"As he was dying, Abba Benjamin taught his sons this: Do this, and you'll be saved: Rejoice always, pray constantly, and in all circumstances give thanks".

Each Christian who seeks God through prayer is continuing a tradition that began with the desert fathers and mothers of the fourth and fifth century -- simple peasants whose spiritual progress was marked by inner peace, self-control, poverty, patience, humility, and hospitality. Desert Wisdom contains some hundred "sayings" of the desert fathers, each accompanied by playful illustrations by Japanese artist Yushi Nomura. Bridging East and...