To get to know our desert treasure hunters better, today we are going to take a look at what their daily lives were like. This is important for a better understanding of the later parts of this series.
When we begin to talk about monks today, we unconsciously relate the subject to familiar examples of monastic life as we know it today. It must be said at once that today's religious orders and congregations have accustomed us to a decidedly greater activity of monks on behalf of the community of the Church. In the times to which our series relates, things were very different.
The word monk itself comes from the Greek monachos, which can be translated as 'one'. Our heroes were also called anachorets (from the Greek anachoreo - I go away) or eremites (from the Greek eremos - forsaken, alone). Despite these terms, we will not meet absolute hermits in the desert. This is mainly because there was a paradox in desert life: the more a monk wanted to isolate himself from the world, the more he needed outside help. A monk who chose hermitage - to cut himself off completely from the world - could not survive without a disciple to provide him with food and water.
Monks also met for the Eucharist, sometimes for communal prayer or to buy food. But their relationships were not as close as those in modern monasteries. There was not as strict a concept of superiors and subordinates within the community as there is today.
So what was the life of a monk like?
The beginnings
Feeling the call to live in the desert, he began his journey by finding an elder (Abba - father) who had 'eaten his teeth' of monastic life. The Abba would become the novice master who, by subjecting the candidate to various tests, would teach him everything necessary for the young monk to become independent and able to begin his individual struggle for salvation.
Cell
The dwelling of a desert monk is a far cry from a modern monastic cell. A cell was very often described as a cave in which the monk lived. Another type of cell was a building made of stone poured with mud and covered with branches.
The cell was often divided into two rooms. One for prayer and the other for work and rest. There may also have been a garden near the cell where the monk grew vegetables for his own use.
The furnishings of a cell were usually very modest (although even then there were cases of non-compliance). It consisted of a mat to sleep on, a jar of water and sometimes a hearth to cook a meal.
However, the cell was not just a material place for the monk to live. It was also a means of asceticism, an exercise in virtue. This is why monks often admonished each other not to leave their cells. In fact, leaving the cell often meant leaving the monastic life.
The order of the day
A monk would begin the day with prayer. This was followed by work, which lasted until 9am (about 3pm in our reckoning). This hour was meal time (the only meal of the day). The monk would then rest for a while before returning to work. Work was followed by prayer, spiritual reading (if the monk could read and had a book). Evening was the time for more prayer. Sometimes the fathers would meet in the evening to discuss spiritual matters. Nights were often spent in prayer vigils, often lasting until the morning.
On Saturday evenings the monks of the area would meet for the Eucharist, followed by an agape.
Work
Work occupied an important place in monastic life. The obligation to work is repeatedly emphasised in the accounts of life in the desert. Each monk was obliged to support himself by the work of his own hands.
The most common occupations were manual labour of various kinds - a result of the background of most monks. The monks chose their activities in such a way that they did not interfere with prayer. So monks weaved ropes, made baskets, made mats.... These jobs were sufficiently mechanical that the prayer formulae could be repeated.
Sometimes, however, a monk with the necessary skills and training would take on work such as transcribing texts.
Meals
As well as eating once a day, it was not uncommon for monks to fast, especially when they faced temptation. It was not uncommon for a monk to eat only every other day, sometimes even every third day.
Simple food was eaten. Baked bread every few months, barley cakes, vegetables, fruit.... No meat was eaten. Occasionally a little wine was on the menu, but water was the daily drink.
Visits were an exception - when a monk received guests, he did not betray his fast in any way and welcomed them as best he could so as not to offend their hospitality.
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