THE EARLY CHURCH MOTHERS OR DESERT MOTHERS
It has been shown that there were thousands of women who lived in the desert and played leadership roles among the Christians. Some of the most important who have come down to us are Amma Sarah, Amma Syncletica and Amma Theodora. The term “Amma”, in much the same way as “Abba”, designates the spiritual mother and father who were the counsels and wise teachers who were sought out for their words of wisdom. In fact, the desert mothers and fathers can be considered the so-called “pioneers of the spiritual mother/father tradition.”
Selected quotes from the Desert Mothers:
“If any fall, you say with humility: ‘Forgive me,’
then it will be forgiven you.”
“May your mind always be in the Kingdom of Heaven,
and soon you will inherit it.”
“Psalmody and reading, fasting and night prayer in silence,
my child, all transform the soul to God.”
“If you think upon that which is good, you will be disposed to it.
Human thought is never hidden from God. For this reason,
your thoughts must always be clean of all evil.”
“Staying awake to meditate cleanses the mind,
fasting humbles the body,
Prayer unites us to God.”
The above quotes are quoted from Matericon: Instructions of Abba Isaiah to the Honorable Nun Theodora. Quoted in “A Glimpse into the Wisdom of the Desert Mothers: Bibliography and Prayer for Modern-Day Practitioners,” by V.K. McCarty. PDF downloaded from Academia.edu, page 5.
– The Desert Mothers: Spiritual Practices from the Women of the Wilderness, Mary C. Earle, New York City: Morehouse Publishing, 2007.
– Wisdom of the Desert: Sayings from the Desert Fathers of the Fourth Century together with Selections from “The Protreptikos of Clement of Alexandria and The Spiritual Father in the Desert Tradition, Thomas Merton, London
ew York: Burns & Oates, 1997. (Merton’s study incorporates sayings from the ammas as well.)
– Harlots of the Desert: A Study of Repentance in Early Monastic Sources, Benedicta Ward Cistercian Publications, 1987.