by | | 03.23R, Monthly Chapter Content, Saints
St. Macarius the Great of Egypt
St. Macarius is a fourth century saint from a small village in Egypt. In obedience to his parents, he married a young woman despite wishing to remain alone. However, he left to rest in the wilderness for a few days where he received a vision from the Cherubim showing him the entire desert and saying, “God has given this desert to you and your sons for an inheritance.” When he returned home his virgin wife had died. At that time, he knew it was time to leave the worldly life. He began attending church frequently and deeply studying the Holy Scriptures. After his parents death, he sought the guidance of a local elder who lived in the desert and guided him in watchfulness, fasting, prayer, and basket-weaving. Soon, he began to live in a cell near the elder who taught him with love.
The local people seeing his virtues told the bishop of St. Macarius, and he was ordained a priest, despite his protests. He was accused of seducing a woman from the nearby village and thus endured slander and torments. He was attacked and beaten by the villagers and he accepted this without a word. Instead, he sent the money from his baskets to the pregnant woman. When it was time for the child’s birth, the woman was unable to deliver the child until she confessed her lies against St. Macarius. When she did, the woman’s parents and many other locals sought his forgiveness, but he fled again to further into the desert inorder to avoid the praise of the town.
St. Macarius sought the wisdom of St. Anthony the Great and lived near him as a disciple for many years. Later, he was sent to the Skete monastery, and he became known as the “young elder.” He was a mature monk even though he was not even thirty years old. Eventually he became the abbot of the monks in the Skete desert. He remained close with St. Anthony the Great and was even present at his death.
Through his many years of ascetic practice, he was credited with many healings, and through his intercessions, the Lord raised the dead. His humility remained steadfast despite his recognition from many. One day, a thief came to his cell stealing his few worldly things. St. Macarius, without revealing himself as the owner, helped the thief tie the things to his donkey. The thief left, never knowing the saint’s generosity.
St. Macarius died at the age of 97. One of his disciples saw St. Macarius’ soul ascending to heaven. The demons yelled out to him, “You have conquered us, O Macarius!” He responded saying, “Blessed be the Lord Jesus Christ who has delivered me from your hands.”
Feast Day: January 19th
Adapted from: St. Macarius OCA and Macarius the Great
How can St. Macarius intercede for us?
Among the great wisdom of St. Macarius, he reminds those of us still in our earthly life, “If a soul still in the world does not possess in itself the sanctity of the Spirit for great faith and for prayer, and does not strive for the oneness of divine communion, then it is unfit for the heavenly kingdom.” We can each learn from his ascetic practice to draw away from the world and pursue Christ with extreme humility. Through St. Macarius’ intercessions, we can better prioritize God in our lives and develop a practice of prayer.
Discussion around St. Macarius
- When life is busy and there are overwhelming deadlines, some of us have thought about escaping everything (A hut in the desert sounds appealing during finals week, no?). What were St. Macarius’ intentions when he left the world, and how can we apply those same goals to our lives in the world?
- St. Macarius is an excellent example of true humility. When we are overwhelmed by “busyness,” how can we use his example to draw closer to Christ? What is the role of humility when we feel like we are constantly rushing around?
- Despite being frequently sought out for his heavenly wisdom, St. Macarius stayed focused on a life of prayer, meditation, and silence. When our schedules seem to be filled with distractions that pull us away from those practices, what can we do to stay focused?
Tone 1
Thou didst prove to be a citizen of the desert, an angel in the flesh, and a wonderworker, O Makarios, our God-bearing father. By fasting, vigil, and prayer thou didst obtain heavenly gifts, and thou healest the sick and the souls of them that have recourse to thee with faith. Glory to Him that hath given thee strength. Glory to Him that has crowned thee. Glory to Him that worketh healings for all through thee.
Blessed Macarius who taught us the way of prayer by your life of prayer, give strength to us who desire to be free from distraction. Intercede on our behalf that we might be granted wisdom, patience, humility, and stillness so that our eyes can be opened to behold the True Light which comes into the world to enlighten the hearts of those who seek Him. Amen.
by | | 03.23R, Curated Discussion, Monthly Chapter Content
Part I: Excerpts from The Way of the Pilgrim
Split up into pairs or small groups. Each group should be assigned one of the following excerpts from The Way of the Pilgrim to read aloud. Each group should try to answer these questions about their excerpt:
- What does this tell me about God?
- How does this make sense in relation to my own experience?
- How does this apply to daily college life?
Excerpt 1
“Only the guarding of the mind and purity of heart will free one’s soul from sinful thoughts; that inner freedom can be attained only through interior prayer and, I repeated, not through fear of the sufferings of hell or even the desire for the bliss of heaven.”
Excerpt 2
“My later elder used to say that obstacles to prayer come from two sides, the left and the right; that if the enemy does not succeed in turning us away from prayer by vain and sinful thoughts, then he brings to mind instructive and beautiful thoughts only to turn us away from prayer, which he cannot tolerate. And through this right-handed stealing, the soul abandons its communion with God, turns to its own thoughts, and talks to itself or to creatures.”
Excerpt 3
“So that man would see clearly his dependence on God’s will and would learn real humility, God left to man’s freedom and ability only the constant flow of prayer. God commands us to pray ceaselessly, at all times, and in all places. This is where the secret of true prayer, of faith, of keeping the commandments, and of salvation is found. Man has the ability to pray regularly and frequently. The Fathers of the Church clearly confirm this. St. Macarius the Great says, ‘To pray often is in our will, but to pray truly is a gift of grace.’ Venerable Hesychius says that constancy in prayer becomes a habit which then turns into a natural state”
Excerpt 4
“[Prayer is] constant awareness of God’s presence […] Imagine that a very severe and exacting king commanded you to write an essay on some difficult subject in his very presence, at the feet of his throne […] The presence of the king, who has authority over you and has your life in his hands, would not allow you to forget even for a moment that you are not working alone […] This very real awareness of the presence of the king clearly illustrates the possibility of praying even while one is engaged in mental work”
Part II: Group Discussion
Come back together as a group and first share one or two highlights from your small group discussion with the larger group. Then, consider these questions:
- What does it mean to live a life of prayer? What does it really mean to constantly pray throughout your life?
- The Way of the Pilgrim claims that constant prayer keeps people occupied and therefore prevents them from being led into temptations and also that being too busy is no excuse to neglect prayer. What makes prayer different from the things that keep us “too busy”? Additionally, how can we pray in the midst of very busy moments in our life?
- Reflecting on your own journey as a “pilgrim” in this world, can you think of any significant (positive or negative) moments you have had on your spiritual journey so far? How have they impacted who you are and how you relate to God and others?
Part III: Praying the Jesus Prayer
To be an Orthodox Christian living in this world but not of this world is not easy. Prayer is a vital and core part of our spiritual journeys. While we are busy with school, work, and just life in general, it is necessary to take some time to recenter ourselves and just pray.
Even though we are blessed with many prayers in the Church, we are going to focus on the Jesus Prayer. This is perhaps the simplest, yet one of the most important and humbling prayers we have, and the prayer which is at the heart of The Way of the Pilgrim.
The Jesus Prayer is also referred to as the prayer of the heart. We can say the Jesus prayer whenever we want. Consistency with saying this prayer invites the Holy Spirit to activate a life of unceasing prayer in us, a life which leads to inner freedom and purification of the mind and heart.
Here are 10 brief directives for prayer of the heart from The Way of The Pilgrim:
- Sit or stand in a dimly lit and quiet place
- Recollect yourself
- With the help of your imagination find the place of the heart and stay there with attention
- Lead the mind from the head into the heart and say, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me”, quietly with the lips or mentally, whichever is more convenient; say the prayer slowly and reverently
- As much as possible guard the attention of your mind and do not allow any thoughts to enter in
- Be patient and peaceful
- Be moderate in food, drink, and sleep
- Learn to love silence
- Read the scriptures and the writings of the Fathers about prayer
- As much as possible avoid distracting occupations
Let everyone find their own quiet space. Spend the last ten minutes of your gathering silently praying the Jesus Prayer doing your best to abide by the directives given to us in The Way of the Pilgrim.
