The Desert a City

Monastic living is based on a long tradition, going ultimately to the desert fathers and mothers of the 4th, 5th, and 6th centuries in the middle east, especially in Egypt.  This all seems foreign to us in the 21st century, and admittedly it was a long time ago.  Also these monastic pioneers have gotten a bad reputation (for harshness, extreme behavior, etc.)  largely due to misunderstanding.

The desert tradition arises from telling stories.  As Aelred Glidden OSB tells us in his preface, monks have always told stories.  Certainly in Holy Cross we often remember our brethren now departed and the touching or outrageous things they did.  But as Fr. Aelred says, this is a way of passing on wisdom without being preachy or dogmatic about it. 

Stories told by these desert monks have been gathered into various collections, and a number of these stories from these collections are gathered together and edited by Tim Vivian (a friend of the Mount Calvary community) in a new book entitled "Becoming Fire."  The stories are arranged for reading, one or two a day, loosely connected to the church year, ideal for reading in connection with the daily office or  for personal use.

The stories tend to deal with the reality of what is, rather than any flights of fancy.  They are not theology themselves, but more like the parables of Jesus.  Sometimes they have been compared to the koans of Zen. The are designed to make us stop and pay attention to what is there before us, to challenge us, to lead us further into an understanding of ourselves and to road to God.

We recommend the book highly.  It is published by Cistercian Publications and distributed by Liturgical Press.  Chaucer's Bookstore in Santa Barbara got it for me in a couple of days.  Becoming Fire is apt to enlarge your vision of the spiritual life and will help you understand and appreciate our rule of St. Benedict.  The Desert becomes the City of God!