The Desert Mothers: Spiritual Practices from the Women of the Wilderness [Paperback]

Mary C. Earle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2007

In the same format as Holy Companions and the forthcoming Praying with the

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

The Desert Mothers: Spiritual Practices from the Women of the Wilderness, by Mary Earle

Q&A for The Desert Mothers

By author Mary C. Earle

Who were the desert mothers?

These women lived in the fourth and fifth centuries, C.E. Their way of life came into being after Christianity had become legal and Christians were no longer under persecution. Some had deep questions about an expression of the faith that was taking on the trappings of the Roman Empire. The "red martyrdom" (sacrificing one's life rather than recanting faith in the resurrected Lord) was no longer possible. So the practice of the "white martyrdom" began to appear--women and men going to the deserts of Egypt and the Holy Land, and seeking to live out the Great Commandment: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Luke 10:27, Dt. 6:5, Lev. 19:18) As scholar Roberta Bondi has pointed out, the desert mothers and fathers are remarkable for their daily practice of seeking to "love as God loves."

What do we know about these women?

For one thing, we know there were a lot of them. One historian of the times tells us that there were twice as many women as men in the deserts. Another scholar said that there were so many Christians who sought to live this life in the desert that "the desert became a city." There were even accounts of "tourists" going out to the deserts to observe the ammas and abbas.

We know the names of four of these women whose sayings have been preserved: Amma Matrona, Amma Sarah, Amma Syncletica and Amma Theodora. And we know a little about their lives. We know, for example, that Amma Theodora was what we might call a spiritual director to bishops and other men in pubic position. We know that she was clear in her teaching and strong in her rebukes. We know that Amma Syncletica and her sister sought the life in the desert after their parents died.

Yet surrounding what we know is a vast silence. We have very little record of the thousands of women who lived this life of simplicity, silence and stillness. We have stories of others, such as Mary of Egypt (one good reference for that is Harlots of the Desert by Benedicta Ward).

What does "amma" mean?

The word means "mother." It came to refer to those women who were spiritual mothers to many. They were wise teachers who were sought out for guidance in living the Christian life.

The book is structured around nine concise sayings from the desert mothers. How did we receive these?

The desert tradition was an oral tradition which was then later written down. It was often the case that someone seeking to live a more faithful life would go to an amma (or an abba) and seek guidance with a decision, or a state of confusion, or the life of prayer. The sayings are pretty terse, and sometimes seem completely odd to us. We are inevitably reading them out of context; it helps to imagine two women sitting together, one asking the guidance of the other.

We have many more sayings from the desert fathers. In fact, we have a whole book worth of sayings (The Sayings of the Desert Fathers). The sayings of those four known ammas are included in that collection. Thanks to the work of scholars like Roberta Bondi and Mary Forman, we are beginning to see the ammas in their own light, and to reclaim women's history in this period of the life of the church.

What do these desert mothers have to offer to us today?

I tell students that when we study the desert mothers and fathers, we have to remember that we are looking at a galaxy far, far away. I think it may be beyond the capacity of our imaginations to conceive of their time and culture. That said, it is also true that their sayings speak to deep human yearnings and to perennial human difficulties. We still judge one another constantly, thereby anointing ourselves as if we were God. We still stumble in the practice of living faithfully, and we need support. We still have difficulty being honest with ourselves and with God. The ammas know intimately these movements of the heart and soul, and they encourage us, they confront us and they guide us.

I also find their insistence on practicing silence, solitude and stillness a kind of medicine for our over-heated, frenetic culture. Many women today are trying to balance work, family, volunteering, and participation in a faith community. Our lives are harried, and we have no sense of being able to rest in the divine silence, the Source from which we come and to which we will return. When I am teaching this material, I always begin and end the class with simply sitting in silence. Inevitably, participants remark that it is like getting a drink when you are really thirsty, so thirsty you had forgotten what water tasted like.

The practices that the desert offers us are down to earth, simple ways of allowing ourselves to be reminded that we are always living in the Love which creates, redeems and sustains us. The ammas draw us away from the assumption that technique is what matters. They remind us that this is a way of life.

Do you mean we should all go to the desert and become solitaries?

Certainly not. I mean that the human dimension of life in the desert is common to all of us. We are made for relationship with God and one another--one of the gifts of the Great Commandment is that it calls us to remember that basic truth. Knowing that in the abstract is one thing. Living it out in the nitty gritty of daily rounds is another. The ammas help us to find ways to gently pay attention to God's presence with us in all places and through all things. And they teach us to grow in the awareness that we are each unique, remarkable parts of a vast, vital, interconnected cosmos. We are reminded that we ARE one--that is reality from God's perspective. Our task is to align our lives and our loves in such a way that we participate in that reality. Most of us think we have to make the oneness. The desert knows the fallacy of that perception.

What have you personally learned from the ammas?

First, I have learned to experiment. When these women decided to leave their lives--some of them were learned, some were fairly wealthy, some were prostitutes--they made a choice to try to create something new with one another and with God. There were a variety of models. Some were solitaries. Some were living in community. Some were solitaries who lived in huts, yet came together regularly for worship and meals. Initially, there was no single monolithic pattern. At midlife, I know that many women are trying to find patterns for living that are congruent with their experience and their faith. And sometimes we need examples from women's history to help us find what fits.

Second, the ammas have taught me to set aside time for quiet. There are so many pressures that lead us to be fragmented. The tradition does not deny the pressures. The ammas tells us that God is present even in those daily struggles. I can remember that more readily if I have taken time for quiet.

Third, the ammas take me back to basics. We live in a time in which so much polarization has happened in both the national political arena, and within the church. The ammas invite us to look beyond all the divisive fussing--not to deny it, but to see it as surface reality. They invite us to gaze more deeply, especially in the most tensive of circumstances.

And lastly, the ammas tell me that from the beginnings of the life of the Church, women have been initiators of new patterns and teachings, opening the way for knowing the wholeness that God offers in Christ. When I am reading the stories and sayings of the desert ammas, I am struck by their utter confidence that no matter what, this world belongs to God, is loved by God, and that each person, each creature, each aspect of the created order, is an expression (some would say a theophany, a showing) of God's love.

Product Details

• Paperback: 89 pages
• Publisher: Morehouse Publishing (February 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0819221562
• ISBN-13: 978-0819221568
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 8.8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #182,262 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The Rev. Mary C. Earle is an Episcopal priest, writer, retreat leader and spiritual director, who taught classes in spirituality for the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest in Austin until her recent retirement. A resident of San Antonio, Mary is also the Author-in-Residence at The Work+Shop, a ministry in partnership with St. Mark's Episcopal Church. Her most recently published book, Days of Grace: Meditations and Practices for Living with Illness, is also available as an audio CD. Currently she is working on a new book titled The Celtic Christian Tradition: Essential Writings for SkyLight Paths Publishing. She has also authored The Desert Mothers: Spiritual Practices from the Women of the Wilderness, Beginning Again: Benedictine Wisdom for Living with Illness, and Broken Body, Healing Spirit: Lectio Divina and Living with Illness. With Sylvia Maddox, she co-authored Holy Companions: Spiritual Practices from the Celtic Saints. Mary regularly teaches in a variety of settings in San Antonio, and online for the Seminary of the Southwest. As a member of the leadership team, she participated in the first ecumenical silent retreat at Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio. Mary and her husband Doug, also an Episcopal priest, live with three border collies and two cats, and enjoy growing organic vegetables. Their son Jason lives in New York and is a professor of French.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mary Earle has done it again., February 25, 2007

By 

Deborah Smith Douglas (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Desert Mothers: Spiritual Practices from the Women of the Wilderness (Paperback)

What she did for Celtic Christian spirituality and Benedictine practice in her previous books--combine rich historical and theological background with practical ways to engage a particular way of praying--Mary Earle does here for the tradition of the "desert mothers." She introduces us to some remarkable 4th century women (less well known but no less wise than their male counterparts), and invites us to join them on their journey into God. These desert women take us back to basics: reminding us to stay open to ongoing transformation, to trust in God's abiding Presence, to cherish silence in our noisy world. Weaving together scholarship, story-telling, and shrewd insight from her own experience, Mary Earle leads us to see our daily lives as "the very habitat of God," and shows us "ways of becoming new." Her style is quiet, conversational, disarming--but be warned: the company of these luminous women could change your life. Highly recommended.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars like visiting with a dear friend over coffee or tea, April 3, 2007

By 

Mikail McIntosh-Doty "Mikail" (Austin, Texas USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Desert Mothers: Spiritual Practices from the Women of the Wilderness (Paperback)

Mary Earle, Episcopal priest and teacher, takes tiny gems from the known writings of desert mothers (ammas) to help regular folk deal with and even embrace the desert moments in their lives. Mary is a mother and pastor and a teacher. Her writings here take snippets of writings from Christian women at the birth of Christianity and sift them through her understanding of being in the world. She uses these sayings of the mothers to remind us that deserts, while challenging, are not bad places or places devoid of richness or places of escape. Earle, through her engagement with the writings of these holy women, encourages women (and men) to acknowledge their desert places, to embrace the challenges of such places, and to create cells (holy corners) to make sense of our lives.

It is a short book full of thoughtful passages and practical applications. It would make a lovely gift for anyone, but especially those who feel sort of "stuck" in a desert-like moment.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The Desert Mothers: Spiritual Practices from the Women of the Wilderness", June 13, 2007

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Sr. Gloriamarie Amalfitano "May the Holy Spir... (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Desert Mothers: Spiritual Practices from the Women of the Wilderness (Paperback)

The Desert Mothers: Spiritual Practices from the Women of the Wilderness

There is no denying the impact the Desert Christians had and continue to have on Christian spirituality. Having myself been influenced by the Desert Christians for over twenty years, I welcome Mary C. Earle's book.

Looking at the title I am reminded of the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. The last clause in that recount is "not counting the women and children." Estimates vary. Counting the women and children is thought to increase the number of those fed from 15,000 to 35,000. Even with the more modest 15,000, when we count the women and children it is a far bigger miracle than feeding merely 5,000 men.

Scholars tell us that the number of women in the desert far outnumbered the men. So perhaps it is safe to say that the impact of desert spirituality upon Christianity may be dependent more upon the contribution of women than men, even though only the sayings of four Ammas have been preserved. One can only hope that future archaeological digs will uncover a collection of sayings of the Desert Mothers.

Be that as it may, Rev. Earle has filled a need left lacking in Christianity for far too long. Not only does she answer her own question "where are all the women?", she tells us how to use what we read in the Desert Christians and apply it to our own lives. I say she has supplied a need because most of what is written about the Desert Christians has been scholarly: where did they come from; why did people flock out into the desert; development of monasticism and such topics. In this book, Rev. Earle uses the sayings very much as the first audience must have done: to change one's life in tangible ways.

It could be argued that main reason desert spirituality has been so important is precisely because it address the nitty gritty of how to meet Christ, turn one's back on one's old life to follow Him. The question is often "But how do we follow Jesus? What does that look like? I am sickened by the extravagance all around me, but how can i live differently?"

Could there be a more stark contrast between life in twenty-first century United States and the barren wastes of the deserts of Egypt? In an age when Voluntary Simplicity is a way of life for so many, when people take Internet quizzes to measure how big is their individual impact upon the planet, maybe the Desert Christians have something to say to us. I believe they do.

So does Rev. Mary Earle. In this deceptively short book (less than 100 pages), she uses a saying as a jumping off point, becomes an Amma herself to start us thinking of our homes as our hermitage or what it effect it might have on us were we to be regular in prayer and reading Scriptures. Above I called it a "deceptively short book." This is because its impact is in excess of the number of pages. One every one, Rev. Earle invites us deeper into the life of faith and the most simple lifestyle possible.