The turbulent yet magnificent history of the Church is marked by a particular time, (from the fourth till the sixth century), in which men and women left out the cities and went to seek the Lord’s face in the desert. More is known about the Desert Fathers but less about the Desert Mothers, or ammas, as they are commonly referred to. What is particularly striking about these women is that each and every one of them positively responded to the call of love addressed to her by the Divine Spouse. “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her” (Hos 2, 14).
The ammas were women who gave wise counsel to others. By giving counsel to those who sought their spiritual help, these women of God became “lovers of souls”. Amma Theodora portrays the vocation of a desert mother as being that of a teacher. In one of her dicta she says: “A teacher ought to be a stranger to the desire for domination, vainglory, and pride. A teacher should not be fooled by flattery, nor blinded by gifts, conquered by the stomach, nor dominated by anger. A teacher should be patient, gentle and humble as far as possible; successfully tested and without partisanship, full of concern and a lover of souls”. In what way did the ammas’ wisdom consist of? In simple and plain words it focused on the biblical view of wisdom, mainly the living of the Great Commandment. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself (Luke 10:27; Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18). In Amma Syncletica’s words, this is pure redemption. “Salvation is exactly this – the two-fold love of God and of our neighbour.” The silence and solitude of the desert were for these women solid bastions between which they could recognise (re = again; cognise = to know), i.e. knowing again, who they actually were and who they were called to become before God. In the desert, the ammas discovered that their lives were precious gifts offered to them by God with the concomitant responsibility of living them well. These Godly women were courageous enough to acknowledge their faults together with their inherent call to live truly in Christ. In this way, they ended up becoming more honest with themselves, God and others.
Do we afford taking time to reflect on our lives? Are we bold enough to return to the basics of life, by authentically loving God, others and ourselves? Do we believe that by doing so we become lovers of souls? Are these not the kind of people our society badly needs today?
Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap
San Gwann