AUTHOR: Thomas Merton
PUBLISHED: Boston, MA: Shambala Publishers, 2004, (128 pages).
Who are the desert fathers? In the fourth century, these people could be found in the deserts of Egypt, Palestine, Arabia, and Persia. They were people of faith who left their cities so that they could venture into the wilderness to be closer to God and cultivate simple practices of the faith. They strive for purity of hearts. In this series, we will be dealing with hermits rather than cenobites. The selections are based on Thomas Merton's book entitled, "The Wisdom of the Desert."
Wisdom from Abbot Pastor Part IV
"Abbot Pastor said: If a man has done wrong and does not deny it, but says: I did wrong, do not rebuke him, because you will break the resolution of his soul. And if you tell him: Do not be said, brother, but watch it in the future, you stir him up to change his life." (184)
"Do not dwell in a place where you see that others are envious of you, for you will not grow there." (78)
Additional Wisdom (Not) from this book
How the abbot Pastor wished to deal gently with one of the Lord's little ones. A brother came to the abbot Pastor and said, "I am working hard at the tilling of my land, for I desire to make a feast for the brethren." The abbot Pastor said to him, "Go in peace, my son, you are doing a good work." Then the brother departed joyfully, and laboured yet more that he might add something to the feast he was preparing. But the abbot Anub, who had heard what was said, rebuked Pastor, saying to him, "Do you not fear God, that you have spoken thus to a brother, telling him to make a feast?" The abbot Pastor, being grieved, was silent. After two days, he sent for the brother to whom he had spoken and, Anub being present, said to him, "What was that which you asked me the other day, for my mind was wandering when I answered you?" The brother replied to him, "I told you about the tilling of my field and the harvest of it, and the feast that I was making." The abbot Pastor said to him, "I thought you were speaking of your brother who is still in the world. The making of feasts is no work for a monk."
The brother was bitterly grieved when he heard this, and cried out, "I know no other good work to do, neither am I able to do any other; may I not till my farm for the sake of the brethren?" So saying, he departed. Then the abbot Anub was exceedingly sorry, and said, "My father, grant me your pardon." Pastor said to him, "Behold! I knew from the beginning that the making of feasts was no work for a monk, but according to the capacity of his mind I spoke to him. At least I excited his mind to a work of love. Now he is sad and despairing, and he will make his feast just the same."
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