Saints: Life & Times
Lesson 4: Monastic Beginnings
Deals with the early rise of monasticism: The Desert Fathers and the Rule Givers.
The Desert
St. John the Forerunner from Monasteryicons.com. The photo is in the public domain. In this representation, St. John wears two garments: on his right a tunic of rough fibers, symbolizing his austere practices, and on his left a woven cloak, recalling the cloak of Elijah. Jesus referred to John as Elijah, whose return would herald the coming of the Messiah (Matt. 17:10-13).
The wilderness calls to all of us: “Come apart; leave your work and your worry and be refreshed.” For some souls, this is a call to their life’s work. They seek God where He can best be found: in quiet moments, far removed from the noise and distractions of a world that has no time for Him. There in the desert, they seek to know Him, to love Him and to serve Him; and, strange to say, these hermits come to a profound understanding of the world they left. Personal involvement no longer obscures their vision. Through prayer, meditation and contemplation, they become increasingly aware of two great truths: how much God loves them and how unworthy they are of that love.
Troubled times drove many people into the wilderness. They wished to escape persecution, exorbitant taxation, conscription into the army, or some great personal trouble, as Moses had done when he murdered an Egyptian. Arianism infected many diocese with its denial of Christ’s Divine Nature. Emperors were not immune: many forced orthodox bishops into exile and replaced them with Arians, who considered the Emperor as head of both state and church. Many were led astray. Thousands who knew the truth were banished or fled to the desert. Sincere and committed Catholics, like St. Benedict, were disgusted with the corruption of the fading Empire and the immorality of their pagan neighbors. Not trusting in their own strength, they feared that they, too, would be persuaded to accept vice as normal and lose the great gift of faith. Some (most notably bishops) chose not to go because of serious commitments, but all admired the desert fathers and were bolstered by their prayers and by their counsel.
Of those who did go, not all were called to stay. The roster of those who returned strengthened by their experience reads like a Who’s Who of contemporary saints: Augustine, Jerome, Athanasius and John Chrysostom were among the most famous. Yet the eremetical (solitary) life appears so early in the history of Christianity that it may well have been following an earlier tradition. The Essenes had drawn apart from Jewish society some time earlier in order to live an ascetic life. Mount Carmel stands honeycombed with caves that sheltered hermits and prophets. The Chosen People had wandered in the desert for forty years, until they were purged of sin. Even more important to Christians was the example of John the Baptist and of Jesus. Both had fasted and prayed in the desert before starting their public ministry. Jesus often went apart “to a desert place” to pray at night. A disciple can do no better than imitate his Master.
The early Christian hermits were seldom recluses. Most did not shun the society of men; indeed, they were famous for their hospitality. Rufinus and six other travelers went to visit several of the desert fathers. He writes in the Historia Monachorum in Aegypto:
When we were drawing near this place they were aware that foreign brethren were approaching, and at once they poured out of their cells like a swarm of bees. With joyful speed and glad haste they run to meet us. (Benedicta Ward’s Introduction to "The Lives of the Desert Fathers," Cistercian Publications, 1980. p. 3.)Only people of the opposite sex were avoided, for the memory of such encounters proved to be a weapon in the hand of the enemy, either the flesh or the devil, and mastering the flesh was paramount in the journey to holiness. Asceticism was not an end in itself, but a means of taming the flesh. The word itself derives from ascesis, the Greek word for athletic training, and Warren H. Carroll in his book "The Building of Christendom" devotes a chapter to 'Athletes of Christ.' Of course, there is a precedent for this, too.
Do you not know that those who run in a race, all indeed run, but one receives the prize? So run as to obtain it. And everyone in a contest abstains from all things – and they indeed to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable. I, therefore, so run as not without a purpose; I so fight as not beating the air; but I chastise my body and bring it into subjection, lest perhaps after preaching to others I myself should be rejected. (1 Cor. 9:24-27)The chastisements were many and severe: isolation, fasting, bad water, vigils, ceaseless prayer, and whatever else they felt necessary to subdue the flesh, make reparation for their sins, and obtain God’s mercy on their times.
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