Desert Fathers Dispatch

“Go sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.”  from The Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Asking for a word of salvation from a monk or nun was a common practice in early Christianity.  Some pilgrims visited monastics with deep sincerity striving for a teaching to overcome habitual sins or discover God’s will.  Others wanted a quick saying from a famed elder to take back to the home village as a boasting point.  The answer Moses gave a man applies to a full spectrum to any such word seeker, “Go sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.”

A monastic cell is a sparse and lonely dwelling without luxuries.  The bed was little more than a woven mat.  There would be a water pot, eating dish, few clothes, an icon or two, and a few holy books (the Bible, as we know it, was not widely available).  But it is there that one could be alone in prayer, review thoughts, commit to confession and repentance, study, and have thoughts directed by God.  No worldly interferences and opinions.  Of course, going to worship is essential.  The priest gives absolution and the eucharist.  Even a deaf mute can offer a smile of encouragement instead of a word.  But there is no substitute for the place where we must face God and self.  We must go to our cell.

Not everyone is called to live in a desert hut or a freezing cabin.  Almost all of us have electronic gadgets in arm’s reach.  Our homes may have impressive theaters and “Man Caves.”  These things have their place.  If they are distracting us from facing God and ourselves, they interrupt spiritual growth.  Reading volumes of spiritual text, attending all of the Lenten services, using a 300 knot prayer rope cannot replace the necessary quiet place of correction, instruction, and healing.  We must go to our cell. 

Make cell time physical.  If not an entire room in the house, a small corner with an end table, Bible, prayer book, and icon is sufficient.  Have a few minutes a day dedicated to this location.  Make cell time spiritual.  Even if you can’t get to the location, walk away from your busy-ness and turn your thoughts to God.  If needed, your cell can be almost anywhere.  Converse with your spiritual father or mother for recommended prayers and readings.  Remember when your parents sent you to your room?  Yeah, like that.