28, p. 171)

Abba Poemen said, “Not understanding what has happened prevents us from going on to something better.” (#200, p. 194)

IMPURE THOUGHTS

Abba Isaiah questioned Abba Poemen on the subject of impure thoughts. Abba Poemen said to him, “It is like having a chest full of clothes, if one leaves them in disorder they are spoiled in the course of time. It is the same with thoughts. If we do not do anything about them, in time they are spoiled, that is to say, they disintegrate.” (#20, pp. 169-70)

It was related of Amma Sarah that for thirteen years she waged warfare against the demon of fornication. She never prayed that the warfare should cease but she said, “O God, give me strength.” (# 1, p. 229)

Once the same spirit of fornication attacked her more insistently, reminding her of the vanities of the world. But she gave herself up to the fear of God and to asceticism and went up onto her little terrace to pray. Then the spirit of fornication appeared corporally to her and said, “Sarah, you have overcome me.” But she said, “It is not I who have overcome you, but my master, Christ.” (#2, p. 230)

LEVELS OF AUSTERITY AND ASCETICISM

Abbot Gregory the Theologian said, “These three things God requires of all the baptized: right faith in the heart, truth on the tongue, temperance in the body.” (#1, p. 45)

Abba Doulas said, “If the enemy induces us to give up our inner peace, we must not listen to him, for nothing is equal to this peace and the privation of food. The one and the other join together to fight the enemy. For they make interior vision keen.” (#1, p. 55)

Abba Poemen said, “To throw yourself before God, not to measure your progress, to leave behind all self-will; these are the instruments of the work of the soul.” (#36, p. 172)

Abba Poemen said, “There are three things which I am not able to do without: food, clothing and sleep; but I can restrict them to some extent.” (#185, p. 193)

AUTHENTICITY

Abba Poemen said, “If three men meet, of whom the first fully preserves interior peace, and the second gives thanks to God in illness, and the third serves with a pure mind, these three are doing the same work.” (#29, p. 171)

Abba Joseph said, “While we were sitting with Abba Poemen he mentioned Agathon as ‘abba’, and we said to him, ‘He is very young, why do you call him ‘abba?’” Abba Poemen said, “Because his speech makes him worthy to be called abba.” (#61, p. 175)

Abba Poemen said, groaning, “All the virtues come to this house except one and without that virtue it is hard for a man to stand.” Then they asked him what that virtue was, and he said, “For a man to stand and blame himself.” (#134, p. 186)

AUTHENTICITY -- continued

Abba Poemen said, “Teach your mouth to say what is in your heart.” (#164, p. 189)

Amma Syncletica said, “There are many who live in the mountains and behave as if they were in the town, and they are wasting their time. It is possible to be a solitary in one’s mind while living in a crowd, and it is possible for one who is a solitary to live in the crowd of his own thoughts. (#19, p. 234)

Amma Syncletica said, “My children, we all want to be saved, but because of our habit of negligence, we swerve away from salvation.” (#23, p. 234)

A brother asked Abba Tithoes, “How should I guard my heart?” The old man said to him, “How can we guard our hearts when our mouths and our stomachs are open?” (#3, p. 236)

Abba Hyperechius said, “It is better to eat meat and drink wine and not to eat the flesh of one’s brethren through slander.” (#4, p. 238)

POSSESSIONS

Abba Isidore of Pelusia said, “The desire for possessions is dangerous and terrible, knowing no satiety; it drives the soul which it controls to the heights of evil. Therefore let us drive it away vigorously from the beginning. For once it has become master, it cannot be overcome.” (#6, p. 99)

Abba Isidore the Priest said, “If you truly desire the kingdom of heaven, despise riches and respond to divine favors.” He also said, “It is impossible for you to live according to God if you love pleasure and money.” (#2 & 3, p. 106)

THE BEST AND NOTHING LESS

Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, “Abba, as far as I can, I say my little office, fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace as far as I can, I purify my thoughts. What else can I do?” Then the old man [Abba Joseph] stood up and stretched his hands towards heaven. His fingers became like ten lamps of fire and he said, “If you will, you can become all flame.” (#7, p. 103)

THE TRUE GOAL OF MONKS (AND OF CHRISTIANS IN GENERAL)

A brother said to Abba Theodore of Pherme, “I wish to fulfill the commandments.” The old man told him that Abba Theonas had said to him, “I want to fill my spirit with God.” (#18, p. 76)

Monks are “in the conflict and do violence to themselves to win others to do good.” (#18, p. 90)

THE TRUE GOAL OF MONKS (AND OF CHRISTIANS IN GENERAL), continued

Abba Isidore of Pelusia said, “Vice takes men away from God and separates them from one another. So we must turn from it quickly and pursue virtue, which leads to God and unites us with one another. Now the definition of virtue and of philosophy is: simplicity with prudence.” (#4, p. 98)

ABANDONMENT OF ONE’S WILL

Abba Cronius said, “If the soul is vigilant and withdraws from all distraction and abandons its own will, then the spirit of God invades it and it can conceive because it is free to do so.” (#1, p. 115)

Abba Poemen said, “To throw yourself before God, not to measure your progress, to leave behind all self-will; these are the instruments of the work of the soul.” (#36, p. 172)

Abraham, the disciple of Abba Agathon, questioned Abba Poemen, saying, “How do the demons fight against me?” Abba Poemen said to him, “The demons fight against you? They do not fight against us at all as long as we are doing our own will. For our own wills become the demons, and it is these which attack us in order that we may fulfill them. But if you want to see who the demons really fight against, it is against [Abba] Moses and those who are like him.” (#67, p. 176)

Abba Poemen said, “When self-will and ease become habitual, they overthrow a man.” (#83, p. 178)

WHERE CHARITY AND LOVE ABOUND…

One day St. Epiphanius and Abba Hilarion had come together for a meal. During their meal, they were brought a fowl; Epiphanius took it and gave it to Hilarion. Then the old man said to him, “Forgive me, but since I received the habit I have not eaten meat that has been killed.” Then St. Ephiphanius answered, “Since I took the habit, I have not allowed anyone to go to sleep with a complaint against me and I have not gone to rest with a complaint against anyone.” Abba Hilarion replied, “Forgive me, your way of life is better than mine.” (#4, p. 57)

PRAYER

Abba Zeno said, “If a man wants God to hear his prayer quickly, then before he prays for anything else, even his own soul, when he stands and stretches out his hands toward God, he must pray with all his heart for his enemies. Through this action God will hear everything that he asks.” (#7, p. 67)

CONTROL OF PASSIONS

Abba Isaac came to see Abba Poemen and found him washing his feet. As he enjoyed freedom of speech with him he said, “How is it that others practice austerity and treat their bodies hardly?” Abba Poemen said to him, “We have not been taught to kill our bodies, but to kill our passions.” (#184, p. 193)

PURE WISDOM

Abba Isaiah also said:

“When God wishes to take pity on a soul and it rebels, not bearing anything and doing its own will, he then allows it to suffer that which is does not want, in order that it may seek Him again.” (#7, p. 70)

Abba John the Dwarf said to an old man who was worrying about overburdening him:

“Go and light a lamp.’ He lit it. He said to him, “Bring some more lamps, and light them from the first.” He did so. Then Abba John said to the old man, “Has that lamp suffered any loss from the fact that the other lamps have been lit from it?” He said, “No.” The old man continued, “So it is with John; even if the whole of Scetis came to see me, they would not separate me from the love of Christ. Consequently, whenever you want to, come to me without hesitation.” (#18, pp. 89-90)

Abba Poemen said that Abba John the Dwarf said that the saints are like a group of trees, each bearing different fruit, but watered from the same source. The practices of one saint differ from those of another, but it is the same Spirit that works in all of them.” (#43, p. 95)

Abba Isidore of Pelusia said, “Vice takes man away from God and separates them from one another. So we must turn from it quickly and pursue virtue, which leads to God and unites us with one another. Now the definition of virtue and of philosophy is: simplicity with prudence.” (#4, p. 98)

Abba Isidore the Priest said, “If you desire salvation, do everything that leads to it.” (#6, p. 107)

Abba Poemen said, “Vigilance, self-knowledge and discernment; these are the guides of the soul.” (#35, p. 172)

Abba Poemen said, “Temptations cannot destroy hope in God.” (#102, p. 181)

Abba Poemen said, “Wickedness does not do away with wickedness; but if someone does you wrong, do good to him, so that by your action you destroy his wickedness.” (#177, p. 191)

Timeline and the Desert Fathers

Roughly 1600 years

separate us from the time and space

of the Desert Fathers.

That’s 16 centuries,

16 times 100 years,

100 years multiplied by 16.

Let’s put this chronological data in perspective.

Roughly 225 years separate us

from the signing of the American Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Thus, we are some 7 times closer to the time of

George Washington

than we are to that of St. Antony of the Desert

and the monk-studded 4th century.

Much time, and many people and events

stand between us and the Desert Fathers.

For that matter,

quite a few mystics --

including all the ones you’ll be hearing about at this retreat --stand between us and these pioneers

of Christian ascetic and contemplative living.

Our challenge, our opportunity, then,

is to come to better know

these progenitors, these prototypes,

of the mystical way, of that way

which leads to intimate friendship with God.

In fact, this challenge opens the whole question

of knowing, friendship, and intimacy, which, in turn,

leads us to undertake a general overview

of the world,

inspiration,

and activities of the Desert Fathers.

I. A General -- and Uncompromising-- Overview

During the 400-year period

from 3rd to 6th centuries (200-599 AD)

the Desert Fathers migrated to various deserts

in the Middle East

where they “strove for

an uncompromising obedience

to the word

and to the spirit of the Gospel.”

They “received the challenge

of the Gospel with all earnestness

and wanted to respond to it uncompromisingly,

as generously as God,

with their whole selves.”

They sought to respond

to God’s infinite and sacrificial love

by giving Him love in return.

They heard -- and responded to -- the clarion call,

“Renounce yourself, take up your Cross, and follow Me.”

For the Desert Fathers, this meant:

The King of Love -- Jesus Christ -- their Lord and Savior

must be enthroned

in our mind and heart,

take undivided possession of our will

and make of our very bodies

the Temples of the Holy Spirit.

For the Desert Fathers,

this goal was both extraordinarily simple,

and incredibly difficult,

a life-long endeavor

to which all else was subordinated.

This small particle of the Cosmos,

which is our body and soul,

must be conquered,

freed by a lifelong struggle

from enslavement to the world and to the devil,

freed as if it were an occupied country

desperately needing to be restored to its legitimate king.

II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

“In the fourth century,

Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and Arabia

were the proving ground for monasticism

in its Christian expression;

every form of monastic life was tried,

every kind of experiment,

every kind of extreme.

Monasticism is, of course, older than Christianity,

but this was the flowering of it

in its Christian expression

and in many ways it has never been surpassed.” (p. xvii)

The great center of the Desert Fathers was Egypt

which, by the year 400 AD was

“a land of hermits and monks.” (p. xvii)

III.TYPES OF MONKS

A. First type: HERMITS (or Anchorites)

(Lower Egypt) St. Antony

(aka St. Antony of the Desert, St. Antony the Great)

was the prototype of the hermit life.

In fact, the very word “hermit,” means “

one who lives in the desert -- with its implication of solitude.

Born in the middle of the third century (251 AD),

St. Antony of the Desert withdrew

from ordinary Christian society about 269,

when he was roughly eighteen years old,

into the deserts of Lower Egypt.

Later, he went farther and farther

into the solitude of the desert,

before dying in 356 at the ripe old age of 105,

by which time he had lived an incredible 105 years,

the vast majority as a hermit -- and it was still only 356 AD

i.e., sixteen-and-a-half centuries ago!

B. Second Type: CENOBITES (monks who live in a coenobium, or community(

(Upper Egypt)

In a less remote part of Egypt –

in Upper Egypt – at Tabennisi in the Thebaid,

Pachomius (290-347 AD)

“became the creator of an organized monasticism.

The monks of Pachomius

were not hermits

grouped together around a spiritual father,

but communities of brothers

united to each other in work and prayer.” (p. xviii)

C. Third Type: GROUPS OF ASCETICS

(Nitria and Scetis)

“At Nitria, west of the Nile delta,

and at Scetis, forty miles south of Nitria,

there evolved a third form of monastic life

in the ‘lavra’ or ‘skete’

where several monks lived together,

often as disciples of an ‘abba.’

Nitria was nearer to Alexandria

and formed a natural gateway to Scetis.

It was a meeting place between the world and the desert where visitors, like John Cassian,

-- who provides a significant part

of what we know of the Desert Fathers --

could first make contact with the traditions of the desert.

Here at Nitria more learned,

Greek-influenced type of monasticism

evolved around an educated minority

of whom Evagrius Ponticus (345-399) is the most famous.

Many sayings come from here and are associated with the names of the great abbas -- the great Desert Fathers --

such as Moses, Pambo, Abraham, Sisoes, John Colobos,

and the two Macarii.” (p. xviii)

“The Egyptian monks created an ethos of their own;

they made a radical break with their environment

and formed new groups

to which the relentless round of prayer and manual labor

was basic.” (p. xviii)

D. SYRIA

“The Syrian monks were great individualists

and they deliberately imposed on themselves

whatever is hardest for human beings to bear:

they went about naked and in chains,

they lived unsettled lives,

eating whatever they found in the woods. (p. xviii)

These monks of the Syrian desert

chose to live at the limits of human nature,

close to the animals,

to the angels,

and to the demons.

Their most typical representatives

were the ‘Stylite’ saints,

men who lived very long periods on the top of a pillar.

The first to adopt this way of life

and the man after whom his imitators were called --

was Simeon Stylites (from the Greek stylos, pillar)

who lived for forty years on a fifty-foot column

outside Antioch.” (p. xix).

E. ASIA MINOR

“In Cappadocia -- where

a more learned and liturgical monasticism developed

in the heart of the city and of the Church --

the key figure was St. Basil the Great (c. 330-379).

He and his followers

were known as theologians and writers

rather than as simple monks of the Egyptian type.” (p. xix)

F. PALESTINE

“The great monastic center in the 5th century was Palestine.

In the Judean wilderness,

and especially around the desert of Gaza,

there were great spiritual fathers

in the Egyptian tradition:

Barsanuphius and John, Dorotheus, Euthymius, and Sabas. Many of the Sayings come from this source.” (p. xix).

IV. THE SAYINGS OF THE FATHERS

“These experiments of fourth- and fifth-century monasticism, especially those in Egypt,

produced a remarkable new literary genre

in the records of the Sayings of the Fathers

( sometimes known by their Greek name as

Apophthegmata Patrum).

Close to parable and folk-wisdom,

their themes and anecdotes

passed into the world of the Middle Ages

and on into pre-revolutionary, pre-Bolshevik Russia.” (p, xix)

“It is in the Sayings

that we are closer to the wisdom of the desert

as it was understood among the fathers of monasticism.”

(p. xix)

It is in the Sayings of the Fathers

that the plain teaching of the desert is best seen.

In fact, these sayings are invaluable.

As one monastic historian has written

“These sayings preserve

the unstructured wisdom of the desert in simple language.” (p. xx)

“They are short sayings

originally delivered to individuals

on specific occasions

and written down later.

Groups of monks

would preserve the sayings of their founder

or of some monks especially remembered by them,

and this nucleus

would be enlarged and rearranged as time passed.” (p. xx)

V. THE TEACHING

OF THE APOPHTHEGMATA

“The essence of the spirituality of the desert

is that

it was NOT taught, but caught;

it was a whole way of life. (p. xxi)

It was NOT an esoteric doctrine

OR a predetermined plan of ascetic practice

that would be learned and applied.

The Father or “abba”

was NOT the equivalent of the Zen Buddhist “Master.”

IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THIS, because

there is really NO WAY

of talking about

the way of prayer,

or the spiritual teaching of the Desert Fathers.

They did NOT have a systematic way;

they had the hard work and experience of a lifetime

of striving to re-direct

every aspect of body mind and soul to God,

and that is what they talked about.

That, also, is what they meant by prayer:

prayer was not an activity undertaken for a few hours a day,

it was a life continually turned towards God. (p. xxi).

Two examples:

Abba Joseph came to Abba Lot and said to him,

“Father, according to my strength,

I keep a moderate rule of prayer and fasting, quiet and meditation, and as far as I can I control my imagination; what more must I do? And the old man rose and held his hands towards the sky

so that his fingers became like flames of fire and he said:

“If you will, you shall become all flame.” (p. xxi)

And when he was dying, Abba Pambo said:

From the time that I came into this solitude and built my cell and dwelt in it, I cannot remember eating any food I have not earned with my own hands, nor speaking any word that I have been sorry for until now. And so I go to the Lord, as one who has not yet begun to serve God. (p. xxi)

VI. The Spiritual Father

The “abba” as the one who,

really knowing God in his own experience,

could most truly intercede for his sons. (p. xxi)

He was the one who discerned reality

and whose words, therefore, gave life. (p. xxii)

When a disciple asked the abba to “speak a word,”

the word sought was NOT

a theological explanation,

NOR was it “counseling,”

NOR any kind of a dialogue

in which one argued spiritual or theological points.

The father was NOT a teacher or scholar.

The word spoken by the Abba,

was a word

that was part of a relationship,

a word

which would give life to the disciple if it were received.

The abbas were NOT spiritual directors

in the later Western sense;

they were fathers to the sons

whom they begot in Christ.

A monk had only one abba,

and he was NOT

continually discussing his spiritual state with him.

There is a great economy of words about the desert.

This awareness of the importance of the spoken word

for the relationship between the monk and his abba,

made the monks very wary about books --

perhaps too wary -- but it was an emphasis we have lost

and could well recover. (p. xxiii)

Many people, as well as their own monastic disciples,

came to the fathers for their life-giving words.

The fathers distinguished between

those moved by devotion

from those moved by mere curiosity.

The former, they considered genuine hearers of the word

and called “visitors from Jerusalem.”

The curious, they dubbed, “visitors from Babylon.” (p. xxiii)

VII. Radical Simplicity and Common Sense

1) The Desert Fathers withdrew from ordinary society

and sought the solitude of the desert.

This was the first step in their “spirituality.”

2) Then they placed themselves under spiritual fathers.

3) After that, the daily life was their prayer,

and it was a radically simple life:

a stone, or mud hut with a roof of branches,

a reed mat for a bed,

a sheep-skin for keeping away the extreme desert cold,

a lamp,

a vessel for water or oil.

It was enough.

Food was reduced to the minimum

and so was sleep.

“One hour’s sleep a night is enough for a monk

if he is a fighter” they said.

They had a horror of extra possessions.

They tried many experiments,

especially with fasting,

but the final conclusion was:

“For a man of prayer,

one meal a day is sufficient.”

The ideal was NOT sub-human,

but super-human, the angelic life;

but this was to be interpreted

in the most practical and common-sense way.

It was a life of continual “striving,”

but NOT of taut effort the whole time. (p. xxiii)

IX. The Place of Asceticism

The monks went without sleep

because they were watching for the Lord.

They did not speak

because they were listening to God.

They fasted

because they were fed by the word of God.

It was the end that mattered,

the ascetic practices

were only a means. (p. xxv)

The cell was of central importance

in the monks’ asceticism.

“Sit in our cell and it will teach you everything,” they said.

The point was

that unless a man could find God here,

in this one place, his cell,

he would not find him by going somewhere else.

And to stay in one’s cell

meant to stay there in mind as well as in body.

To stay there in body,

but to think about the outside world,

was already to have left it. (p. xxv)

demons:

The Desert Fathers had

a deep understanding of the connection

between man’s spiritual and natural life:

this gave them a concern for the body

which was part of their life of prayer.

Much of their advice was concerned with

what to eat,

where to sleep,

where to live,

what to do with gifts,

and -- very specially -- what to do about demons. (p. xxv)

The desert itself was the place

of the final warfare against the devil,

and the monks were “sentries

who keep watch on the walls of the city.” (p. xxvi)

But most of the advice given

was not about objective, personalized demons;

nor was it about holy thoughts,

or the pattern of the spiritual life,

or the dark night of the soul.

When it was not about ordinary Christian charity,

it was about the vices.

The knowledge of how to deal with the passions

was learnt slowly, by long, hard living,

but it was the great treasure

for which men

came to the desert from the cities.

It was this aspect of warfare with demons

that was called “ascesis,”

the “hard work” of being a monk.

Abba Pambo came to Abba Anthony and said: “Give me a word, Father,” and he said, “Do not trust in your own righteousness; do not grieve about a sin that is past and gone; and keep your tongue and your belly under control . . . .” (p. xxvi)

X. Prayer

About prayer itself,

the Desert Fathers had little to say;

the life geared towards God was the prayer;

and about contemplation, who could speak?

The usual pattern was to say the Psalms,

one after another, during the week,

and to intersperse this with weaving ropes,

sometimes saying,

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me.”

The aim was hesychia,

quiet, the calm

through the whole man

that is like a still pool of water,

capable of reflecting the sun.

To be in a true relationship with God,

standing before him in every situation --

that was the angelic life,

the spiritual life,

the monastic life,

the aim and way of the monk.

It was life oriented towards God. (p. xxvi)

XI. Conclusion

This personal integrity before God,

without any disguise or pretensions,

is the essence of the spirituality of the desert.

All ascetic effort,

all personal relationships,

life in all its aspects,

was to be brought slowly

into the central friendship

with God in Christ.

All the means to this end

were just that,

means and no more;

they could be changed

or discarded

as necessary.

Constant, continuing formation and reformation,

as an antidote to the deformation

caused by the world, the flesh, and the devil

was the goal of the Desert Fathers.

And in their uncompromising approach,

the Desert Fathers

energetically and relentlessly cooperated

with God’s drawing them

into deeper relationship with He who is.

The Desert a City: An Introduction to the Study of Egyptian and Palestinian Monasticism Under the Christian Empire
by Derwas James Chitty interlibrary loan request made, Fri., May 2, 2003