The holy men and women who lived through dark periods of challenge and uncertainty can guide and counsel us with their wisdom. Their words are a reminder that while all this is new to us, it is not new to the Church.
Church history is full of seasons of change: plagues, wars, persecutions, and scandals. In each new season we able to look back and learn from the saints who came before us.
However, each new season looks a little different. The suppression of public Masses on the highest of all Holy Days is devastating. Those of us who spent Easter Sunday bereft are left seeking ways to rejoice with the Risen Christ in our modern desert.
Fortunately for us, our history is full of wise older brothers and sisters whose faith blossomed through lonely Easters under the desert sky. They fully understand the value of solitude which, like the poet, Rilke reminds us “will be a support and a home… even in the midst of very unfamiliar circumstances.”
Who Are the Desert Fathers?
Beginning in the 3rd century, the deserts of Egypt become a home to many devote and hermits who fled the cities to find holiness through asceticism.
The desert fathers and mothers lived in huts or isolated monasteries, fasting, praying, and drawing inspiration from Christ’s time in the wilderness.
St. Anthony the Great is the most famous of the desert fathers and the founder of desert monasticism. Of course, many of these holy men and women had access to the liturgy; but others, who’s asceticism took them further and further into the wilderness, were almost as deprived of Sacraments as we are today.
Yet the priorities of the Desert Fathers were entirely different from the ones we’re seeing in this modern desert. If we look to the wisdom of these desert mothers and fathers, we will learn to love our solitude and carry it with us into the busy world again when all this forced isolation is over.
The Four Pillars of the Desert Fathers for Quarantine
For many 3rd century Christians, the legalization of Christianity was an unmitigated blessing. Safe from persecution, Catholics could finally practice their faith without fear.
Others thought that the dangers of a comfortable Church were worse than persecution.
Those who fled to the desert sought to escape both the comforts of mainstream living and the compromise of a united Church and state. To maintain a vibrant faith, the desert fathers and mothers left conventionality behind and rushed to live out the Gospels through four ascetic practices.
Withdrawal from Society
We may feel we have this first practice down perfectly. After all, we’re trapped at home and forbidden from all but the most basic, unfulfilling activities.
Essentials like Mass, Confession, and social gatherings are forbidden to us while activities like grocery shopping and exercise are stripped of every shed of human interaction. Society has withdrawn itself from us and we feel the loss.
For the desert fathers, our forced isolation only distracts from the more essential quiet of true solitude. As Amma Matrona says:
It is better to have many about thee and to like the solitary life in thy will, than to be alone, and the desire of thy mind be with the crowd.
It is only when we give our souls space, away from the crowd: the distractions of social media as well as the busy rush of work and play – that we can see the waters of the soul still and calm.
The desert fathers understood that:
he who abides in the midst of men: because of the turbulence, sees not his sins; but when he hath been quiet, above all in solitude, then does he recognize his own default (abbot Nilus).
In this quiet time away from the crowds – whether alone or in a monastic sort of family solitude – we have the opportunity to grow in intimacy with Christ and our own souls. Daily examinations of conscience, daily acts of contrition, and focused devotions to the spotless Mother of God are all ideal ways to allow our solitude to nurture holiness in imitation of the desert monastics.
Stillness (or Hesychasm)
Interior silence or stillness was one of the driving practices of the desert fathers. The practice allows for meditative prayers to work on the soul of the individual and teach interior stillness.
In a deeper way than merely fleeing from the world, Hesychasm embraces solitude and gives space to the still, small voice of God. As the abbot Moses said the uncertain monk:
Go and sit in thy cell, and thy cell shall teach thee all things.
It can be overwhelming to sit in the cell of our own houses and still try to find solitude. After all, the idea of monasticism looks quite different from the practice of isolation. But ideals are often misleading.
If we allow ourselves to be formed by the silence and loneliness of our own little cells – whether they are cells full of chattering children or tiny, isolated apartments – then we can learn from those cells and grow towards God. Even in these Sacramentally-deprived times, we can listen for Christ in the silence and learn from Him in the still moments of our long, anticipatory days.
Charity and Hospitality
One of the hardest virtues for us to embrace during this quarantine time is hospitality. Reaching out to shower love and welcome on our fellow man is something we’re often too willing to sacrifice in the name of public health.
But for the desert fathers, the love of neighbor was one of the most important practices. And the monk who refused to sacrifice his solitude to care for his brother was a cause of scandal.
Hermits frequently broke fast to welcome visitors or offered all their week’s food to satisfy a hungry traveler. They gave up solitude to tend the sick and cared little for bodily health.
My rule is to receive thee with hospitality and send thee away in peace
said the desert fathers to those who visited them. How can we do the same?
In this time of mandated isolation, how do we receive in hospitality?
There are so many ways. We can write real letters and send them off with love to our far-away-friends. We can drop off fresh-baked bread to our isolated neighbors. We can listen to the lonely people who pour their hearts out to us at grocery stores and gas stations.
Most of all, we can remind those people whose homes are so unwelcoming, so desperately lonely that they can hardly constitute a ‘shelter’ that they aren’t really as alone as they feel.
However you feel you can express hospitality to your neighbors, do so with enthusiasm.
Scripture
It’s said of St. Mary of Egypt that she lived on the Word of God in the wilderness. She who had never received instruction in the faith was taught by angels in the desert.
St. Zosima recounts that her knowledge of the psalms and Gospels was impressive. Like many of us today, she was not able to receive Communion often. In fact, we only know of her receiving twice in her life, but her devotion and longing for intimacy with Christ allowed her to live in His Word as she dwelt in the desert.
Meditate without ceasing on the Gospel or the other Scriptures
St. Macarius the Great entreats us. In this season, pick a chapter or verse that challenges you to live more completely for Christ and meditate on it each day.
Our Quarantine Desert
Easter has come, Alleluia! But our desert continues. Our churches are still shut against us and we still wait in joyful hope for Christ our Liberator.
As we wait, the desert fathers and mothers offer us their wisdom. The interior quiet of solitude and hospitality – inspired by the word of God can make even the desert a place of joy and beauty.
