The Way of the Desert Elders - by Lisa Colón Delay (Paperback)

About the Book

Many ancient Christians lived simple lives in barren places. The wisdom of the desert mothers and fathers can help us face the things that plague us today. In The Way of the Desert Elders, Lisa ColÃ3n DeLay invites us to take desert elders from more than a millennium ago as our guides toward peace and spiritual growth.

Book Synopsis

A spiritual expedition into the stories and wisdom of ancient, desert-dwelling Christians, who show us how to forge faith at the edges of empire.

For all that bewilders and bedevils us, the desert mothers and fathers can help us face our circumstances and ourselves. In The Way of the Desert Elders, Lisa Colón DeLay asks: What if desert elders from more than a millennium ago could walk beside us and nourish our spirits now?

Starting in the fourth century, half a million Christians fled the villages and cities of the Roman Empire. Leaving behind comforts, they battled what Evagrius called "afflicting thoughts," which still unsettle us today. Yet they discovered a spirituality durable enough to endure harsh conditions and self-denial, sturdy enough to flourish in abandoned places.

In wise and vivid prose, DeLay introduces us to a cast of characters who were both devoted and flawed. Like us, the desert abbas and ammas wrestled with gluttony, lust, greed, wrath, acedia, despondency, vainglory, envy, and pride. We meet the abba who'd been a crime boss, the amma who once traded sexual favors for a chance to travel, and the archbishop who fled his post because of a scandalous love affair. We learn about the stylite hermits, who lived atop pillars and drew tourists, and about the weaver who prayed so intensely while he worked that he wove a basket larger than himself. DeLay brings the timeless sagacity of these spiritual companions to bear on our own barren times, offering reflection questions, prayers, and suggestions for crafting a rule of life.

Desert spirituality doesn't mean going it alone; it means finding companions to walk with us. With their ordinary longings and extraordinary commitments, the desert elders can lead us toward peace, spiritual growth, and intimacy with God.

Review Quotes

"A good part of our modern malaise owes to our forgetting the great wisdom to be gained from the faithful who came before us. What is most compelling about the desert elders is not their saintliness, but rather that their virtue was so often hard-won--as is our own. Their ways can help us along our way too, if only we will avail ourselves of their examples. The Way of the Desert Elders serves up their wisdom eloquently, compellingly, and generously." --Karen Swallow Prior, author of On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books

"The desert mothers and fathers offer spiritual wisdom that every contemplative should read and ponder. Lisa Colón DeLay offers us a lively and thoughtful guide to several of these ancient mystics through the lens of the seven deadly sins. Colón DeLay invites the reader to identify these universal human patterns within ourselves. She then offers rich practices that are antidotes to open the door to genuine transformation. Highly recommended for serious spiritual seekers." --Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE, author of Desert Fathers and Mothers and more than twenty books on contemplative practice

"The Way of the Desert Elders is a fascinating exploration of a rigorous Christianity that flourished in the early centuries of the faith. In an era when the practice of Western Christianity is often lax and uninspired, Lisa Colón DeLay brings us spiritual wisdom from our desert mothers and fathers--a hard-won wisdom that has the potential to revitalize contemporary Christianity." --Brian Zahnd, author of The Wood Between the Worlds: A Poetic Theology of the Cross

"Colón DeLay expertly introduces and translates the timeless wisdom of the desert ammas and abbas for the present moment. Though I am familiar with the elders, I was continually stunned by the depth of Colón DeLay's insights and applications--a depth rarely seen. If you seek to become more like Christ, read this book carefully and apply what you learn. Colón DeLay and the elders serve as trustworthy guides and are among our great cloud of witnesses. Then be sure to let others know about this book. It is worth much more than its weight in gold. Moreover, the wisdom within it is priceless." --Marlena Graves, author of Bearing God and assistant professor of spiritual formation at Northeastern Seminary on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan University

"The Way of the Desert Elders is a luminous guide to ancient wisdom for modern souls. With warmth and clarity, Lisa Colón DeLay revives the voices of the desert mothers and fathers, inviting us into a spirituality that is earthy, honest, and deeply healing. A beautiful companion for those seeking transformation in a noisy world." --Chuck DeGroat, therapist, professor of counseling and Christian spirituality, and author of Healing What's Within

"The desert ascetics had keen insight into the human spirit and the choices that lead us away or toward the Divine. I appreciate the way Lisa Colón DeLay gifts us with chapters that identify a vice, and then moves into the 'medicine' that the ammas and abbas suggest for the vice to become a virtue. She then explores some of the teachings of Evagrius on growth into holiness and shares some desert practices that we can incorporate into our lives today. I love the earthy humor she brings to these ancient texts, gently weaving in relevance to our lives." --Laura Swan, OSB, author of The Forgotten Desert Mothers