Chupacabra Canoe Est. 2012

As a part of Chupacabra Canoe, we aim to promote the practice of Poustinia. Support us by purchasing Catholic Canoeists or Chupacabra Canoe gear so we can further our mission.

What is a Poustinia?

Poustinia translates to the ‘Desert’ and refers to the eastern practice of seeking the solitude in prayer. Carrying out this practice typically consists of finding an isolated place of prayer free of distraction and spending time alone with God. Typically, you would spend a day or two in alone with only the bare minimum, such as, bread, water, and a bible.

Biblical Figures in the Wilderness

John the Baptist

“A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths!” — Mark 1:3

Moses

“Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro… and he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush.” – Exodus 3:1-2

“Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and call it the Tent of Meeting… Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” – Exodus 33:7,11

“Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.” – Exodus 24:18

“After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.” – Acts 7:30

Jesus

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry.” – Matthew 4:1-2

“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” – Mark 1:35

“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness.” – Luke 4:1

“But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.” – Luke 5:16

Saints in the Wilderness

St. Anthony the Great

“Whoever sits in solitude and is quiet has escaped from three wars: hearing, speaking, and seeing. Yet against one thing he must constantly battle: his own heart.” – St. Anthony the Great

St. John Paul II

“We can pray perfectly when we are out in the mountains or on a lake and we feel at one with nature. Nature speaks for us or rather speaks to us. We pray perfectly.” – St. John Paul II

St. Bruno of Cologne

“Only those who have experienced the solitude and the silence of the wilderness can know the benefit and divine joy they bring to those who love them.” – St. Bruno of Cologne

St. Jerome

“Oh, how often I imagined that I was in the midst of the pleasures of Rome when I was stationed in the desert… My face was pale from fasting, but my mind burned with desires.” – St. Jerome

St. John of the Cross

“What we need most in order to make progress is to be silent before this great God with our appetite and with our tongue, for the language he best hears is silent love.” – St. John of the Cross