For hundreds of years, men and women have been drawn to the desert, looking for God away from the distractions of ordinary life. Some of the monks, nuns and hermits (known as 'abba' or 'amma') who settled in the desert drew followers seeking spiritual direction, who would ask for 'a word' -- a short saying to reflect upon. Here is a collection of these sayings, arranged for every day of the year, with the Bible passages on which they are based: a little treasury of wisdom from the silent wilderness.