Desert Wisdom 
Collection of the Wisdom of the Desert Fathers. St.Benedict pointed to the the writings of the early Desert Fathers, specifically mentioning the St. Basil and John Cassian (RB 73:5) as sources for “further perfection.”
On thoughts of the mind
Be attentive to the thoughts of the mind. If some evil thought passes through you, do not get upset, for it is not the transient thoughts of your mind that the knowledge of the Lord of all observes, rather He looks at the depths of the mind to see if you take pleasure in that… Read More ›
Be Careful not to Judge Someone
One day Abba Isaac went to a monastery. He saw a brother committing a sin and he condemned him. When he returned to the desert, an angel of the Lord came and stood in front of the door of his cell, and said, “I will not let you enter.” But he persisted saying, “What is… Read More ›
Abba Helenus and the Crocodile
Abba Helenus visited a certain monastery on a Sunday and found that they were not observing the solemnity of the day. Upon asking why, he was told that the priest who lived on the other side of the river had not come. No one indeed was willing to cross the river for fear of the… Read More ›
Origins of Evil Come from Within
The main sources of the Enemy from which every evil springs are threefold: desire, pleasure, and sadness. These are connected one from another, and one follows another. It is possible to control pleasure to some extent, but impossible to control desire; for the end of pleasure is achieved through the body, but that (of desire)… Read More ›
Leave Vengeance to God
One of the brethren, that had been insulted by another, came to Abbot Sisois and told him the scorn that had been put upon him, and said, “I am set to revenge myself, Father.” And the old man began to entreat him to stay and leave vengeance to God. “I am determined and shall not… Read More ›
Charity above all
There came three old men to the abbot Achilles and one of them was ill spoken of by the other two. One of the three said to the abbot, “Father, make me a fishing-net”; but he refused. And the second said, “Make it for us, so that we may have something to remember you by… Read More ›
That one ought not judge any man
It happened that temptation fell upon a brother in the monastery of abbot Elias, and they cast him out: and he came to the mountain, to abbot Antony. After he had been with him for some time, Antony sent him back to the community whence he had come out. But when they saw him, they… Read More ›
Calming a restless mind
A brother questioned an old man, saying, “My thoughts wander and I am troubled by this.” The old man said to him, “Remain sitting in your cell and your thoughts will come to rest. For truly, just as when the she-ass is tied her colt runs here and there but always comes back to his… Read More ›
The enemies will do nothing to us
Let us likewise understand and take it to heart that while the Lord is with us, the enemies will do nothing to us. For when they come, their actions correspond to the condition in which they find us; they pattern their phantasms after our thoughts. Should they find us frightened and distressed, immediately they attack… Read More ›
Temptations can be a blessing
An old man said, “For nine years a brother was tempted in thought to the point of despairing of his salvation, and being scrupulous he condemned himself, saying, ‘I have lost my soul, and since I am lost I shall go back to the world.’ But while he was on the way, a voice came… Read More ›