The Battleground

Monasticism today originated in the desert, with men (and some women) going out there to "fast and pray and do battle with the devil." They began as hermits and eventually grouped together under the guidance of a spiritual father (or mother.) You'll see both holiness in the desert and recognize that it's the place where demons wander. That's nothing to be afraid of; it's simply reality. The desert is where followers of Christ have traditionally gone to find their Lord and do battle with His Enemy.

 

The desert, a place of tranquility and isolation, offers a unique opportunity for solitude. It's a place where one can feel alone, even in the presence of others. In this environment, if one surrenders to the silence and listens, they can hear the voice of God.

 

It's also a place where other voices can be sensed. I'm not very worried that faithful Christians will succumb to these other voices. They don't listen to them very much, and so they can't hear them very well. But in the desert, those murmurings can be heard. Maybe it's because, in the quiet of the desert, they can quiet their own souls enough to realize those other voices have always been whispering, just as God does. As I said, the desert is a place where demons wander. There's a reason why the New Age movement is so popular in the arid western United States.

 

The Desert Fathers went out into the desert to fast and pray and do battle with the devil. But I've discovered in the desert that we don't have to travel to arid places to do battle. Our own souls are those arid places. That's where God dwells. And it's the place where demons attack. The battlefield of the soul has always been in the human mind.