A Daily Lent

Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent – March 21, 2015 One day Abba Arsenius consulted an old Egyptian monk about this own thoughts. Someone noticed this and said to him, “Abba Arsenius, how is it that you with such a good Latin and Greek education, ask this peasant about your thoughts?” He replied, “I have indeed been taught Latin and Greek, but I do not know even the alphabet of this peasant.” [Benedicta Ward, The Sayings of the Desert Fathers , p. 10] As a young adult in the late 1970’s, I was invited to hear Tom Landry speak at a big Fellowship of Christian Athletes luncheon in downtown Tulsa. Coach Landry led the Dallas Cowboys to several Super Bowls and was well-respected as a coach and leader. He was never an exciting speaker (in my opinion), but had a low-key way that seemed sincere and appealing. His talk in Tulsa was a big deal and drew a large following. What I remember most about his long, long talk that day, however, is that Coach Landry didn’t talk about football, ...

Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent – March 20, 2015 Having withdrawn to the solitary life he [Arsenius] made the same prayer again and he heard a voice saying to him, “Arsenius, flee, be silent, pray always, for these are the sources of sinlessness.” [Benedicta Ward, The Sayings of the Desert Fathers , p. 9] Arsenius was one of the most noted of the Desert Christians. Born about 360 in Rome, he was a well-educated and important person in Rome. A man of senatorial rank, he served as a personal tutor within the emperor’s palace. Desiring a life of meaning in God, he fled Rome secretly, sailing to Alexandria in Egypt. From there, he went into the desert as a novice under Abba John the Dwarf. Arsenius was known for his austerity and the depth of his silence. His degree of formal education was unusual in the desert, and made him seem forbidding to many of the other desert monks. He may be the poster-child for simplicity among the Desert Christians. By leaving the royal palace in...