Introduction
"... Abba John said that a hermit saw in a rapture three monks standing on the edge of the sea and a voice came to them from the other side saying, ‘Take wings of fire and come to me.’
The first two did so and reached the other shore, but the third stayed where he was crying and weeping. Later on, wings were given to him also, not of fire, but weak and feeble so that he reached the other shore with great difficulty, sometimes in the water, sometimes over it. So it is with the present generation: the wings they are given are not of fire, they are weak and feeble...
The first two did so and reached the other shore, but the third stayed where he was crying and weeping. Later on, wings were given to him also, not of fire, but weak and feeble so that he reached the other shore with great difficulty, sometimes in the water, sometimes over it. So it is with the present generation: the wings they are given are not of fire, they are weak and feeble...
- The Sayings of the Desert Fathers
About a decade ago, one young woman who was almost unconsciously seeking her vocation was visiting a very famous and beautiful monastery. Though it is a relatively new monastery, having been built in the 20th century, it has become famous by the countless miracles that took place there, whose fame had brought riches to the monastery from all over the world. It was like paradise on earth: impeccable gardens, masterfully built stone walls, and a church with an interior decorated entirely in 24 carat gold mosaics. On the monastery's feast day, for which the young woman had the privilege to be present, thousands of people overwhelmed the monastery grounds, standing in line for hours just to venerate the miraculous icon, while a professional Byzantine choir's beautiful chants and the radiant vestments of the numerous clergymen transported the minds of everyone present to the heavenly realm. A day later, when the bustle had passed, the young woman again visited the monastery and enjoyed coffee with an aging nun who still looked exhausted from the great pressure of the previous day's labors. Somehow the subject came up of whether there were new women joining the monastery. The veteran nun shook her head sadly. No one is interested in being a nun anymore, she said, because we don't have television.
Now, ten years later, something similar would still be true, except that we have an even greater and all-encompassing possessor of our minds and souls: the internet, and smart phones, without which most people cannot even imagine life anymore. The world's nets have become even tighter. How appropriate that this now ubiquitous thing is called the web, or the internet. It has ensnared our minds, and if we are not very careful, our souls. Nonetheless, as with many human inventions, all of which are allowed by God, it can be used for good or evil. Thus we would like to offer by this same means a glance into the life a monastic struggling in these last times. It is one experience out of many, though we all agree that we are that third monk who was given the weak and feeble wings. We ask ourselves, how can we spoiled, modern people live this exalted monastic life? In this series of posts, we will examine the various aspects of monastic life which were taught to us by the holy fathers, and one contemporary person's experience with them. No matter how weak our wings may be, our destination is the same glorious one as that of the fiery-winged monks, and we would be utterly foolish not to seek it out.
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