Desert Wisdom

"We must direct our souls with discernment."
~~Amma Syncletica

This is the final Desert Wisdom blog as I have essentially exhausted my resources during the past three years.

Fortunately, books on the wisdom of the desert mothers and fathers abound. I imagine they would all find it wonderfully ironic as it was their goal to possess, like Jesus, as little as possible. Yet, there were still those in their own infinite wisdom that had enough foresight to collect the sayings of these men and women and pass them on.

And Thank God that they did so because over the centuries there have been multitudes who have benefited from the wisdom of our desert fathers and mothers.

In creating this blog, I have depended on half a dozen books or so and continue to add more to my "library."

The books I use include:





The Wisdom of the Desert
by Thomas Merton











Orthodox Prayer Life:
The Interior Way
by Matthew the Poor








The Desert Fathers:
Sayings of the Early Christian Monks
by Benedicta Ward







Desert Father:
A Journey in the Wilderness
with Saint Anthony
by James Cowan









The Forgotten Desert Mothers
by Laura Swan










The Desert Mothers:
Spiritual Practices from the Women of the Wilderness
by Mary C. Earle








Soulmaking
by Alan Jones

Laughing at Death

They told the story of a hermit who was dying in Scetis. The brothers stood round his bed, clothed him, and began to weep. But he opened his eyes and began to laugh; this happened three times. So the brothers asked him, "Abba, why are you laughing when we are weeping?"

He told them, "I laughed the first time because you fear death; I laughed the second time because you are not ready for death; I laughed the third time because I am passing from labor to rest, and yet you weep." As he said this, he closed his eyes and died.

A Living Example

Hyperichius said, "He who teaches others by his life and not by his speech is truly wise."

Be Obedient to the Grace of God

A hermit said to a brother, "Do not measure yourself against your brother, saying that you are more serious or more chaste or more understanding than he is. But be obedient to the grace of God, in the spirit of poverty, and in love unfeigned. The efforts of a man swollen with vanity are futile. It is written, 'Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall' (I Corinthians 10:12); 'let your speech be seasoned with salt' (Colossians 4:6) and so you will be dependent on Christ."

Examine Your Conscience

A hermit said to a brother, "When a proud or a vain thought enters your mind, examine your conscience to see if you are keeping God's commandments; ask yourself if you love your enemies; if you rejoice in your enemy's triumph, and if you are sad at his downfall; do you know yourself to be an unprofitable servant and a sinner beyond all others? But not even then must you think that you have corrected all your faults; to entertain such a thought as that would undo all the other good you have done."

~~Proud Cheetah by Wycliffe Ndwiga

Disparage Not Your Brother

Hyperichius said, "It is better to eat meat and drink wine than to eat the flesh of the brothers by disparaging them."

Play the Fool

A hermit said, "When you flee from the company of other people, or when you despise the world and worldlings, take care to do so as if it were you who was being idiotic."

Luke 14:11

A hermit said, "He who is praised and honored above what he deserves suffers grievous loss. He who receives no honor at all among men, shall be glorified hereafter."

Lower Than Every Created Being

A brother said to Sisois, "I look into my own mind and I see that it is recollected and intent upon God."

Sisois said to him, "It is nothing special that your mind should be with God. The great thing is to see yourself to be lower than every created being. Bodily toil will put that right, and lead you on the way to humility."

Speak Right With Your Heart

Poemen said, "If a man appears silent in speech but is condemning other people in his heart, he is really talking incessantly. Another man may seem to talk all day, but he is keeping silence since he always speaks in a way that is right with his heart."

Practice What You Preach

Poemen said, "Experience is good. By experience men are tested."

He also said, "If a man preaches but does not practice what he preaches, he is like a well of water where everyone can quench their thirst and wash off their dirt, but which cannot clean away the filth and dung that is around it."

~~Wishing Well by Dan A. Diaz

Lost Time

A hermit said, "If you lose gold or silver, you can find something as good as you lost. But the man who loses time can never make up what he has lost."

~~Lost Time II by Dae-Yeon Kim

The King's Highway

Joseph asked Poemen, "How should we fast?"

Poemen said, "I suggest that everyone should eat a little less than he wants, every day."

Joseph said to him, "When you were a young man, didn't you fast for two days on end?"

Poemen said, "I used to fast for three days on end, even for a week. But the great hermits have tested all these things, and they found it is good to eat something every day, but on some days a little less. They have shown us that this is the king's highway, for it is easy and light."

Protect Me From My Tongue

Sisois once said with confidence, "For thirty years I have not prayed to God without sin. When I pray, I say, 'Lord Jesus Christ, protect me from my tongue.' Even now, it causes me to fall every day."

Arm Yourself Against Demons

Amma Syncletica said, "We ought to be armed at all points against the demons. They come at us from outside and if the soul is weak we invite them in. Sometimes a ship is crushed by the battering of heavy seas; sometimes it is sunk because bilge water rises slowly within it. In the same way we are sometimes sunk because we have done evil deeds, and sometimes because our thoughts are evil. So we must both watch for the assaults of unclean spirits, and also cleanse the thoughts of our hearts."

~~Cross the Storm by Evgueny Solodky

Dear Prudence

Some brothers once asked Silvanus, "What way of life did you follow to be endowed with such prudence?"

He answered, "I have never let any bitter thought remain in my heart."

~~Prudence by Shawn McNulty

Serve and Be Served

Once some monks came to Scetis, and John the Short was with them. During supper, an eminent presbyter got up to give them each a little water to drink. No one accepted it except John the Short.

The others were surprised and said, "How is it that you, the least of all, dared to accept the ministry of a great old man?"

He replied, "When I get up to hand water round, I am glad if everyone takes it, because I have been able to do them a service and will have a reward. That's why I took it just now, to let the one who offered it have his reward; perhaps he would have been sad if no one accepted it."

They all admired his discretion.

~~Glass of Water with Coffee Pot by Jean Baptiste Simeon Chardin, 1760

Close the Door

A brother said to Sisois, "I want to guard my heart."

Sisois replied, "How can we guard the heart if our tongue leaves the door of the fortress open?"

Salvation

Some of the hermits used to say, "Whatever you hate for yourself, do not do it to someone else. If you hate being spoken evil of, do not speak evil of another. If you hate him who tries to make you despised, or wrongs you, or takes away what is yours, or anything like that, do not do such things to others. To keep this is enough for salvation."

Help Your Brother

A hermit said, "I never wanted work to be useful to me while causing loss to my brother, for I have this hope that what helps my brother will bring fruit to me."