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Editor's Preface
Author's Preface

Lecture 1: Early Christian Spirituality, 1st and 2nd Centuries
Spirituality in the Age of Martyrdom | The Ideals of the Compassionate and the Ascetic

Lecture 2: The Early Deviations
Carnality | Montanism | Neoplatonism | Gnosticism

Third Lecture: Christian Teachers of Alexandria
Clement of Alexandria | Origen

Lecture Four: Saint Anthony in the Desert
A Brief Look at Saint Anthony | The Doctrine of Anthony | The Last Years of Saint Anthony

Lecture Five: Saint Pachomius and the Princess Monk
The Princess Monk and the Solitary Monk | The Life of Saint Pachomius | The Rule of Pachomius

Lecture Six: Saint Basil of Caesarea
Life | Writings of St. Basil | The Monastic Life of the Princess Basil

Lecture Seven: Other Cappadocian Fathers, Two Gregories
Saint Gregory of Nazianzus | Saint Gregory of Nyssa | Writings of Saint Gregory of Nyssa

Lecture Eight: The Monastic Life of Palestine and St. Jerome
St. Jerome | Other Controversies in the Life of Jerome | Jerome's Teachings on Monks

Lecture Ninth: The Community of Saint Melania
Saint Melania of Noble | Saint Melania of the Young | Roman Monastic Life in Palestine | Melania's Monastic Life in the East

Lecture Ten: Monastic Life in Mesopotamia and Syria
The Hermits of Nitria and Scetis | Characteristics of Desert Spirituality

Lecture Eleven: Saint Macarius and Pseudo-Macarius
Saint Macarius | Messalianism | Pseudo-Macarius

Lecture Twelfth: On Prayer by Evagir of Pontus
The Importance of Evagrius | What Does Evagrius Mean by Prayer? | Summary of the Stages of Prayer

Lecture Thirteen: John Cassian, Master of the Spiritual Life
Cassian's Error | The Life and Background of Cassian | Finupius Abba | The Desert of Scetis and Nitria | The Origen Controversy | Constantinople and Gaul

Lecture Fourteen: Cassian's Discourses
Discourse 1: The Purpose and Goal of Monasticism | Discourse 2: On Discernment | Discourse 4: Daniel Abba on the Desires of the Flesh and Spirit | Discourses 9 and 10: Isaac Abba on Prayer

Lecture Fifteen: Philoxenus of Marbug
The Foundation of the Spiritual Life | What Is Simplicity? | Letter to a Jewish Proselyte | Letter to a Novice | Desert Sanctuary | On Adultery

A collection of group discussion topics, questions, and additional resources.
English editor's note
List of Patristic Literature

Guidance for life found in the origins of spirituality

What should I do? This question is a shadow that follows us throughout.
When the moment of choice comes, we agonize.
Should I do this or that? Our hectic daily lives always seem to force us to make choices, and modern society subtly encourages us to set personal standards based on what the times venerate.
We enjoy the benefits of a diverse and prosperous society, but the noise of this world sometimes confuses us.


Thomas Merton tells us the story of the early Christian desert fathers.
They are people who were born into the world, but left the world and entered the desert to become one with God.
Some began the monastic tradition by living alone, while others lived communally with other monks.
Merton thought their story would be beneficial to us, not just monks.
Because they too had the same concerns as we do as we live in modern society.
They stood in the desert and asked how they should live, and they found their own answer.
This book tells the story of what they found through Merton's own words.


The Lives of the Desert Fathers by Thomas Merton

Merton organically explains the history of the Desert Fathers, from the period of Christian persecution to the Origen controversy, which triggered the migration of Eastern monasticism to the West.
In this period, when monastic life was not yet fully systematized, monks were at risk of falling into the wrong path due to their own judgment.
Desert monks built monasteries and established standards to prevent this danger.
Obedience and discernment are established as virtues, while distraction, pride, and jealousy are strictly forbidden.
This contains a deeper philosophy than the meaning of the word itself.
The ultimate goal of monastic life was union with God.
Even if you thoroughly practice external rules, fasting, prayer, and labor, it is meaningless if you do not obey from the heart.
The Desert Fathers warn against those who are obsessed with work or fasting, and against those who break the monastic rules through their own arrogance.
Their hearts were impure and they could not discern what was truly important.


What is seen in the solitude of the desert

The most important thing to avoid following their example is discernment, Merton emphasizes.
Just as the Desert Fathers discerned right from wrong based on Christian tradition and Scripture, we too must find our own standards.
Desert spirituality was practiced by simplifying the mind and following the Word of God.
The life of a desert monk was one of constant self-discipline and, at the same time, reconciliation with oneself through God's grace.
This book simultaneously shows their teachings and their real-life experiences, providing readers with both enlightenment and counter-instructions.
This does not mean simply imparting knowledge or following what they did.
This book offers advice on breaking free from the world's demands that oppress us, following the example of Jesus' life, which the Desert Fathers ultimately sought to emulate, and the Word of God.
Desert spirituality takes us into the desert of that time, immersing us in its traditions and giving us the opportunity to re-examine our lives.