The Roots of Christian Mysticism Session 7
Essential qualities to accompany Kim Nataraja's "The Desert Fathers and Mothers" talk, The London Christian Meditation Centre, St Mark's, Clerkenwell, 01 November 2005.

Essential Qualities

1. The beginning of truth is to wonder at things (Plato)

2. Only wonder can comprehend his incomprehensible power. (Gregory of Nissa)

3. One of the wise men of that time went to find the holy man Anthony and asked him: ‘Father, how can you be happy when you are deprived of the consolation books can give?’ Anthony replied:, ‘My philosopher friend, my book is the nature of creatures; and this book is always in front of me when I want to read the word of God.’ (quoted by Evagrius in Practicus or the Monk)

4. As for those who are far from God….God has made it possible for them to come near to the knowledge of him and his love for them through the medium of creatures. These he has produced, as the letters of the alphabet so to speak, by his power and wisdom, that is to say, by his Son and by his Spirit.. The whole of this ministry is performed by creatures for the benefit of those who are far from God. (Evagrius – Letter to Melania)

5. “Lift the stone and you will find me, cut the wood in two and I’ll be there.” (Gospel of Thomas)

6. In the words of Thomas Merton, “What the Fathers sought most of all was their own true self, in Christ. And on order to do this, they had to reject completely the false, formal self, fabricated under social compulsion in ‘the world’.

7. A brother in Scetis went to ask for a word from Abba Moses and the old man said to him, “Go and sit in your cell and your cell will teach you everything."

8. We pray in our room when we withdraw our hearts completely from the clatter of every thought and concern and disclose our prayers to the Lord in secret and, as it were intimately... We pray with the door shut when, with closed lips and in total silence, we pray to the searcher not of voices but of hearts.

9. Amma Syncletica said, "There are many who live in the mountains and behave as if they were in the town, and they are wasting their time. It is possible to be a solitary in one's mind while living in a crowd, and it is possible for one who is a solitary to live in the crowd of personal thoughts."

10. Having withdrawn from the palace to the solitary life, Abba Arsenius prayed and heard a voice saying to him, "Arsenius, flee, be silent, pray always, for these are the source of sinlessness."

11. The same Abba Theophilus, the archbishop, came to Scetis one day. The brethren who were assembled said to Abba Pambo, 'Say something to the Archbishop, so that he may be edified.' The old man said to them, 'If he is not edified by my silence, he will not be edified by my speech.'

12. Once Abba Macarius, after he had given the benediction to the brethren in the church at Scete, said to them: ’Brethren fly!’ One of the elders answered him ‘How can we fly further than this, seeing we are here in the desert?’ Then Macarius placed his finger on his mouth and said ‘Fly from this’. So saying he entered his cell and shut the door.

13. When attention seeks prayer it finds it. For if there is anything that marches in the train of attention it is prayer; and so it must be cultivated. (Evagrius)

14. There was another spiritual man about whom we have read. While he was praying one day a viper crawled up to him and seized his foot. He did not so much as lower his arms until he finished his customary prayer, and he suffered no harm whatever from thus loving God above his own self. (Evagrius)

15. One of the Fathers said, ‘In the same way as you cannot see your face in troubled water, the soul, if it is not emptied of foreign thoughts, cannot reflect God in contemplation.

16. Abba Macarius while he was in Egypt discovered a man who owned a beast of burden engaged in plundering Macarius' goods. So he came up to the thief as if he was a stranger and he helped him to load the animal. He saw him off in great peace of soul saying, 'We have brought nothing into this world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.' (1Tim.6.7) 'The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.' (Job 1.21)

17. Abba Theodore, surnamed Pherme, had three good books. He went to abba Macarius and said to him, "I have three good books, and I am helped by reading them; other monks also want to read them and they are helped by them. Tell me, what am I to do?" The old man said, "Reading books is good but possessing nothing is more than all.' When he heard this, he went away and sold the books and gave the money to the poor.

18. It was said of Abba Ammoes that when he went to church, he did not allow his disciple to walk beside him but only at a certain distance; and if the latter came to ask him about his thoughts, he would move away from him as soon as he had replied, saying to him, 'It is for fear that, after edifying words, irrelevant conversation should slip in, that I do not keep you with me.'

19. When you are praying do not fancy the Divinity like some image formed within yourself. Avoid also allowing your spirit to be impressed with the seal of some particular shape, but rather, free from all matter, draw near the immaterial Being and you will attain to understanding. (Evagrius)

20. God is without quantity and without all outward form.

21. Abba Doulas, the disciple of Abba Bessarion said, 'One day when we were walking beside the sea I was thirsty and I said to Abba Bessarion, "Father, I am very thirsty." He said a prayer and said to me, "Drink some of the sea water." The water proved sweet when I drank some. I even poured some into a leather bottle for fear of being thirsty later on. Seeing this, the old man asked me why I was taking some. I said to him, "Forgive me, it is for fear of being thirsty later on." Then the old man said, "God is here, God is everywhere."

22. I had a strong inclination now to fasting. I found that when I fasted my brain became clear and my prayer gained in fervour and intensity, but the moment I relaxed everything began to fall away from me. (Bede Griffiths – ‘The Golden String’)

23. Amma Syncletica: "Just as the most bitter medicine drives out poisonous creatures so prayer joined to fasting drives evil thoughts away.

24. Abba Isidore the priest said, 'If you fast regularly, do not be inflated with pride, but if you think highly of yourself because of it, then you had better eat meat. It is better for a man to eat meat than to be inflated with pride and to glorify himself.'

25. Someone asked Abba Anthony: “What must one do in order to please God? The old man replied, “Pay attention to what I tell you: whoever you may be, always have God before your eyes: whatever you do, do it according to the testimony of the Holy Scriptures; in whatever place you live, do not easily leave it. Keep these three precepts and you will be saved.”

26. One day Abba Arsenius consulted an old Egyptian monk about his own thoughts. Someone noticed this and said to him, 'Abba Arsenius, how is it that you with such a good Latin and Greek education, ask this peasant about your thoughts?' He replied, 'I have indeed been taught Latin and Greek, but I do not know even the alphabet of this peasant.'

27. A brother asked Abba Sisoes, saying,’What shall I do, abba, for I have fallen? The old man answered: ‘Get up again’. The brother says,’ I got up and fell again.’ The old man continued, ‘Get up again and again. The brother asked,’ Till when?’ The old man answered, ‘ Until you have been seized either by virtue or by sin.’

28. Amma Syncletica: In truth, lack of proportion always corrupts. While you are young and healthy, fast, for old age with its weakness will come. As long as you can, lay up treasure, so that when you cannot, you will be at peace."

29. A hunter in the desert saw Abba Anthony enjoying himself with the brothers, and he was shocked. Wanting to show him that it was necessary sometimes to meet the needs of the brothers, the old man said to him, "Put an arrow in your bow and shoot it." So he did. And the old man said, "Shoot another," and he did so. Then the old man said, "Shoot yet again," and the hunter replied, "If I bend my bow so much, I will break it." Then the old man said to him, "It is the same with the work of God. If we stretch the brothers beyond measure, they will soon break. Sometimes it is necessary to come down to meet their need.

30. Go sell your possessions and give to the poor, and take up your cross so that you can pray without distraction. (Evagrius)

31. They asked Abba Macarius, "How should we pray?" And the old man replied, "There is no need to speak much in prayer; often stretch out your hands and say, "Lord, as you will and as you know, have mercy on me." But if there is war in your soul, add, "Help me!" and because he knows what we need, he shows mercy on us."

32. A single word in intimacy is worth more than a thousand at a distance (Pareneticus- Evagrius)

33. You should, I say, meditate constantly on this verse in your heart…You should not stop repeating it when you are doing any kind of work or performing some service or are on a journey. Meditate on it while sleeping and eating and attending to the least needs of nature. (Cassian)

34. He prays unceasingly who combines prayer with necessary duties and necessary duties with prayer. Only in this way can we find it practicable to fulfil the commandment to pray always. It consists in regarding the whole of Christian existence as a single great prayer. What we are accustomed to call prayer is only a part of it. (Origen – On Prayer)

35. He [the true Gnostic] prays, though, in all situations, whether he is taking a walk or with company or is resting or reading or beginning a task requiring thought. And when in the very ‘chamber’ of his soul he harbours just one thought and ‘with sighs too deep for words’ ‘invokes the father, who is already present while he is still speaking. (Clement of Alexandria – Stromata)

36. Some monks came to see Abba Lucius and they said to him, "We do not work with our hands; we obey Paul's command and pray without ceasing." The old man said, "Do you not eat or sleep?" They said, "Yes, we do." He said, "Who prays for you while you are asleep? Excuse me, brothers, but you do not practice what you claim. I will show you how I pray without ceasing, though I work with my hands. With God's help, I collect a few palm-leaves and sit down and weave them, saying, "Have mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodness; according to the multitude of thy mercies do away with mine offences." He said to them, "Is this prayer or not?" They said, "Yes, it is." And he continued, "When I have worked and prayed in my heart all day, I make about sixteen pence. Two of these I put outside my door and with the rest I buy food. And he who finds the two coins outside the door prays for me while I eat and sleep. And so by the help of God I pray without ceasing."

37. Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and he said to him, "Abba, as far as I can, I say my little office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace and as far as I can I purify my thoughts. What else can I do?" Then the old man stood up and stretched his hands toward heaven; his fingers became like ten lamps of fire and he said to him, "If you will, you can become all flame."

38. At times just as soon as you rise to pray you pray well. At other times, work as you may, you achieve nothing. But this happens so that by seeking still more intently, and then finally reaching the mark, you may possess your prize without fear of loss. (Evagrius)

39. When the demons see that you are really fervent in your prayer they suggest certain matters to your mind, giving you the impression that there are pressing concerns demanding attention. (CoP10)

40. If you wish to pray then it is God you need. He it is who gives prayer to the man who prays. (CoP 58)

41. The Holy Spirit takes compassion on our weakness, and though we are impure he often comes to visit us. If he should find our spirit praying to him out of love for the truth he then descends upon it and dispels the whole army of thoughts and reasonings that besets it. And too he urges it on to the works of spiritual prayer. (CoP 62)