Thomas Merton’s The Wisdom of the Desert,
and His Knowledge of the Mystical Psalm Structures
Pope Francis, when addressing the U.S. Congress, spoke of Thomas Merton. Merton was a Trappist monk who wrote excellent books, and was active in social movements of the 50’s and 60’s. Participating in inter-religious dialogue, he was also a friend of the Dalai Lama.
Merton’s slim book, The Wisdom of the Desert, is a collection of sayings of the great Ammas and Abbas of the Egyptian desert, the first Christian monks. In his “Author’s Note,” Merton says that he has chosen the sayings in no particular “order”; actually, he says this twice. This is a sign for us to look for an organizing order in the collection of desert sayings.
Is there a hidden order to the book?
Merton chose 150 sayings of the ancient monks for this book. There are 150 Psalms of the Bible (151 according to the ancient Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament), known as the Septuagint (LXX); however, Merton is going, for the most part, with the Hebrew Psalter (as arranged in the Masoretic text). This fact of Merton’s book having 150 stories gives us a fine clue about Merton’s project. His chosen sayings from the first Christian monks, numbered in Latin from I – CL, will be in direct conversation with the Psalm of the same number, from the first to the last Psalm, 1 – 150. This conversation will be rather subtle and hidden; however, if we decide to work at it, we can discover it; indeed, as we discover more and more of the connections, their clarity becomes undeniable.
In choosing this hidden literary arrangement, Merton joins many who write in this same pattern.
Why does Merton do this? Why does Merton, and many before him, choose to make their own numbered compositions have this parallel relationship with the Psalms?
To be sure, the Psalms were second nature to the monks. Perhaps the Psalms eventually became first nature to them. Indeed, Christianity has made more use of the Psalms than our Jewish friends have. The Psalms are called the prayer book of the Church.
However, Merton and at least two dozen earlier Christian writers knew something else about the Psalms. They knew the Mystical Psalm Structures. These are fantastic true mystical structures that are in the Book of Psalms. Modern Psalms scholars have made great progress in the detective work of figuring out how the Book of Psalms came together. Some scholars say that the final editing of the Psalms occurred as late as 70 C.E. (A.D.), west of Jerusalem, on the shores of the Mediterranean, in ancient Jamnia. This being the case, it is almost certain that Christians were involved in the final redaction (editing) of the Book of Psalms.
And the New Testament is chock full of conscious, though hidden, knowledge of the Mystical Psalm Structures. It is possible that the Psalm Structures may have been taught to most of the New Testament authors by Jesus himself, and/or by the Holy Spirit, and/or by Paul. This essay further presents the Mystical Psalm Structures. It is a draft of the introductory chapter of a forthcoming book: https://www.academia.edu/85547714/The_Mystical_Psalm_Structures_Revised
Ancient authors (often monks) who know these mystical wonders wrote in the manner of numbering their reflections according to the parallel numbers of the Psalms, and of having subtle relationships of vocabulary and theme between their reflections and the Psalm of the same title number. (While most New Testament authors are very aware of the mystical realities in the Psalms, they do not write in numbered sequences, and so will not be discussed here.) Some of the authors writing in parallel numerical order to the numbers of the Psalms include:
-The Gospel of Thomas: Found at Nag Hammadi in the Egyptian desert mere decades ago, the beautiful Gospel of Thomas has 114 Logoi (sentences or small paragraphs). These numbered sayings have a parallel relationship with the Psalm of the same number. Pope Benedict XVI recommends that Scripture scholars read the Gospel of Thomas. (The Gospel of Philip, also discovered at Nag Hammadi, may have the same feature, but there are questions regarding the divisions and the numbering of the Logoi in the Gospel of Philip.)
-Evagrius Ponticus’ 153 Chapters on Prayer: In this masterful treatise on life in the Holy Spirit, Evagrius, an early desert monk, makes a joke in his book’s forward comparing his “153” chapters to the catch of 153 large fish in John 21. This is a rhetorical feint; what he is really doing is constructing a parallel conversation between each of his “chapters” with the Psalm that shares the same number.
-The Qur’an. There are 114 Surahs (Chapters) of the Qur’an, the same number of reflections in the Gospel of Thomas. To see a bright example of the relationship here, please compare the short Surah 1 of the Qur’an to Psalm 1. This is a huge discovery for inter-religious dialogue. This essay considers this connection that unites the Scriptures of the Abrahamic religions: https://www.academia.edu/33048365/The_Dialogue_between_the_Quran_and_the_Psalms
-St. Maximus Confessor. Several of his works are constructed in this style.
Maximus is very much in conversation with Evagrius, and he knows exactly what Evagrius is doing in his work. However, while Evagrius makes some of the connections between his individual “Chapters” and the parallel Psalms obvious and even humorous, Maximus is rarely overt. The connections drawn by Maximus between his “Sentences” and the Psalms are very understated and subtle. Only on occasion does he make a connection easy to see.
-Gregory Palamas, a saint in Eastern Churches (as is Evagrius), and a beloved theologian to Pope Saint John Paul II, wrote 150 Chapters. This book is a powerful condensation of theology and spiritual reflection.
-Perhaps other authors of the Philokalia. The Philokalia is a collection of holy texts of Eastern Christianity.
-Later Christian authors who write in this pattern, using numbered sequences in their writings. However, their writings do not have the brief, aphorism-like structure of the works mentioned above.
-Finally, there are many other Christian authors who know of the Mystical Psalm Structures, and who allude to these marvels, hiddenly, in their own writing, with or without numbered sequences. These include the four Evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), Paul, Peter, the authors of Hebrews and Revelation, the desert monks of Egypt (especially some of the Ammas and Abbas in the Apophthegmata), Saint Benedict, Saint Romuald, Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Saint Bonaventure, Saint Teresa of Avila, her friend Saint John of the Cross, Saint Robert Bellarmine, and perhaps many more. However, space will not allow them to be discussed in this brief essay. (Saint John Climacus, also known as Saint John of the Ladder, is doing complex, albeit hidden, commentary on the Psalm Structures in his work.)
All of these books and authors are familiar with the Mystical Psalm Structures. They teach us about the Mystical Psalm Structures, and how to work with them.
In this essay on Merton’s book, we shall now show the direct correlations between the stories Merton chose, and the Psalm of the same number.
We shall also mention when particular stories are carrying conscious knowledge of the Mystical Psalm Structures.
Verbum I and Psalm 1
Abbot Pambo questioned Abbot Anthony saying: What ought I to do? And the elder replied: Have no confidence in your own virtuousness. Do not worry about a thing once it has been done. Control your tongue and your belly.
-This Verbum opens The Wisdom of the Desert with a simple question about how one should live life. Its parallel partner, Psalm 1, also teaches how one should live life.
-Psalm 1 begins with three negative behaviors to avoid, giving three proscriptions against these life-hurting errors. Parallel to this, Verbum I has Saint Anthony the Great’s three suggestions to Abba Pambo on how to conduct oneself.
-In the first of his three suggestions, Abba Anthony mentions “virtuousness.” In Psalm 1, the word “virtuous” appears twice in the last two verses of the Psalm, as the person who is meditating on the Word of God becomes ‘virtuous’. (Also, the first chapter of Evagrius’ book mentions the noun “virtue,” the human truth that is “virtue.”)
-Psalm 1 urges us to avoid bad company now and in the future, because bad company leads to bad actions. In Abba Anthony’s second suggestion, he tells us not to worry about mistakes of our past. In this instance, the Psalm and the Verbum don’t say exactly the same thing, instead, they complement each other.
-The third of the three negative proscriptions that begin Psalm 1 urges us not to sit with people who abuse the immense gift of human speech. The third of Abba Anthony’s three suggestions includes control of the tongue, that is, control of our speech.
Now, all of these connections are good and helpful. We see, clearly, that Verbum I and Psalm 1 have deep literary connections between them, and are placed into this dialogue by Thomas Merton.
Let us now plunge to deeper levels of the dialogue:
-Psalm 1 states that the person who meditates upon, and wrestles with, the Torah will eventually become a “virtuous” person. Abbas Pambo and Anthony have memorized the Torah, and they’ve been meditating upon it for decades in the desert. But these Christians also have the Gospels and New Testament, and Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, and the already burgeoning Tradition of Holy Church 300 years after Christ.
Psalm 1 promises that the person who stays close to the Torah will be like a fruit tree. Yet with all these extra gifts of God that come to us because of Christ and Christ’s Church, Abbas Pambo and Anthony are like fruit trees as large as the cedars of Lebanon, and sequoias, and redwoods.
They know that the “letter of the law” has been superseded by Christ. In this radical freedom, Abba Pambo chooses to don the yoke of humility, and walks to Saint Abba Anthony the Great for a highly personalized word that Anthony would tailor precisely for Pambo. Anthony was so brilliantly Spiritual that Pambo knew it would be a word that carried guidance from the Holy Spirit. Pambo’s humility, and the wisdom of their dialogue in the Holy Spirit, have now entered the living Christian Tradition to strengthen us as well. This conversation is alive and active.
Verbum II and Psalm 2
Abbot Joseph of Thebes said: There are three kinds of men who find honour in the sight of God: First, those who, when they are ill and tempted, accept all these things with thanksgiving. The second, those who do all their works clean in the sight of God, in no way merely seeking to please men. The third, those who sit in subjection to the command of a spiritual father and renounce all their own desires.
-Abba Joseph begins this second Verbum by urging us to think of how God sees things. In Psalm 2, the rebels plot against God’s societal order, while the Psalmist implies that they are utterly forgetful that God is watching them; Psalm 2 also states that God, after watching enough rebellion, will respond with angry punishment if the rebels don’t change their ways. This also implies that God will respond favorably to the prayerful monk who is striving for closeness to God.
-Those who will “find honour in the sight of God” are also ill and tempted, just like the angry antagonists of Psalm 2. However, these Christian heroes respond with the Christian instrument of “Thanksgiving.” This thanksgiving is for God and neighbor, Church and Creation. The rebels of Psalm 2, however, choosing not to be thankful, instead mutter, gossip, scheme, and rebel.
-The third kind of person that Abba Joseph delineates are those who “renounce all their own desires” in order to follow the command/will/direction of their spiritual father. This is similar to the people of Israel honoring the proper king in Psalm 2, a king who has a relationship to YHWH, similar to how a senior monk has far more experience of relationship with God than the rookie monk has. Both the king and the Abba are divinely gifted leaders (Of course, we know that most kings have been lousy; but an Abba wouldn’t be an Abba unless he were close to God). The subjects of the Godly kingdom of Psalm 2 obey their earthly king, and those of Abba Joseph’s third category obey their Spiritual guide, their Abba, so that their own “human will” may be corrected, strengthened, and learn to radiate the power of the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, this obedience to a Spiritual Father prepares the way for the enthronement of Jesus Christ in the soul as its true king. Obedience has always been important to monasticism; one reason for this is that in obeying a Spiritual guide, one learns about one’s own desires, and learns how to work with these desires, and emerges from the training with a newly empowered will that is stronger and more perfectly formed than the monk would have achieved without obedience to a guide.
-Verbum I and Verbum II are in dialogue too. The statements of Abba Anthony (Verbum I) and Abba Joseph (Verbum II) are both in three sections. So we have a set of three followed by another set of three. What might this mean?
Verbum III and Psalm 3
A brother asked one of the elders: What good thing shall I do, and have life thereby?
The old man replied: God alone knows what is good.
However, I have heard it said that someone inquired of Father Abbot Nisteros the great, the friend of Abbot Anthony, asking:
What good work shall I do?
and that he replied: Not all works are alike. For Scripture says that Abraham was hospitable and God was with him. Elias (Elijah) loved solitary prayer, and God was with him. And David was humble, and God was with him. Therefore, whatever you see your soul to desire according to God, do that thing, and you shall keep your heart safe.
-Like Verbum I and Verbum II, Verbum III has a triple structure. This leads us Christians to think of the inner life of the Trinity, and the radical love shared between the three Divine Persons.
God wants to share this life of love with us. It is God’s plan to share with us the inner life of the Trinity.
Similarly, when a student asks one of the elders for suggestions of good actions that lead to “life,” a life that approaches the fullness of the Trinity’s life of love, the unnamed elder picks up a model tri-partite conversation from earlier desert monks and replicates it, re-presents it, to the young person. This images the inner life of the Trinity being shared with the individual soul through the medium of Christian koinonia, Christian community.
Many theologians who write about the Trinity state that the inner life of the Trinity is to be replicated (initially, this imitation will be childlike and feeble) and imitated by the Christian person in their inner life of the soul, and in the living relationships that Christians share.
The conversation that the elder chooses is an earlier sharing between “Father Abbot Nisteros the great, the friend of Abbot Anthony,” and an anonymous person seeking wisdom from Nisteros. This remembered response of Nisteros comprises the rest of the Verbum.
Now, let us go through this stocked Verbum more closely.
-Guiding by Editor Thomas Merton’s title number (III), this Verbum is aligned with Psalm 3, which initially was the very first Psalm of an earlier version of the Psalter (Book of Psalms). Psalm 3 begins with a superscription which, while it is part of the Scriptures, is not part of the body of the Psalm. This superscription says, “A Psalm by David. When he fled from his son Absalom.” Now, this is a shocking way for an earlier version of the Book of Psalms to begin, as it depicts the toxic fallout from David’s giant sins against Bathsheba and Uriah; some years after his sins, David had to flee Jerusalem to escape his son Absalom, who wanted to murder him.
So: An early version of the Psalms begins in the worst situations of human sin—situations so bad that a king has to flee from his own patricidal son, a situation that is brought about by the king’s own deplorable sins. This tells us that no matter how far we have strayed, the good God always wants us back. And God will guide us back to better life if we follow God’s lead in the Holy Spirit. No person is ever completely lost, or beyond hope.
Verbum III begins in a similar, though milder, vein. A brother, a younger and newer monk, approaches an unnamed elder. This relative newcomer to the desert is nowhere near perfect yet. The young monk asks, “What good thing shall I do, and have life thereby?”
The elder monk seems to rebuff the young inquirer, saying, “God alone knows what is good.” This reminds us of Jesus Christ’s response to the rich young man. Ah, we have a clue: This good elder has already read the young monk, and sees that he is bound, like the rich young man, to something—perhaps not riches, but to something of the world that the monk intends to leave behind. So the fact of the younger monk’s sinful attachment to things of the world has been ascertained by the elder (certainly this is something that all young monks have to deal with in their lives—the exposing of their own attachments, and the fact that their Spiritual guide reads them like an open book).
After this mild rebuke, the elder continues: “However, I have heard it said that someone inquired of Father Abbot Nisteros the great, the friend of Abbot Anthony, asking: ‘What good work shall I do?’”
This loving elder has done several interesting things in beginning his response to the young monk. First, he repeats the exact words of this young inquirer when he repeats the conversation from some years earlier, establishing a living connection between this young monk sitting before him, and the young monk who approached Abba Nisteros at some earlier time. This gives historical comfort. It tells that youngster that, despite his imperfections, he is on the right path. The young monk is doing exactly what he should be doing in his inquiry of how to live the life better.
-Additionally, he says something interesting about Nisteros—he heaps titles and praises upon Nisteros: “Father Abbot Nisteros the great, the friend of [the magnificent] Abbot Anthony…” Now, it is usually Abba Anthony who is called “Great!” So what is the unnamed elder doing here in his transferring of the word “great” from teacher to student, from Saint Abba Anthony to Abba Nisteros?
He is saying that Nisteros was helped to a higher place than had been achieved previous to him because he was a disciple and friend of Saint Anthony the Great. Jesus Christ himself says, “You’ll see greater things than this.” This means that the building up of the Church in time and history will lead to great things for humanity. Great saints want their disciples to be better than they are. This is love—to want the best for those who follow us, for our posterity. Saint John of the Cross said, “Do as much for our posterity as you can.” This is about the building up of the Body of Christ, the Church.
The unnamed elder is telling the unnamed student several messages at once: “I love you as my student, I will expose your faults for you, I will lead you to better growth, and I want you to become more advanced than I am.”
Now we get to the repeated word of Abba Nisteros. In the earlier conversation, Nisteros answers his own younger visitor:
“Not all works are alike.
For Scripture says that Abraham was hospitable and God was with him.
Elias (Elijah) loved solitary prayer, and God was with him.
And David was humble, and God was with him.
Therefore, whatever you see your soul desiring according to God, do that thing, and you shall keep your heart safe.”
Abraham received the three visitors, an early image of the Trinity.
Elijah heard God in silence. After Elijah had told God about his own zealousness for God, God sent three tumultuous natural cataclysms for Elijah’s observation; after these, God appeared to Elijah in silence.
David…David?! Why, from the earlier discussion of the relationship between Psalm 3 and Verbum III, we know that David’s big sins are the clearly stated background for Psalm 3! So why is Nisteros praising David’s humility here?
God was doing deep surgery on David’s heart. In Psalm 51, immediately after David’s big sins, David asks God for a pure heart. God gives him a years-long process of teaching and humility that results in this pure heart; However, this process culminated in the death of his own son, Absalom, for whom David weeps powerfully, showing the world that David’s heart was pure and working just fine. God indeed helped David achieve an empowered, pure heart.
There is much here about atonement, and the ensuing empowerment in the Holy Spirit. As one is more deeply incorporated into the Body of Christ, one also becomes more involved in the life of the Trinity. Also, for the young monk, and for Christians new to the direct relationship with the Holy Spirit: the trials that come to us may indeed be medicinal for our soul’s healing.
The three men in Nisteros’ story receive miracle babies. Abraham was promised a son, and was given Isaac. Elijah was given a spiritual child, Elisha, the great prophet who boldly asked for a double-portion of the spirit given to Elijah, his teacher. David, after Absalom’s death, was indeed rewarded by witnessing the rise of his fabulously wise son, King Solomon.
The relaying of this tripartite conversation from Anthony’s friend Nisteros, to Nisteros’ unnamed student, to this unnamed elder, to his unnamed student, represents also the incorporation of more Christians into the inner life of the Trinity. It is the growth of the Body of Christ.
Perhaps this unnamed elder was the same person as the disciple of Abba Nisteros. If so, we have a direct line of continuity from Abba Anthony to Abba Nisteros to this unnamed Abba to this unnamed young Christian (who represents you and me). This shows the great organic depth of the connection of all members of the Body of Christ, where the Saints want all the other people to become greater than they themselves were. What a beautiful legacy we inherit.
There are four speakers in this story. However, if the unnamed elder is the actual student of Abba Nisteros, then the four become three. And another soul is introduced into the inner life of the Trinity—and maybe our souls are too.
…………………………
Verbum IV has three sets of three items. However, there is not enough space in this brief essay to take it up here. Also, the reflections below shall be shorter.
Skipping two Verbi, we come to:
Verbum VI and Psalm 6
They said of Abbot Pambo that in the very hour when he departed this life he said to the holy men who stood by him: From the time I came to this place in the desert, and built me a cell, and dwelt here, I do not remember eating bread that was not earned by the work of my own hands, nor do I remember saying anything for which I was sorry even until this hour. And thus I go to the Lord as one who has not even made a beginning in the service of God.
The plaintiff of Psalm 6 is very ill physically, and is close to death, perhaps at death’s door. This is an obvious connection between the Psalm and Verbum. The deaths of holy people are truly special times, and those in Pambo’s cell are indeed blessed to be there with him at the time of his departure to heaven.
Psalm 6 is also the first of the Psalms that build up the Mystical Psalms Ladder (the Ladder is comprised by all the Psalms that are multiples of the number 6). Pambo mentions “beginning,” and this is the beginning Psalm of the Ladder.
Jacob’s Ladder, of Genesis 28, is seen by Jacob in a vision within a dream. There was a Ladder connecting heaven and earth; therefore, there is a sort of joining of heaven and earth. On the Ladder, plural angels are ascending and descending. God is “standing by” Jacob and/or the Ladder, like the “holy men standing by” Abbot Pambo.
Regarding the Psalms Ladder, when one has seen the proper climbing sequence, the final Psalm of the “first climb” that the new discoverer makes is Psalm 90. This is the only Psalm attributed to Moses, “the man of God (Ps 90:1),” by the Biblical text. At the end of the Psalm, Moses pleads with God, twice, saying, “Prosper the work of our hands, prosper the work of our hands (Psalm 90:17).” Moses is pleading for all of God’s children here, and for all humanity, as the “work of our hands.” Abba Pambo speaks of the “work of his own hands.” We can now interpret Pambo’s statement as also meaning that he loves and has cared for his own spiritual children. His dying prayer is that they may continue his work of building the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. They are to complete the work that he humbly claims that he “has not even begun to do.”
[See also the hard-to-comprehend conversation between Jesus and Nathaniel at the end of the first chapter of John’s Gospel.]
Verbum VIII and Psalm 8
We shall not quote the relatively long Verbum here. However, Psalm 8 and Verbum VIII both take place largely at night, and this Verbum happens to involve the Psalms.
The basic storyline is this: Some young monks are out visiting various Abbas. They visit one Abba and are rude to him. So he gives them a message to take to the next Abba. The message involves telling him “not to water the vegetables.” This alerts the next Abba to give them a challenging time, which he does, after he correctly interprets the message that the hapless rookies unknowingly bring to him from the first Abba.
The relationship of the two senior Abbas is very spiritual and deep, like the implicit married couple of Psalm 8. The Abbas actually communicate with each other by means of the words of the uninitiated “vegetable” young monks; parallel to this, we hear in Psalm 8, “in the sounds of babes and nurslings you have found praise to foil the enemy.” Indeed, the collaboration of the two senior monks has taught the young monks important lessons in the life, helping them to overcome their own deficiencies. The young monks would learn from this episode for years to come, as children learn so much from their parents.
This pairing, made by Merton, is particularly meaningful and humorous.
Verbum XII and Psalm 12
Abbot Arsenius, when he was still in the King’s palace, prayed to the Lord saying: Lord, lead me to salvation. And a voice came to him saying: Arsenius, fly from men and you shall be saved. Again, embracing the monastic life, he prayed in the same words. And he heard a voice saying to him: Arsenius, fly, be silent, rest in prayer: these are the roots of non-sinning.
Arsenius, before becoming a monk, was a gifted politician who had the ear and the respect of the Emperor. He was regularly at the royal court.
When Arsenius prays to Jesus, Jesus tells Arsenius to “fly from men.” Psalm 12, parallel to this Verbum, describes a sick society, in which people cannot trust each other. Perhaps this is why the Lord tells Arsenius to fly away from the corruptions of the royal court.
Psalm 12 also has a word cognate with “Yeshua,” Salvation, which is the aim of Arsenius’ prayer to Jesus (Yeshua).
The Lord’s first command is to “fly from men…” Once Arsenius has begun his monastic life, he starts hearing more from God, with greater multiplicity of various good meanings, such as light that goes through a prism and beams out great colors. The second communique from Jesus includes an expansion from one to three words, a triple command, “…fly, be silent, rest in prayer…”
Now, these apparently simple words dive deep into technical terms about prayer and life in the desert, as great monks like Evagrius developed with some systematic arrangement. We will not discuss this now.
Noteworthy, however, is the fact that the initial command of “fly from men” is reduced to a single word: “fly.” What might this mean? Psalm 12 is the second of the Psalms that form the Mystical Psalms Ladder, upon which angels (and hopefully humans) are flying. It is also Psalm 12 where the actual flight of the angels, in precise choreography, begins.
Verbum XVIII and Psalm 18
Abbot Macarius said: If, wishing to correct another, you are moved to anger, you gratify your own passion. Do not lose yourself in order to save another.
In Psalm 18, God is so angry that sulfur and smoke pour out from his nostrils, and he knocks the water out of the ocean. God saves the Psalmist in a dramatic rescue. In the Verbum, the elder tells the junior not to give way to anger.
Also, Psalm 18 is the third Ladder Psalm, and we learn how to climb the Ladder by working with our anger. We find ways of transforming the anger into the energies of Love. We can pray Psalms, exercise, make art, volunteer to help people, and much more.
Verbum XXXV and Psalm 35
One of the brethren had been insulted by another and he wanted to take revenge. He came to Abbot Sisois and told him what had taken place, saying: I am going to get even, Father. But the elder besought him to leave the affair in the hands of God. No, said the brother, I will not give up until I have made that fellow pay for what he said. Then the elder stood up and began to pray in these terms: O God, Thou art no longer necessary to us, and we no longer need Thee to take care of us since, as this brother says, we can and will avenge ourselves. At this the brother promised to give up his idea of revenge.
Psalm 35 begins, “YHWH, fight those-fighting-me, and battle those-battling-me.” In this arrangement, Merton has cleverly made the young monk assume the opposite stance of the Psalmist. While the Psalmist asks God to fight for him, the young monk decides to take the task of revenge upon himself.
By showing him the logical conclusion and folly of this plan, Abba Sisois shows him the error of his ways, and brings him back to the mindset of the Psalmist.
This is also the first of 5 Psalms (35, 70, 40; 42 & 43) that feature battling mantras (the victory of good Scriptural mantras over the bad mantras of nay-sayers and our own self-doubts). The mantra takes up the words of God as our sword and armor, as God fights for us within our prayer. However, we will save that for a future essay.
Verbum XLII and Psalm 42
A certain brother inquired of Abbot Pastor, saying: What shall I do? I lose my nerve when I am sitting alone at prayer in my cell? The elder said to him: Despise no one, condemn no one, rebuke no one, God will give you peace and your meditation will be undisturbed.
Psalm 42 is both a Ladder Psalm and a Pillar Psalm (of the Mystical Psalm Structures). We have another triplicate formula of advice from an Abba (there are three negative proscriptions, as we saw above in Psalm 1). Speaking of three, indeed, 3 x 42 = 126, and Psalm 126 shares important connections with Psalm 42, as we shall discuss below. Psalm 126 is also both a Pillar Psalm and a Ladder Psalm.
The action of Psalm 42 is this: Jerusalem has just been steamrolled by the mighty Babylonian army. The lone Hebrew wakes up as a slave in far-away Babylon. However, good things are happening, percolating down below the dismal topical arrangement of the sudden external situation: With the temple gone, the patriarchal monarchy smashed, and the culture vanished, the lone Hebrew has to dig deeper and cultivate a genuine personal relationship with God. In this search for God, Psalm 42 opens with some of the best poetry of history: “As the deer yearns for running water, so my soul longs for you, O Lord. My soul thirsts for God, the living God. When shall I go and see the face of God?” The Psalmist yearns to return to Jerusalem, to community, and to the life they knew before. However, this is not possible. We can only live life forward. Yet, if we do live life forward, great things will happen.
The Psalmist is scared and lonely in faraway Babylon. However, she coaches her own soul, and repeats a Scriptural mantra-word that will give her strength. She perseveres and grows in strength and confidence. Additionally, her relationship with God deepens tremendously.
It is during this Babylonian Captivity that the Wisdom literature of the Israelites began to be composed. Also, the individual human being emerged in new ways at this time, as the individual had to rely less upon the society they knew in the past, and lean more upon their personal relationship with God.
In this Verbum, the same situation obtains for the young monk. He becomes anxious in his cell. He is in a radically new environment. He has left behind everything to come to the desert, largely similar to the protagonist of Psalm 42. Yet it is here that his relationship with God deepens greatly. Abba Pastor gives him a word that will remove his concern from the earlier horizons he is trying to leave behind, and helps him focus on God, Who, indeed, will give the young monk support.
Verbum LXXXVIII and Psalm 78
Some elders once came to Abbot Anthony, and there was with them also Abbot Joseph. Wishing to test them, Abbot Anthony brought the conversation around to the Holy Scriptures. And he began from the youngest to ask them the meaning of this or that text. Each one replied as best he could, but Abbot Anthony said to them: You have not got it yet. After them all he asked Abbot Joseph: What about you? What do you say this text means? Abbot Joseph replied: I know not! Then Abbot Anthony said: Truly Abbot Joseph alone has found the way, for he replies that he knows not.
This is a joyful gathering of the desert monks! And Abba Anthony is asking them questions about mysteries of the Sacred Scriptures! What Mystery and Joy!
And it concludes with something like a Zen koan, as Abba Joseph says that he does not know what the Scripture passage given to him by Abba Anthony means! Mystery upon mystery!
Additionally, Abba Anthony is proceeding in a very definite order. He starts with the youngest, arriving finally at the elder Abba Joseph.
Psalm 78 is a “maskil” by the wise wisdom writer, Asaph. It begins with an elder speaking to a group of listeners gathered about: “Listen, my people, to my ‘teaching’ (cognate with “Torah”), incline your ear to the words of my mouth. I will speak a parable, I will utter riddles/mysteries from antiquity.” And Psalm 78, a long Ladder Psalm, is imbued indeed with mysteries.
Merton has chosen mystery-gatherings and good deep discussion as the common ground for this pairing of Verbum and Psalm.
The Psalm goes on to consider the first generation of the Exodus, and all the subsequent generations that lead all the way to today. In the manner that this Psalm features a roll call of each generation until the present day, so too does Abba Anthony have the monks, from youngest to oldest, answer intriguing, exciting, mystery questions.
As Psalm 78 is also a Ladder Psalm, and there are features in the Psalm that have powerful, palpable connections to the Ladder: Abba Anthony’s moving in a linear fashion through the monks, according to the number of their age, is also a ladder-like feature of the Verbum.
Verbum LXXXIV and Psalm 84
One of the elders was asked what was humility, and he said: If you forgive a brother who has injured you before he himself asks pardon.
This is an understated Verbum about the glory of forgiveness.
Psalm 84 is about pilgrimage to the temple. It is one of the central Psalms of the Psalter, and is both a Pillar and Ladder Psalm. Perhaps only Psalm 128 is more central than Psalm 84. Skipping over much about Psalm 84, we can say that the journey to the temple, the voyage to the temple, the pilgrimage of life, is what this Psalm is about.
But for the Christian, the old stone temple does not even approach the infinite importance of another human person. As Paul says, “You are the temple of God.” And, “You are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.”
Merton chooses a saying that reveals a pinnacle of recognizing the temple of the Other Person: forgiveness. The Divine temple in you recognizes, the temple that is your heart, recognizes, remembers, and reverences the temple of the other, the temple that is your sister or brother.
The journey is reversed. The pilgrim does not travel to the stone temple seeking God’s forgiveness. Rather, the temple that is the living sister or brother, this temple picks himself/herself up and moves, walking to the offending person, and forgives that person.
The reversing of the direction of the pilgrimage also images the angels/persons traveling both up and down the Ladder, true to the text of Genesis 28 and John 1:51.
Verbum LXXXVIII and Psalm 88
Abbot Pastor said: Any trial whatever that comes to you can be conquered by silence.
Psalm 88 has the worst trials perhaps of any Psalm in the Psalter. It is the only Psalm that has no hope (at least on the surface level of its words). Yet Abba Pastor says that any trial whatsoever can be conquered by silence.
Certainly this speaks of the power of silence. What makes silence so powerful?
And the holy Abba almost personalizes these trials, saying that each of these trials “comes to you,” as if it were a messenger, or even a friendly assistant. What might this mean?
[By the way, these ancient sayings are not meant for literal interpretation and application to our lives today. Never would I advise modern people to merely shut up about their biggest injuries—every counselor knows that this is not the way to help people. Rather, Abba Pastor is saying this to a fairly senior and accomplished monastic person, who has a certain amount of maturity and experience already about their person. Today, when counseling people, we very much want to get people to talk and feel free to be open.]
Verbum LXXXIX and Psalm 89
Abbess Syncletica of holy memory said: There is labour and great struggle for the impious who are converted to God, but after that comes inexpressible joy. A man who wants to light a fire first is plagued by smoke, and the smoke drives him to tears, yet finally he gets the fire that he wants. So also it is written: Our God is a consuming fire. Hence we ought to light the divine fire in ourselves with labour and with tears.
If Psalm 88 is about the destruction of an individual person, then Psalm 89 is about the destruction of a nation and the end of the Davidic monarchy.
The smashing of the Davidic throne was promised when David sinned with Bathsheba (it is interesting that God also never liked the idea of a monarchy anyway, but the people insisted upon it (see 1 Samuel 8)). Paired with this Psalm, Merton chooses a story about a great lady monastic, Amma Syncletica.
David had “labour and great struggle” at many times of his life. In the stage of his life that might be called “the circumcision of David’s heart,” he emerges into a greater depth of personhood when he weeps uncontrollably at the death of his son Absalom.
So too, Amma Syncletica urges young monks to persevere through the difficult, even the worst, parts of the monastic life. To persevere through the circumcision of the heart; this challenging time is a process that may also occur in young monks’ lives and in our personal life too, and not merely in David’s. Then, we will score the goal, and the good fire will be ignited.
[After Psalm 88, the darkest of the “dark night of the soul” Psalms of one of the Mystical Psalm Structures, the Interwoven Menorahs blast into holy flame with the Resurrection of Psalm 96. Verbum XCVI celebrates the birth of charity in the human heart, which indeed is a miracle similar to that of Resurrection.]
Verbum XCII and Psalm 92
Once Abbot Macarius was travelling down from Scete to a place called Terenuthin, and he went to spend the night in a pyramid where the bodies of the pagans had been laid to rest years before. And he dragged out one of the mummies and put it under his head for a pillow. The devils, seeing his boldness, flew into a rage and decided to scare him. And they began to call out from the other bodies, as if calling to a woman: Lady, come with us to the baths. And another demon, as if he were the ghost of a woman, cried out from the body the elder was using as a pillow: This stranger is holding me down and I can’t come. But the elder, far from being frightened, began to pummel the corpse, saying: Get up and go swimming if you are able. Hearing this, the demon cried: You win! And they fled in confusion.
Psalm 92 features the strength of older virtuous people, who actually become more like fresh young trees. This humorous Verbum features the strength of people as they grow in virtue.
With the “lady” and the “baths,” we also have David’s sin with Bathsheba, who spotted her while she was bathing. And there are also the lecherous old judges of the Book of Daniel, who spied on the virtuous Susanna while she bathed, and hatched a plot to lie with her, and then to kill her when that scheme failed.
Perseverance. Evolution (both in our individual life, and as a Church and human family). By perseverance, we overcome the past sins of our souls, and emerge into healing and strength. “Confidence,” the word, means “with-faith-ness.” The faith we know blossoms in us in many ways, as we persevere.
Although Psalm 92 is not a Ladder Psalm, there are allusions in this Verbum to the Ladder. The “pillow” in the wilderness echoes the unusual rock pillow that Jacob slept upon when he saw the Ladder in Genesis 28. And the ancient ziggurat or pyramid, with their steps, also image the steps, like a Ladder, that connect heaven and earth. This story also overcomes the shame of the past, both in our individual lives, and in human civilization and history. [This overcoming of shame includes also the horrors of blood sewers of the two temples in Jerusalem, and the cult of animal sacrifice there; this Verbum considers this as well, but we’ll save that for a future reflection.]
Verbum CIII & CIV, and Psalms 103 & 104
A certain Philosopher asked St. Anthony: Father, how can you be so happy when you are deprived of the consolation of books: Anthony replied: My book, O philosopher, is the nature of created things, and any time I want to read the words of God, the book is before me.
Psalms 103 & 104 form an interesting pair. They both begin and end with the same formula, “Bless the Lord, O my soul.” These statements about the soul, appearing at the beginning and end of both Psalms 103 & 104, form an inclusio, a pair of powerful bookends, around the entirety of each Psalm of this pair. The Psalmist is saying: “The soul that is holy contains the content of Psalms 103 & 104.”
What, then, is the content of Psalms 103 & 104? Their content is: Time and space.
Psalm 103 is not about mere time, but also about Salvation History, and the fascinating procedures and courses of redemption and atonement in the lives of individuals. Psalm 104 is not merely about space, but also about the sheer goodness, simplicity, complexity, and beauty of Creation, and the intrinsic compatibility of nature and humanity, in this cosmos that God has created.
Let us turn to the words of “Saint” Anthony, the only time in this book that someone is called a “Saint.” Now, if we see a wonderful sunset, or a beautiful tree in springtime, we might say something like, “Wow, that sunset, or that tree, really makes one think of God’s beauty.” In a sense, we are learning about God in the Creation around us, a Creation that is created by God.
This is good. This is getting us into the habit of us making connections between the Creator, and the loving Divine Creator’s messages and gifts to us that appear in Creation. But this is not what Saint Anthony is speaking about here. Rather, Saint Anthony is speaking of something the Merton, in another book, calls, “natural theology.” Saint Anthony is talking about an ongoing, personal, real conversation with the Holy Spirit.
Saint Anthony is deep friends with the Holy Spirit. Decades earlier, Anthony had memorized the Bible. Anthony was now reading the direct signs of the Holy Spirit, personally tailored by the Holy Spirit for Saint Anthony to glean, in the environment around him. He is able to have a conversation between himself and God by observing the environment around himself, and responding to God in his quiet internal prayer. That is what Anthony, a Saint, is meaning in his response in this Verbum.
Today, in the time of Vatican II, which Pope Saint John XXIII says is the Second Pentecost, this same opportunity is available to us, if we cultivate our relationship with the Holy Spirit.
Something similar happens with Abba Moses back in Verbum XIII. Most of the desert monks were from Egypt or nearby. Abba Moses, who has a fascinating life story, was from sub-Sahara Africa. He had very dark skin, and was large and strong. Saint Abba Moses is a Saint in many Churches, including the Catholic Church.
A monk went to Abba Moses and asked for a good word. Abba Moses responded, “Go, sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.”
When I first heard this Verbum, I thought a lot about prayer and the cell. Only later did I make the connection to John 14:26: “The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything.” [Note too the Trinitarian aspects of the verse: When we get to know the Holy Spirit better, so too we are moving into the life of the Trinity more deeply.]
We see that Saint Abba Moses is saying something similar to Saint Abba Anthony. He is pointing to the developmental expectation for monks, that they will enter into this relationship with the Holy Spirit, who will communicate with the monk about everything.
This mature dialogue with the Holy Spirit has elements of humor on occasion. In Verbum CIV, there are some humorous notes, especially when compared with Psalm 104.
Reflection
One of the reasons for these apothegms, and for tracking the correlations between the Psalms and the numbered sentences of the ancients like Evagrius, Maximus, the Gospel of Thomas, Gregory Palamas, and more, all the way to Merton, is this: This sort of “recognition,” yes, this “image recognition,” is a central part of the languages of the Holy Spirit. As we enter more deeply into relationship with the Holy Spirit today, in the time of the Second Pentecost of Vatican II, this is great practice for learning how to communicate with the Holy Spirit.
Also, the cover picture for this essay is an icon of an Abba from the Egyptian desert. The icon is of St. Abba Mina (aka Menas) and Jesus. Indeed, the direct relationship that many of these monks shared with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Love, the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of Jesus is shown in this icon.
Verbum CXIV and Surah 114
In the middle of the Verbum, Abba Agatho speaks of the “custody of the mind.”
Surah 114 is the final Surah of the Qur’an. Though short, it is enigmatic and not easy to understand. However, a central message of this amazing Surah is the vital importance of the custody of the mind.
For the Church, today is the time of Vatican II. Pope Saint John XXIII says that today, the currently blossoming event of Vatican II, is a Second Pentecost. What is a “Second Pentecost,” what does this mean? It means 1) a new immediacy of relationship with the Holy Spirit, and 2) a new birth of the Church. If the Holy Spirit will be coming closer than ever to individuals and communities, if this will be a greater event than those depicted in the Acts of the Apostles, then the conducting of our own interior life will be more important than ever. A forthcoming essay shall discuss this at greater length.
For its part, Psalm 114 has some of the most dramatic physical action of the Book of Psalms. At the event of the Exodus, mountains leap up and down.
As we learn how to work with the Holy Spirit, and as we become a far more greatly unified Church and humanity, we will have the ability to move mountains: If we learn how to listen to the Holy Spirit, and if we lovingly follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Additionally, Psalm 114 is a Psalm of the Ladder of the Mystical Psalm Structures. The jumping up and down of the mountains is an image of the climbing of the Ladder. Vaulting into the future of our calling, Surah 114 and Verbum CXIV alert us to the fact that the “custody of the mind” ensures that we shall continue climbing the Ladder to the heights that God wants us to achieve. If humanity can survive the near future, then God will lead us to remarkable things.
Verbum CXXVI and Psalm 126
Abbot Mathois said: Better light work that takes a long time to finish than a hard job that is quickly done. [emphases added]
We discussed Psalm 42 earlier, and the deportation of the Hebrews who became slaves in Babylon. Among the 7 Pillar Psalms, Psalms 42 and 126 balance each other, as the 2nd and 6th Psalms of the Pillar, respectively. And Psalm 126 is the radically joyful return of the Hebrews to Jerusalem, as they returned from the Babylonian Captivity.
The joy of Psalm 126 is stupendous. The returning Israelites are like “dreamers,” and there is “laughter.” But this is the stuff of modern pop songs, not the ancient Scriptures! Yet here it is, in the Hebrew Scriptures. This return to Jerusalem and to the rebuilding of the temple happened because the virtuous Iranian emperor Cyrus defeated the Babylonians and decided to free the Hebrews, about 70 years after the Babylonian Captivity began. In the Book of Isaiah, YHWH calls Cyrus “My Shepherd” and the “Anointed.” (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1)
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At another level of meaning of the Verbum-Psalm pairing: The Israelites, during the Babylonian Captivity, were perhaps the first missionaries in human history, even if they were largely unaware of this role. They taught Babylonians about the One God. It was a work that initially took decades, before the return of many of the Hebrews to Jerusalem.
In this Verbum we have references to the Mystical Psalm Structures. It took centuries to weave them into the Book of Psalms. Psalm 126 is a very important Psalm. Also, in this mature Psalm reflection after the captivity, with Psalm 126 the Hebrews take into their language and Scripture words of their former slave-masters, who, with time, had become their spiritual children and friends. Psalm 126 is a model of all peoples working through hurt and hate to attain a unified humanity. For the last 2500 years, Iraq has had communities of Jewish people who have been full and joyful citizens of Iraq.
Verbum CXXVII and Psalm 127
The Fathers used to say: If some temptation arises in the place where you dwell in the desert, do not leave that place in time of temptation. For if you leave it then, no matter where you go, you will find the same temptation waiting for you. But be patient until the temptation goes away, lest your departure scandalize others who dwell in the same place, and bring tribulation upon them. [emphases added]
Psalm 127 celebrates the human family, and the family home. It forms a great pair with this Verbum.
Verbum CXXVIII and Psalm 128
Abbot Zeno, the disciple of Abbot Sylvanus, said: do not dwell in a famous place, and do not become the disciple of a man with a great name. And do not lay a foundation when you build yourself a cell. [emphases added]
Deeply connected with Psalm 127, Psalm 128 is an even more powerful celebration of the human family and the family home. Psalm 128 may be the most important Psalm of the Book of Psalms. It is a meeting place of many Biblical themes. Pope Francis gives us a beautiful interpretation of this Psalm in Amoris Laetitia.
Verbum CL and Psalm 150
A longer story closes the book with Verbum CL. This story features an interesting wedding, a birth, and several departures, and a radical new beginning.
Psalm 150 closes the Psalter. It is a short Psalm, and it is only half a Psalm. It opens to the glory of heaven, and of deeper life in Koinonia, community, and in God. There is music and dancing.
Conclusion
Merton, in his “Author’s Note,” twice says that there is no order to his book. Like Evagrius’ sidestep bravado and discussion of 153 fish, this is a rhetorical feint by Merton. He clearly has placed a complex and beautiful order into this work.
The reader’s recognition of the echoes between the Verbi of the ancient monks and the Psalms of the same number is great practice for learning the languages of the Holy Spirit. This is especially important for people to do today, in the “Second Pentecost” that is the era of Vatican II.
Note to the reader:
If you are interested in reading Merton’s book, it is easy to obtain a copy of his The Wisdom of the Desert. I would suggest that the reader temporarily forget this present essay, and read Merton’s book, and its 150 sayings of the desert monks, with fresh eyes. How do you find these amazing apothegms?
And Merton’s introductory essay is excellent.
Acknowledgment:
When I was a monk, I was privileged to take a course on the sayings of the desert monks, during studies in Rome. Abbot Jeremy Driscoll, O.S.B., who taught the course, led us to see how deeply the Scriptures inform the words and the actions of the ancient desert Christians. Special thanks to Abbot Jeremy.
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