Praying with the Desert Fathers
A Quiet Day given by Mother Anne on 24th February 2026
This was the first session of the St Benedict's Centre Lent Spirituality Series 2026.
Christians in the early centuries after Christ tried various ways of fulfilling St Paul’s teaching in his first letter to the Thessalonians to ‘Pray without ceasing’ [1 Thess 5:17]. This quiet day was practical rather than scholarly with reflections from Mother Anne on the practice of prayer in the early church along with opportunity for discussion, individual reflection and participation in prayer exercises inspired by the spirituality of the Mothers and Fathers of the Desert.
Notes from Quiet Day Sessions
Handouts
- Body Awareness into Prayer - A simple body awareness practice to use as preparation for prayer
- Prayer Practice: "Lord have mercy"
- Prayer Practice: "I AM"
- The Desert Fathers on Postures for Prayer
- A quotation from Benedictine Abbot Andre Louf on monastic prayer and a poem by Mother Osyth of Malling Abbey
Introducing Mother Anne
Mother Anne OSB has a PhD in computer science from Cambridge University, UK, and worked for 25 years in the hi-tech world of 'Silicon Fen' (as the area around Cambridge has come to be known). She was involved in early experiments with social media but became disillusioned with the idea that more technology was always a good thing. This led to training in massage therapy and exploration of the relationship between body and prayer. Eventually she followed God's call to live a life of prayer, entering the Benedictine monastic community of Malling Abbey in the UK in 2009. She was elected Abbess in 2020.