St. Arsenius
Desert Father & Anchorite, 350 - 445 A.D.
Flee, hide,
be silent,
pray continuously,
for in these
are the roots of sinlessness
The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, p.9
Cell of a monk discovered in Scetis, Egypt. Saint Arsenius might have lived in a cell like this one.
Linda - November, 2023 - St. Arsenius, who is perhaps my favourite desert father, was born in Rome in the year 350 or 360. Because his father was a rich senator, he became a well educated man, which then drew the attention of the Byzantine emperor Theodosius I who needed a tutor for his two sons. So Arsenius went to Constantinople in 383 and began to educate the two princes while living at court. It was a sumptuous life, but over time, he felt a growing desire to leave this life and renounce the world.
Since his parents had seen to his spiritual formation, Arsenius was a man of prayer and it was during one of his times of prayer that he asked the Lord, "Teach me how to be saved". The accounts differ as to what the Lord answered but I prefer the wording of the quote above. In true form he took the Lord at His word so he left his old life behind and went to live in the desert of Scetis in Egypt. Once there, having embraced the very demanding life of a hermit, he once again asked God to teach him how to be saved.
What fascinates me is that the Lord gave him the very same answer! Arsenius had devoted himself completely to his new call by "burying" himself in the desert, living a life of silence, solitude and austerity, and yet, it seemed that this wasn't quite enough. The Lord wanted him to know that we can indeed leave "city life" and all of its trappings behind us. We can eliminate all of the exterior distractions and that is a great accomplishment in our journey with the Lord. But there is an interior journey that is perhaps even more arduous; to silence all of the distractions within us, to set our minds only on Christ, to think only thoughts that serve us well, to eliminate voices and people from the past that can still speak in our heads.
Arsenius' first journey was more of an external one, and then the Lord invited him into the much greater journey that is hidden, invisible, and of the heart. This journey, Arsenius gladly embraced...so much so that when a younger monk came to visit him one day, waiting at the door of his cell, he peered in and saw Arsenius all aflame! He had become a flame of love, just like his Lord.
Click on the picture below to read a quote from another desert monk from the 12 century, St. Peter of Damaskos. His description of what great faith does in our souls is so very encouraging!
