The Desert of the Heart

Daily Readings with the Desert Fathers

£6.50

Benedicta Ward SLG, The Desert Fathers

ISBN: 978-0-7283-0290-7

LENGTH: 66 pages

Fairacres Publications 179

2016

Stories and sayings from the fourth-century Desert Fathers in their life of solitude, silence and unceasing prayer. Spiritual wisdom, sharp humour and startling insight into human nature.

The way of life of the fourth-century Desert Fathers, with its emphasis on solitude, silence and unceasing prayer, has inspired many modern spiritual writers.
Why do the Desert Fathers have so much to say to us? To answer this question, Sister Benedicta presents some of the best and most illuminating stories and sayings from the desert. Readers will find spiritual wisdom, along with sharp humour and startling insight into human nature.

Additional information

ISBN

978-0-7283-0290-7

Length

66 pages

Author

Benedicta Ward SLG, The Desert Fathers

ISSN

0307-1405

Book Size

140 x 210 mm

Subtitle

Daily Readings with the Desert Fathers

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Author Bio

Sister Benedicta Ward SLG (1933–2022) entered the Community of the Sisters of the Love of God in 1955. She taught spirituality in the University of Oxford and was an Emeritus Fellow of Harris Manchester College. She wrote a number of books on early monasticism and on the Middle Ages, and was one of the world’s leading writers on the legacy of the Desert Fathers. Her published works include books on the Desert Fathers, the Venerable Bede, St Anselm, and on miracles and relics in the Christian tradition.

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The Desert Fathers were Christian hermits, ascetics and monastics who, from about the third century onwards, abandoned the cities of the pagan world to live a life of solitude in the Egyptian desert. In time, they developed a reputation for holiness and wisdom, and had a major influence on the development of Christian spirituality. Many became important figures in the Church and in society. Some embraced a way of life which offered aspects of community living. The desert was a school of self-discipline and resistance to temptation, in order to follow God’s call in a more concentrated way. The Desert Fathers emphasized meditation, the essential place of Scripture, the primacy of love, and the search for God leading through purgation to the purity of heart needed for the vision of God.

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