Humility, Poverty, and Solitude in Desert Mother’s Lives

993 Words4 Pages
Humility, Poverty, and Solitude in Desert Mother’s Lives Almost everybody has certain values and beliefs that they try to live out in their everyday lives. The Ammas that were cited in The Forgotten Desert Mothers lived out many holy values that most would not even think twice about. Not only did they practice these principles, but they carried them out in the desert. Three of these values include humility, poverty, and solitude. I will explain what these elements mean exactly, how they are obtained or developed, and how they operate in the path of spiritual growth, which progresses from repentance and detachment, to establishing values, to the goal of becoming one with God. One of the most important elements of the spiritual life is humility: the act of turning to God for help, or from a dictionary standpoint, a modest or low view of one’s own importance; humbleness. Humility is obtained by doing everything in the name of God, and not following what you want to do. Amma Syncletica explained that, “we must not seek our own will...but obey our elders in the faith” (57). In order to be humble, we must not pride ourselves in our own thoughts and opinions, but seek obedience through others and most importantly, God. With regards to the path of spiritual growth, this is step one for people who strive for unity with God. During the enlightenment period, “just as a treasure that is exposed loses its value, so a virtue which is known vanishes...so the soul is destroyed by praise and loses all the results of its labor” (59). Here, Amma Syncletica says that in order to keep the value of humility, and progress through this journey, we must not seek praise or acknowledgment for being virtuous. Once we become proud and accustomed to basking in the glory of being humble, or any other virtue, we lose all humility. When one has solidified their connection with God, humility will

More about Humility, Poverty, and Solitude in Desert Mother’s Lives

Open Document