Third Desert, The

Over the course of its history the Christian monastic tradition hasdeveloped a "desert spirituality" of solitude, silence, and selfknowledgethat fosters openness to the divine presence and itstransformative power. Today the divine presence is manifesting itselfanew in the "desert of otherness," that sacred space in which weencounter the other as one whose difference, even of religion andspirituality, can enrich us, rather than as one who must be drawn toand converted to our own "truth." The encounter of Christians withother believers will increasingly become a place of hardship andtesting that leads to union with the divine. This "third monastic desert"is, in reality, the nucleus of the kingdom that is coming into being,where communication becomes communion. Such has been theexperience of monastic men and women-Buddhists, Hindus, andChristians-who have engaged in dialogue. Having discovered anunanticipated bond between dialogue and silence, openness to theother and interiority, Christian monks invite the whole church to jointhem on this journey into the desert of otherness.