FINDING GOD IN THE DESERT - Joan Foo Mahony in the Egyptian desert and in Kuala Lumpur

Smitten By Faith Issue # 00047 24th September 2022

I started writing this article in Egypt, already formulating the words in my mind when I was at an ancient desert monastery near the Red Sea and I completed this article just a week ago here in lush green Kuala Lumpur when my husband Terry and I returned from our 2-week trip to Egypt.  In Egypt, we did not rush. We took our time to savour and enjoy the more than 7,000 years of ancient history in this remarkable land of the Pharoahs. We cruised the Nile River visiting the ancient sites of Luxor, Karnak, the Valley of the Kings, Edfu, Kom Ombo, Aswan and Abu Simbel. We also spent time in Old Cairo, Memphis and Giza. Until, almost at the end of our trip, we received a surprise invitation from a friend; everything changed and our Egypt trip became more than a spectacular sight-seeing journey; it became a spiritual desert experience which was transforming and amazing.

Left : Walking quietly with my friend, Wafik Shamma in the silent grounds of St. Anthony’s Monastery

Centre : Terry with Wafik - with the blue skies and the endless desert behind them.

Right : I am with Wafik and the head of the monastery, Fr. Maximous El-Antony

Thanks to my Egyptian friends - in Hong Kong ( Amr El-Henawy) and in Cairo ( Wafik Shamma - see the pictures above ), we drove more than 200 miles south east from Cairo towards the Red Sea, across desert sands which stretched to the horizon, to visit the oldest Christian monastery in the world – the Coptic monastery of St. Anthony built in the 6th century CE. So, today’s article is not about the wonders of ancient Egypt of which both Terry and I are totally smitten with and I have much to write about too ! Instead, this article is about how, in the Egyptian desert, at the height of the scorching summer 42 degree heat, I felt so close to God and discovered what desert spirituality really meant. Born and bred in the lush tropics of equatorial Asia in Malaysia, where we have carpets of greenery and pounding rain most days, I never thought I would ever like being in hot glaring arid and barren deserts; not to say being so incredibly affected by the experience.

ST. ANTHONY’S MONASTERY

The congregation of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church ( one of the oldest Christian communities int he world ) are Copts, whose art, language and religion are directly descended from the art, language and religion of the land of the ancient pharaohs and whose survival is a tribute to the religious tolerance of Islam. St. Anthony’s Monastery is the oldest Christian monastery in the world which has continually supported a community of Coptic monks for 2,000 years. Hidden deep within the mountains of the Red Sea, 208 miles south east of Cairo, the Monastery of Saint Anthony was established by the followers of Saint Anthony of Egypt, who was the first Christian monk. Egypt's Coptic Christian Church traces its spiritual heritage to the preaching of St. Mark the Apostle and the Copts were first converted to Christianity with the arrival of St Mark in Egypt in 62 CE. Coptic history is an indelible part of the history of ancient Egypt that began with the introduction of Christianity in Egypt in the 1st century CE during the Roman period. Egypt became part of the Byzantine Empire in 395 CE and the Egyptian Church was separated from the Christian community in 451. The Coptic Orthodox Church is the main Christian Church in Egypt, where it has between 6 and 11 million members. While most Copts live in Egypt, the Coptic Church also has around a million members outside Egypt.

So, we were thrilled when our friend, Wafik Shamma who is a Copt invited us to visit St. Anthony’s Monastery in the Egyptian desert. Through the years, Terry and I have been in deserts all over the world, from Death Valley in California to the Atacama Desert in Chile but never to a Christian monastery right in the heart of a desert. Terry and I dropped all our plans for the day and gratefully accepted Wafik’s kind and extraordinary invitation. With Wafik, we literally raced through the boiling hot monotonous desert in his smooth air-conditioned BMW, covering the hundreds of miles effortlessly in no time at all ! After a few short hours, I held my breath when suddenly, the monotonous desert sands seemed to peel away to reveal the Red Sea Mountains ahead and then, almost invisible against the sand-dunes and mountains in the distance, we saw the gigantic Coptic crosses on top of the many church towers and then the ramparts of the incredible 6th century monastery with its sand-coloured ancient walls came into view. A rare sight to behold !

Left : St. Anthony’s Monastery as it came into view with its bell towers and cross, framed by clear blue skies, the mountains and the desert palms

Centre : a close up of one of the many ancient towers

Right : The Coptic cross standing tall in the desert sky

We were welcomed and given an incredible walking tour of the fortress monastery and its enormous grounds by the head of the monastery himself, the erudite, humorous and charming Fr. Maximous El-Antony who later, even personally cooked a delicious lunch for us. Thank you Father Maximous ! We walked quietly among the labyrinth of small buildings, meditation cells, ancient beautiful chapels, churches, gardens ( yes - even in the desert ) and life-giving water springs. As we stood high up on the ramparts, Fr. Maximous pointed out to us the mountains next to the monastery and the caves where St Anthony and now the monks still spend time in silent retreat. It was the noon-day sun. It was boiling hot. But, as we walked along, I no longer felt any discomfort from the burning heat and sun. What I experienced was a tremendous tranquillity. I had a deep awareness of how small I was in the vastness of the desert space; how intense nature itself was here – the brilliant blue of the cloudless sky; the magic of the shifting sand - endless and vast; fruits which seemed to sparkle in the monastery’s little orchard and the stunning ( biblical) sycamore trees which symbolize clarity. I turned to my friend Wafik with a huge smile on my face and told him how lucky he was to have the Egyptian desert almost at his doorstep to reflect, pray and find God.

Left : Terry and I with the remarkable Fr. Maximous El-Antony

Right : Fr. Maximous with the biblical sycamore trees which grow so well in the monastery’s desert soil

Left and right : you can see how the many small buildings of St. Anthony’s monastery seem to blend so unobtrusively into the desert landscape.

DESERT SPIRITUALITY

For those of my readers who follow me in ‘Smitten By Faith’, you already know how much I love and admire the profound and beautiful writings of the 20th century theologian, the French Jesuit, Henri Nouwen. In his book, ‘The Way of the Heart: Desert Spirituality and Contemporary Ministry’, Nouwen looked back to the 4th and 5th century religious hermits, our ‘desert fathers’ who lived and meditated in the deserts of Egypt and Palestine. Nouwen wrote :

“ The desert is far from empty. As I become quiet, at last I begin to hear God . I am not alone in my solitude; God is my companion at all times. Solitude and silence are, consequently, the richest times of all.”

The American Trappist monk, Thomas Merton was another 20th century Catholic theologian and he too wrote about the wisdom of the desert and the desert fathers. Merton calls them pioneers of the inner life. He wrote :

“The prospect of the ( desert ) wilderness is something that so terrifies people; they refuse to enter its burning sands and travel among the rocks. They cannot believe that contemplation and sanctity are to be found in desolation; where there is no food, no shelter and no refreshment for their imagination, intellect and the desires of their nature.”

Until the trip to Egypt and St. Anthony’s, I was indeed that foolish creature fearful of deserts mentioned by Thomas Merton. But, St. Anthony’s Monastery totally changed my mind about deserts to the extent that now I cannot wait to return to the desert; to its solitude and find God within it.

I began to understand why philosophers and theologians say that when we are able to look beyond the heat and barrenness of deserts, we will find that silence, solitude and wilderness can be places of deep spiritual contemplation and renewal. How, when we open ourselves to God within the special experience of the desert, we are able to test and strengthen our faith profoundly and that this discovery produces the most abundant fruit in our spiritual lives.

In fact, in the Bible, we read that it was always in the desert that God made his covenants with his people; and the desert was where awesome biblical figures such as Elijah, Moses, Isaiah and Jeremiah received their instructions from God. It was also in the desert, before his passion and death, that Jesus withdrew for the 40 days of Lent.

FINDING HOPE IN THE DESERT

With faith, we will never be lost in the desert of our lives ; never – because God will show us the way. We also need so little in the desert ; a simplicity of life – just a garment, shoes, water and bread. But all the time, throughout the solitude, we are never alone – we have the presence of God.

Left : The Caves deep within the Red Sea Mountains. It looks so dry and forbidding.

Right : You can see here the monastery so close to the caves - just a hike away ?

In the pictures above, you can imagine the caves, carved out of the rocky Red Sea Mountain; how desolate they must have been See how high and indomitable they are but they are climbed effortlessly by the monks including Fr. Maximous ! I could only marvel at their courage and spiritual strength as once they start their spiritual retreats, the monks would stay in their caves alone - for weeks or even months at a time, undaunted in their solitude - with just God for company. Wow !

“ Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord ! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God.”

Isaiah 40:3

“ For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it ?  I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”

Isaiah 43:19

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