Gathering Fuel in the Desert

We have been told of brothers in whose week there was such a shortage of wood that they did not have enough to prepare the usual food for the brothers. By the abbot’s authority it was ordered that, until more could be brought in and fetched, they should be content with dried food. Everyone agreed to this, and no one could expect any cooked food. Still, these men felt as if they were cheated of the fruit and reward of their labor and service if they did not prepare the food for their brothers as usual, in the order of their turn. So they laid on themselves labor and care that no one had asked of them. In those dry and barren regions wood cannot possibly be had unless it is cut from the fruit trees, for no wild shrubs grow there as they do here. So they wander through the wide deserts and cross the wilderness that stretches toward the Dead Sea, gathering into their laps and the folds of their clothing the scanty stubble and brambles that the wind carries here and there. By this voluntary service they prepare all the usual food for the brothers, so that they let nothing of the ordinary supply be cut short. They carry out these duties toward their brothers so faithfully that, although the shortage of wood and the abbot’s order would be a fair excuse for them, they will not take advantage of this freedom, out of regard for the gain and reward of their service. [a]