How to gain nuggets of wisdom from the Desert Fathers and Mothers

Waiting for Hope

To rest
To rest apart
To rest apart in quiet
Can be a place
To gently hold
The hand of one's own soul
The only one you could turn to
Who would simply be
With you
just sitting
And together feel the strength
Of the firm ground
Beneath you
Cradling the weight of every burden ever born
While also honoring
The cell of the soul
A sanctuary of holy solitude
A place of waiting
Where hope can be found
And embraced with open arms
Of welcome

~by Paulette Jackson

In the past few years, I have appreciated reading the works of wisdom by teachers, known as Desert Fathers and Mothers; monks who embraced their own pilgrimage journey to deepen their spiritual life. 

One of the sweetest “nuggets” I have been thankful to receive, is credited to a monk named Abba Moses. When asked once, to offer a word to a new monk, the reply recorded by Abba Moses, was a simple message, but one that also included a discipline; “Sit in your cell and your cell will teach you everything.”

Sitting in our own proverbial cell, offers an invitation to turn our attention to a divine work in our lives. A practice of patience, along with learning deep listening and an openness to ourselves and the shadows of our souls, we can begin the journey of transformation into a deepening of wisdom and grace.

In the past months, it seems, we have seen our world, as well as our lives, be bombarded with confusion, fear, and chaos, taxing our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual resources for sustaining stability in our hearts, lives and spirits.

Perhaps, what we may be being summoned to, is a rest – an invitation to sit in our own cell, that Holy place, where we can be taught – everything. Whether our “cell” is a favorite place in our home, a chapel, or the inside of the outside of Heaven’s room, it is a space that offers us a place of peace, to be with ourselves and the Holy, who comforts us and reminds us just how very much we are loved.

Paulette Jackson