Wisdom of the Desert

MARGUERITE THEOPHIL





Once, an old monk who lived in a cave with his disciple became annoyed with the young man and made him leave. When the old man finally went to the entrance and saw the young man still patiently waiting there, he bowed before him, saying, “Come inside. Your humility and patience have overcome my narrow-mindedness. From now on, you are the father, I am the disciple; your good works have surpassed my old age.“This is one of the many stories of the holy desert fathers and mothers, the beloved Abbas' and ` ` Ammas' of fourthcentury Egypt, Syria and Asia Minor, who left the city with its watered down practice of their faith, retreating to the desert to live in prayerful simplicity , in absolute solitude or in small groups. These stories also highlight the discernment and wisdom that knows exactly when to discard these very rules and directions.
Silence had high value. Once, on a visit from Theophilus, bishop of Alexandria, the community said to Abba Pambo, “Say a word or two to the bishop, that his soul may be edified in this place.“ The old man replied, “If he is not edified by my silence, there is no hope that he will be edified by my words.“
Humanness had to prevail, as one of my favourite stories teaches: once, some serious and concerned senior monks came to Abba Poemen and asked, “When we see the brothers dozing in the church, must we rouse them, so that they can be attentive?“ He softly answered, “For my part, when I see a brother dozing, I put his head on my knees and let him rest.“