Poustinia: Finding the Oasis in the Desert
“The duty of the moment is the duty of God” (Catherine de Hueck Doherty).
Editor’s note: This Lent, the Catholic Women in Business team is exploring the theme “Cultivating Virtue in the Desert.” Learn more here.
Every day, I tell myself that the moment my daughter goes down for her nap that afternoon, before I start working, I will set aside time for prayer. I tell myself that if I prioritize prayer, God will make sure everything else falls into place. I tell myself that it’s no use working (particularly in my work, which is almost entirely faith-based) if I am not grounded in prayer.
All too often, though, the second my daughter is in her crib, my mind races to all of the tasks I want or need to accomplish, and prayer doesn’t seem as important.
Sure, I pray occasionally throughout the day, and I always get in a Rosary, even if it’s in bits and pieces here and there. But I know that I need more than that. I need some time—even if it’s just a few minutes—in silence. God always finds a way to hit me over the head with a message I need to hear, but how much more fruitful would my life be if I set aside time to listen? After all, I wouldn’t have a good marriage if my husband and I didn’t make time to sit and talk with each other. Catholic Women in Business would fall apart if my co-president and I didn’t have regular check-ins.
If I truly believe that the most important relationship in my life is with Jesus, why isn’t time with him my top priority?
The Poustinia
The poustinia (literally meaning “desert”) is an Eastern Orthodox tradition in which God calls someone to live in a poustyn—a bare-bones cabin where they pray and fast, alone except for the Holy Spirit.
Catherine de Hueck Doherty was a Russian immigrant to the United States and a convert from Eastern Orthodoxy to Roman Catholicism. She brought the idea of the poustinia with her to the States and to Roman Catholicism. (The cause for her canonization was opened in 2000.)
“To go into the poustinia means to listen to God,” she wrote. “It means entering into kenosis—the emptying of oneself. This is really a climbing of this awesome mountain right to the very top where God abides in his warm silence.”
Importantly, the poustyn is usually in a village, and the poustinik is also a part of village life, helping where help is needed and always praying and sharing the love of Christ. “If I touch God I must touch man,” Doherty wrote. “Christ incarnated himself and became man, so I must, like Christ himself, be a person of the towel and the water. That is to say, wash the feet of my fellowmen as Christ did, and washing the feet of my fellowmen means service.
“I cannot pray if I don’t serve my brother. I cannot pray to the God who incarnated himself, when my brother is in need.”
The poustinik was always praying, always immersed in the silence of God, even when they were not alone. Every act of service was also a prayer. They carried the poustyn in their heart.
The Duty of the Moment
What a powerful way to approach our work as women in business! We are not called to a cloistered life. We are not called to spend hours a day in silence. We have bills to pay and mouths to feed and clients to serve and loved ones to care for. As long as the duty we are fulfilling is the duty God is calling us to, we are a poustinik ourselves.
Granted, like the poustinik, we also called not just to offer up our to-do list. We are also called to some silence. We are called to some mental prayer, some contemplative prayer. Most of all, we are called to listen and to worship, to praise.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Do you have a perpetual Adoration chapel near you? Find some time to go once a month, whether it’s over a lunch break or after the kids are in bed. If you have the time and inclination, volunteer as a regular Adorer, both to help out the parish and to hold yourself accountable for going regularly.
Start praying a daily Rosary. If a full Rosary is too much, start with just one decade.
Begin each work session with a prayer.
Reserve five minutes before you go to bed each evening for gratitude journaling—but with a Catholic spin: Make each entry a prayer of thanksgiving for everything God gave you that day.
As we finish Lent and head toward Easter, let us remember the desert. Let us keep it with us. Let us praise God, always. Let us listen to God both in the silent moments when we can catch them and in the busyness of our day.
Taryn DeLong is a Catholic wife and mother in North Carolina who encourages women to live out their feminine genius as co-president and editor-in-chief of Catholic Women in Business and a contributor to publications for Catholic women. She enjoys curling up with a cup of Earl Grey and a good novel, playing the piano, and taking walks in the sunshine with her family. Connect with Taryn: Twitter • Instagram • Facebook • LinkedIn • Blog • Substack