Her pious discourses were inflamed with so much zeal, and accompanied with such an unfeigned humility, and with so many tears, that it cannot be expressed what deep impressions they made on her hearers. Her humility made her unwilling to take upon herself the task of instructing, but charity, on the other side, opened her mouth. The fame of her virtue being spread abroad, many women resorted to her abode to confer with her upon spiritual matters. Mortification and prayer were from that time her principal employment but her close solitude, by concealing her pious exercises from the eyes of the world, has deprived us in a great measure of the knowledge of them. Syncletica, having soon distributed her fortune among the poor, retired with her sister into a lonesome monument, on a relation's estate where, having sent for a priest, she cut off her hair in his presence, as a sign whereby she renounced the world, and renewed the consecration of herself to God. Her parents, at their death, left her heiress to their opulent estate for the two brothers she had died before them and her sister being blind, was committed entirely to her guardianship. She never seemed to suffer more than when obliged to eat oftener than she desired. Flight was her refuge against exterior assaults, and, regarding herself as her own most dangerous enemy, she began early to subdue her flesh by austere fasts and other mortifications. Her great fortune and beauty induced many young noblemen to become her suitors for marriage, but she had already bestowed her heart on her heavenly spouse. From her infancy she had imbibed the lore of virtue, and in her tender years she consecrated her virginity to God. Syncletica was born at Alexandria in Egypt, of wealthy Macedonian parents. However, the house built on rock which can withstand the storm is from Mt 7:24-27.St. The translator rightly identifies the biblical image used here: the tower from Lk 14:28. For having distributed her property to the poor, and having renounced anger and memory of past injuries, and expelled envy and love of fame, she built up her house upon the rock from which the tower was splendid and the house free from storms (§13) 19 Castelli, pp. For she did not bring with her external materials, but rather she poured out internal things. And whereas the work of dwelling places is usually constructed from external materials, she did the opposite thing. For, having put away beforehand the things for the completion of the house, she made herself the most secure tower. Just as people who are about to make a journey first give thought to their provisions, just so she, having prepared herself with provisions – with long sufferings – she made the journey toward heavenly things without restraint. Here is a fantastic academic article published in 1993 by Mary Forman called Amma Syncletica: A Spirituality of Experience w hich includes this excerpt from translator Castelli about Amma Syncletica's life: Here is a youtube video podcast excerpt of the Sayings of the Desert Fathers audio book which reads her sayings aloud. Here is a short article from the CBE on her life called A Desert Mother: Amma SyncleticaĪnother short saying of Amma Syncletica: “Just as the most bitter medicine drives out poisonous creatures so prayer joined to fasting drives evil thoughts away.” It is like those who wish to light a fire at first they are choked by the smoke and cry, and by this means obtain what they seek (as it is said: ‘Our God is a consuming fire’ ): so we also must kindle the divine fire in ourselves through tears and hard work.” “In the beginning there are a great many battles and a good deal of suffering for those who are advancing towards God and afterwards, ineffable joy. It is possible to be a solitary in one's mind while living in a crowd, and it is possible for one who is a solitary to live in the crowd of his own thoughts." "There are many who live in the mountains and behave as if they were in the town, and they are wasting their time. There are many of her sayings recorded in the Apothegmata Patrum (sayings of the desert fathers). She was eventually sought out by people who had learnt of her holiness and wanted to get closer to God and ended up teaching other women in particular how to live in communion with God. She lived in a crypt in Alexandria, with her younger blind sister for years, devoting herself to spiritual practice and prayer. Born into a wealthy family, she was well known for her beauty but felt called to live in solitude and gave up all her wealth and position to retreat. Syncletica is known as one of the holy Desert mothers from the 4th century.
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