Refreshed from the Desert
Breezes that criss-cross a desert can be as welcome as rain. Any refreshment from the arid heat pleases chastened bodies and souls.
Breezes that criss-cross a desert can be as welcome as rain. Any refreshment from the arid heat pleases chastened bodies and souls.
It appears that the desire for virtue by men and women may have been stronger in bygone seasons. History records their unusual pursuits, reflections and affections.
Abba Euprepius (a fourth century A. D. desert monk) taught: knowing that God is mighty and faithful, have faith in Him and you shall share what is His.
The wisdom of ancient Christian desert-dwellers, these fathers of asceticism still glistens as water in the sun. Christian monasticism was birthed in the fourth century.
Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. (Luke 5:16) A hermit possesses nothing save solitude and the presence of the Lord.
Too often what we say is heard wrongly, or we regret our words almost as quickly as we speak them. Jesus always had His tongue tamed.
Somewhere around 430 AD Abba John traveled to Syria to consult the great Egyptian monk, Abba Poemen. He was now well advanced in years.
A desert monk, Abba Daniel (circa 400 AD) taught: Upon an invitation a monk attended the house of a woman possessed by the devil.
The time to re-set thinking is never too soon. There are vital and life-giving thoughts belonging to those who would re-script and even resist mankind's processes of thinking.
Our minds dance around the delights of the eyes, or spend the lottery win before it is ever drawn. And so our soul only rolls further into restlessness.
Man cannot discover anything about his future. (Ecclesiastes 7:14c) That day dawns when men finally apprehend they have chased after the wind and grasped at vapor.
Deserts are dry, demanding and hot. That is the nature of deserts. Yet, the wisdom from the Desert Fathers is refreshing, simple and cooling to the soul.
Prayer is: the seed of gentlenessthe spirit of trustthe seeking of peacethe absence of angera remedy against griefa salve to depressionthe unbinding of shackles andfreedom to the heart.
Abba Euprepius (a fourth century A. D. desert monk) taught: knowing that God is mighty and faithful, have faith in Him and you shall share what is His.
A disciple once approached Abba Agathon in his 'cell' (a hut or a cave where the desert monks lived) and inquired - I want to live with other brothers, tell me how...
Sometime during the fourth century a desert father named Abba Ephrem trod an ancient road, a prostitute engaged him in conversation.
An old man was sitting in his 'cell' (a hut or a cave where the desert monks lived) and a voice came to him which invited: come and I will show...
Christianity has ancient and varied roots.
Sadly, I am a skilled gardener. Too often I have potted life in the rich soils of poor judgements. This dirt I have watered well and fertilized frequently.