The Desert Fathers and Mothers
Presentation: December 1, 2007
Rev. Mary Earle, M.Div.
Brief Description of Presentation
During the fourth and fifth centuries, C.E., in response to Christianity becoming a legal religion of the Roman Empire, thousands of men and women sought to live out the Great Commandment in the wilderness of the deserts of Egypt, the Holy Land and Syria. Some were hermits. Some were living in the first monastic communities. Their lives were marked by an immediate sense of the divine Presence, and by a desire to listen in silence and stillness for the living Word. In many ways, this is a practical kind of mysticism, embedded in the daily difficulties of learning to embody faith, hope and love. Using some of the sayings and stories from these desert elders, this session will explore the wisdom of their faith and practice.
Prayer Exercise
The meditation will be a form of still prayer.
Preparation for Session and Bibliography
Click below for preparation
articles for the lecture.
Article: Wisdom from the Desert Christians
Article from Spirituality Today http://www.spiritualitytoday.org/spir2day/92441hatch.html
Books:
Bondi, Roberta. To Love as God Loves. Fortress Press, 1987.
Chrysavggis, John. In the Heart of the Desert: The Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers. World Wisdom, 2003.
Nouwen, Henri. The Way of the Heart. Ballantine Reprint Edition, 2003.
Article: "Desert Attentiveness, Desert Indifference: Countercultural Spirituality in the Desert Fathers and Mothers," by Belden C. Lane. Cross Currents 44.2, Summer, 1994.
About Mary Earle
The Rev. Mary Earle is an Episcopal priest in San Antonio who is Author in Residence at The Workshop, a ministry of St. Mark's Church. She also teaches classes in spirituality at the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin. Among her interests are Christian spiritual practice, including prayer, retreats, spiritual direction and rule of life and the ways in which these practices shape moral action in the world. Co‑author of Holy Companions: Spiritual Practices from the Celtic Saints and Praying with the Celtic Saints and author of Broken Body, Healing Spirit: Lectio Divina and Praying with Illness, Beginning Again: Benedictine Wisdom for Living with Illness, and The Desert Mothers: Spiritual Practices from Women of the Wilderness, Mary is currently working on a book about Anglican women. A presenter at the 2003 and 2007 International Thomas Merton Conferences, a regular writer for explorefaith.org, and frequent teacher of online courses for the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, she received the 2003 Durstan McDonald Award for Teaching from ETSS.
Mary C. Earle, B.A. (University of Texas at Austin), M.A. (University of Texas at San Antonio), M.Div. (Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, Austin.