From the life of Saint Macarius of Egypt, as written in The Lives of the Saints, Vol. 5 (January):
A brother came to visit Saint Macarius and pleaded, "Abba, give me a word, that I will be saved."
The elder said, "Go to a cemetery and insult the dead."
The brother insulted the dead, threw rocks at their graves, and returned to the old man. "Did they say anything to you?" the venerable one asked.
"Nothing," replied the monk.
"Now go, praise them," enjoined the elder. The brother praised the dead as saints and apostles, then reported back to the saint. Macarius asked, "Did they respond?"
"No," answered the monk.
"You heaped contempt on them, and they said nothing; you praised them, but they remained silent," said Macarius. "If you wish to be saved, become a dead man. If, like the dead, you take no account either of the scorn of men or their acclaim, you can be saved."
Troparion
- Dweller of the desert and angel in the body
- you were shown to be a wonder-worker, our God-bearing Father Macarius.
- You received heavenly gifts through fasting, vigil, and prayer:
- Healing the sick and the souls of those drawn to you by faith.
- Glory to Him who gave you strength!
- Glory to Him who granted you a crown!
- Glory to Him who through you grants healing to all!
Kontakion
- The Lord truly placed you in the house of abstinence,
- As a star enlightening the ends of the earth,
- Venerable Macarius, Father of Fathers.
2 comments:
I love St. Macarius.
Being dead to the world is such a great goal; but, sadly, I tend to like thinking about the cure, rather than taking the medicine. The struggle to take no notice of praise, or to be silent when vilified, is desperately hard. So hard that, often, I do despair of it.
But, when I confess that to my priest, he just says "Justinian, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it."
Too right.
Especially in the case of 'injustice', I wonder how am I supposed to feel if not angered/hurt??? Dispassion just doesn't FEEL like an option! Desperately hard indeed. I am very, very far from it. With praise, too. One thing I try to keep in mind is what our priest said: Whenever we do something good and are praised (by others or ourself), we should immediately respond "To God be the glory!" Even if I don't remember or if I choose pride instead, the thought has been occurring to me more often. That's a start, I guess :)
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