ST. MACARIUS, the Elder, was born in Upper Egypt, about the year 300,
and brought up in the country in tending cattle. In his childhood, in
company with some others, he once stole a few figs, and ate one of them:
but from his conversion to his death, he never ceased to weep bitterly
for this sin.[1] By a powerful call of divine grace, he retired from the
world in his youth, and dwelling in a little cell in a village, made
mats, in continual prayer and great austerities. A wicked woman falsely
accused him of having defloured her; for which supposed crime he was
dragged through the streets, beaten, and insulted, as a base hypocrite,
under the garb of a monk. He suffered all with patience, and sent the
woman what he earned by his work, saying to himself: "Well, Macarius!
having now another to provide for, thou must work the harder." But God
discovered his innocency; for the woman falling in labor, lay in extreme
anguish, and could not be delivered till she had named the true father
of her child. The people converted their rage into the greatest
admiration of the humility and patience of the saint.[2] To shun the
esteem of men, he fled into the vast hideous desert of Scete,[3] being
then about thirty years of age. In this solitude he lived sixty years,
and became the spiritual parent of innumerable holy persons, who put
themselves under his direction, and were governed by the rules he
prescribed them; but all dwelt in separate hermitages. St. Macarius
admitted only one disciple with him, to entertain strangers. He was
{160} compelled by an Egyptian bishop to receive the order of
priesthood, about the year 340, the fortieth of his age, that he might
celebrate the divine mysteries for the convenience of this holy colony.
When the desert became better peopled, there were four churches built in
it, which were served by so many priests. The austerities of St.
Macarius were excessive; he usually ate but once a week. Evagrius, his
disciple, once asked him leave to drink a little water, under a parching
thirst; but Macarius bade him content himself with reposing a little in
the shade, saying: "For these twenty years, I have never once ate,
drunk, or slept, as much as nature required."[4] His face was very pale,
and his body weak and parched up. To deny his own will, he did not
refuse to drink a little wine when others desired him; but then he would
punish himself for this indulgence, by abstaining two or three days from
all manner of drink; and it was for this reason, that his disciple
desired strangers never to tender unto him a drop of wine.[5] He
delivered his instructions in few words, and principally inculcated
silence, humility, mortification, retirement, and continual prayer,
especially the last, to all sorts of people. He used to say, "In prayer,
you need not use many or lofty words. You can often repeat with a
sincere heart, Lord, show me mercy as thou knowest best. Or, assist me,
O God!"[6] He was much delighted with this ejaculation of perfect
resignation and love: "O Lord, have mercy on me, as thou pleasest, and
knowest best in thy goodness!"[7] His mildness and patience were
invincible, and occasioned the conversion of a heathen priest, and many
others.[8] The devil told him one day, "I can surpass thee in watching,
fasting, and many other things; but humility conquers and disarms
me."[9] A young man applying to St. Macarius for spiritual advice, he
directed him to go to a burying-place, and upbraid the dead; and after
to go and flatter them. When he came back, the saint asked him what
answer the dead had made: "None at all," said the other, "either to
reproaches or praises." "Then," replied Macarius, "go, and learn neither
to be moved with injuries nor flatteries. If you die to the world and to
yourself, you will begin to live to Christ." He said to another:
"Receive, from the hand of God, poverty as cheerfully as riches, hunger
and want as plenty, and you will conquer the devil, and subdue all your
passions."[10] A certain monk complained to him, that in solitude he was
always tempted to break his fast, whereas in the monastery, he could
fast the whole week cheerfully. "Vain-glory is the reason," replied the
saint; "fasting pleases, when men see you; but seems intolerable when
that passion is not gratified."[11] One came to consult him, who was
molested with temptations to impurity: the saint, examining into the
source, found it to be sloth, and advised him never to eat before
sunset, to meditate fervently at his work, and to labor vigorously,
without sloth, the whole day. The other faithfully complied, and was
freed from his enemy. God revealed to St. Macarius, that he had not
attained the perfection of two married women, who lived in a certain
town: he made them a visit, and learned the means by which they
sanctified themselves. They were extremely careful never to speak any
idle or rash words: they lived in the constant practice of humility,
patience, meekness, charity, resignation, mortification of their own
will, and conformity to the humors of their husbands and others, where
the divine law did not interpose: in a spirit of recollection they
sanctified all their actions by {161} ardent ejaculations, by which they
strove to praise God, and most fervently to consecrate to the divine
glory all the powers of their soul and body.[12]
A subtle heretic of the sect of the Hieracites, called so from Hierax,
who in the reign of Dioclesian denied the resurrection of the dead, had,
by his sophisms, caused some to stagger in their faith. St. Macarius, to
confirm them in the truth, raised a dead man to life, as Socrates,
Sozomen, Palladius, and Rufinus relate. Cassian says, that he only made
a dead corpse to speak for that purpose; then bade it rest till the
resurrection. Lucius, the Arian usurper of the see of Alexandria, who
had expelled Peter, the successor of St. Athanasius, in 376 sent troops
into the deserts to disperse the zealous monks, several of whom sealed
their faith with their blood: the chiefs, namely, the two Macariuses,
Isidore, Pambo, and some others, by the authority of the emperor Valens,
were banished into a little isle of Egypt, surrounded with great
marshes. The inhabitants, who were Pagans, were all converted to the
faith by the confessors.[13] The public indignation of the whole empire,
obliged Lucius to suffer them to return to their cells. Our saint,
knowing that his end drew near, made a visit to the monks of Nitria, and
exhorted them to compunction and tears so pathetically, that they all
fell weeping at his feet. "Let us weep, brethren," said he, "and let our
eyes pour forth floods of tears before we go hence, lest we fall into
that place where tears will only increase the flames in which we shall
burn."[14] He went to receive the reward of his labors in the year 390,
and of his age the ninetieth, having spent sixty years in the desert of
Scete.[15]
He seems to have been the first anchoret who inhabited this vast
wilderness; and this Cassian affirms.[16] Some style him a disciple of
St. Antony; but that quality rather suits St. Macarius of Alexandria;
for, by the history of our saint's life, it appears that he could not
have lived under the direction of St. Antony before he retired into the
desert of Scete. But he afterwards paid a visit, if not several, to that
holy patriarch of monks, whose dwelling was fifteen days' journey
distant.[17] This glorious saint is honored in the Roman Martyrology on
the 15th of January; in the Greek Menaea on the 19th. An ancient monastic
rule, and an epistle addressed to monks, written in sentences, like the
book of Proverbs, are ascribed to St. Macarius. Tillemont thinks them
more probably the works of St. Macarius of Alexandria, who had under his
inspection at Nitria five thousand monks.[18] Gennadius[19] says that
St. Macarius wrote nothing but this letter. This may be understood of
St. Macarius of Alexandria, though one who wrote in Gaul might not have
seen all the works of an author whose country was so remote, and
language different. Fifty spiritual homilies are ascribed, in the first
edition, and in some manuscripts, to St. Macarius of Egypt: yet F.
Possin[20] thinks they rather belong to Macarius of Pispir, who attended
St. Antony at his death, and seems to have been some years older than
the two great Macariuses, though some have thought him the same with the
Alexandrian.[21]
Footnotes:
1. Bolland. 15. Jan. p. 1011, Sec.39. Cotel. Mon. Gr{}t, l. 1, p. 546.
2. Cotel. ib. p. 525. Rosweide, Vit. Patr. l. 3, c. 99, l. 5, c. 15,
Sec.25, p. 623.
3. Mount Nitria was above forty miles from Alexandria, towards the
Southwest. The desert of Scete lay eighty miles beyond Nitria, and
was rather in Lybia than in Egypt. It was of a vast extent, and then
were no roads thereabouts, so that men were guided only by the stars
in travelling in those parts. See Tillemont on St. Amon and this
Macarius.
4. Socrates, l. 4, c. 23.
5. Rosweide, Vit. Patr. l. 3, Sec.3, p. 505, l. 5, c. 4, Sec.26, p. 569.
6. Rosweide, l. 3, c. 20, l. 5, c. 12. Cotel. p. 537.
7. Domine, sicut scis et vis, miserere me!
8. Rosweide, l. 3, c. 127. Cotel. t. 1, p. 547.
9. Rosweide, l. 5, c. 15.
10. Rosweide, l. 7, c. 48. Cotel. t. 1, p. 537. Rosweide, ib. Sec.9.
11. Cassian Collat. 5, c. 32.
12. Rosweide, l. 3, c. 97, l. 6, c. 3, Sec.17, p. 657.
13. Theodoret, l. 4, c. 18, 19. Socr. l. 4, c. 22. Sozom. l. 6, c. 19,
20. Rufin. l. 2, c. 3. S. Hier. in Chrom. Oros. l. 7, c. 33. Pallad.
Lausiac. c. 117.
14. Rosw. Vit. Part. l. 5, c. 3, Sec.9. Cotel. Mon. Gr. p. 545.
15. Pallad. Lausiac. c. 19.
16. Cassian. Collat. 15, c. 13. Tillem. Note 3, p. 806.
17. Rosw. Vit. Patr. l. 5, c. 7, Sec.9. Cotel. Apothegm. Patr. 530. Tillem.
art. 4, p. 581, and Note 4, p. 80{}.
18. See Tillem. Note 3, p. 806.
19. Gennad. Cat. c. 10.
20. Possin. Ascet. pr. p. 17.
21.
Du Pin allows these fifty homilies to be undoubtedly very ancient:
in which judgment others agree, and the discourses themselves bear
evident marks. Du Pin and Tillemont leave them to St. Macarius of
Egypt; and his claim to them is very well supported by the learned
English translator, who published them with an introduction, at
London, in 1721, in octavo. The censure of Ceillier upon them seems
too severe. Certain passages, which seem to favor Pelagianism, ought
to be explained by others, which clearly condemn that heresy; or it
must be granted that they have suffered some alteration. The
composition is not very methodical, these homilies being addressed
to monks, in answer to particular queries. The author exceedingly
extols the peace and sweetness which a soul, crucified to the world,
enjoys with the consolations of the Holy Ghost, who resides in her.
But he says that the very angels deplore, as much as their state
will permit, those unhappy souls which taste not these heavenly
delights, as men weep over a dear friend who lies sick in his agony,
and receives all nourishment from their hands. (St. Macar., hom. 1 &
15.) Prayer, without which no one can be free from sin, is a duty
which he strongly inculcates, (Hom. 2,) with perfect concord, by
which we love, and are inclined to condescend to indifferent things,
and to judge well of all men, so as to say, when we see one pray,
that he prays for us; if he read, that he reads for us, and for the
divine honor; if he rest or work, that he is employed for the
advancement of the common good. (Hom. 3.) The practice of keeping
ourselves constantly in the divine presence, he calls a principal
duty, by which we learn to triumph over our enemies, and refer to
the divine honor all we do; "for this one thing is necessary, that
whether we work, read, or pray, we always entertain this life and
treasure in our souls; having God constantly in our thoughts, and
the Holy Ghost in our breasts." (Hom. 3.) A continual watchfulness,
and strict guard upon all our senses, and in all our actions, is
necessary, especially against vanity, concupiscence, and gluttony;
without which, failings will be multiplied; pure and faithful souls
God makes his chaste spouses; they always think on him, and place
all their desires on him; but those who love the earth are earthly
in their thoughts and affections, their corrupt inclinations gain
such a mastery, that they seem natural to them. Vigilance is
absolutely necessary to remove this insinuating enemy; and purity of
conscience begets prudence, which can never be found under the
tyranny of the passions, and which is the eye that guides the soul
through the craggy paths of this life. Pure souls are raised by
divine grace to dwell with God on earth by holy contemplation, and
are fitted for eternal bliss, (Hom. 4;) true Christians differ in
their desires and actions from other men. The wicked burn with
lawless passions, and are disturbed with anxious desires and vain
wishes, hunt after, and think of nothing but earthly pleasures; but
the true Christian enjoys an uninterrupted tranquillity of mind and
joy, even amidst crosses, and rejoices in sufferings and
temptations, hope and divine grace sweetening their severest trials.
The love of God with which they burn, makes them rejoice in all they
suffer for his sake, and by his appointment. It is their most ardent
desire to behold God in his glory, and to be themselves transformed
into him. (2 Cor. iii.) Even now the sweetness with which God
overwhelms them, renders them already, in some measure, partakers of
his glory; which will be completed in them in heaven. (Hom. 5.) In
prayer we must be freed from all anxious care, trouble of mind, and
foreign thoughts; and must cry out to God with our whole hearts in
tranquillity and silence; for God descends only in peace and repose,
not amidst tumult and clamors. (Hom. 6.) A soul astonished to see
God, who is crowned with infinite glory, visit her with so much
sweetness, absorbed in hi, sovereignly despises all earthly things,
and cries out to his in strains of admiration at his condescension
and goodness. (Hom. 7) When a person, endowed with the gift of
supernatural prayer, falls on his knees to pray, his heart is
straight filled with the divine sweetness, and his soul exults in
God as a spouse with her beloved. This joy in one hour of prayer in
the silence of the night, makes a soul forget all the labors of the
day; being wrapt in God, she expatiates in the depth of his
immensity, and is raised above all the toys of this world to
heavenly joys, which no tongue can express. Then she cries out, "Oh!
that my soul could now ascend with my prayer out high, to be for
evermore united with God!" But this grace is not always equal; and
this light is sometimes stronger, and this ardor is sometimes more
vehement, sometimes more gentle; sometimes the soul seems to herself
to behold a cross shining with a dazzling brightness, wherewith her
interior man is penetrated. Sometimes in a rapture she seems clothed
with glory, in some measure as Christ appeared in his
transfiguration. At other times, overwhelmed with a divine light,
and drowned in the ocean of divine sweetness, she scarce remains
herself, and becomes a stranger, and, as it were, foolish to this
world, through the excess of heavenly sweetness, and relish of
divine mysteries. A perfect state of contemplation is granted to no
one in this life; yet when we go to pray, after making the sign of
the cross, often grace so overwhelms the heart, and the whole man,
filling every power with perfect tranquillity, that the soul,
through excess of overflowing joy, becomes like a little child,
which knows no evil, condemns no man, but loves all the world. At
other times she seems as a child of God, to confide in him as in her
father, to penetrate the heavenly mansions which are opened to her,
and to discover mysteries which no man can express. (Hom. 8.) These
interior delights can only be purchased by many trials; for a soul
must be dead to the world, and burn with a vehement love of God
alone, so that no creature can separate her from him, and she
dedicate herself and all her actions to him, without reserve. (Hom.
9.) For this, a most profound humility, cheerfulness, and courage
are necessary; sloth, tepidity, and sadness being incompatible with
spiritual progress. (Hom. 10.) The Holy Ghost is a violent fire in
our breasts, which makes us always active, and spurs us on
continually to aspire more and more vehemently towards God. (Hom.
11.) The mark of a true Christian is, that he studies to conceal
from the eyes of men all the good he receives from God. Those who
taste how sweet God is, and know no satiety in his love, in
proportion as they advance in contemplation, the more perfectly they
see their own wants and nothingness: and always cry out, "I am most
unworthy that this sun sheds its beams upon me." (Hom. 15.) In the
following homilies, the author delivers many excellent maxims on
humility and prayer, and tells us, that a certain monk, after having
been favored with a wonderful rapture, and many great graces, fell
by pride into several grievous sins. (Hom. 17.) A certain rich
nobleman gave his estate to the poor, and set his slaves at liberty;
yet afterwards fell into pride, and many enormous crimes. Another,
who in the persecution had suffered torments with great constancy
for the faith, afterwards, intoxicated with self-conceit, gave great
scandal by his disorders. He mentions one who had formerly lived a
long time with him in the desert, prayed often with him, and was
favored with an extraordinary gift of compunction, and a miraculous
power of curing many sick persons, was delighted with glory and
applause of men, and drawn into the sink of vice. (Hom. 27.) To
preserve the unction of the Holy Ghost, a person must live in
constant fear, humility, and compunction. (Hom. 17.) Without Christ
and his grace we can do nothing; but by the Holy Ghost dwelling in
her, a soul becomes all light, all spirit, as joy, all love, all
compassion. Unless a person be animated by divine grace, and
replenished with all virtues, the best instructions and exhortations
in their mouths produce very little good. (Hom 18.) The servant of
God never bears in mind the good works he has done, but, after all
his labors, sees how much is wanting to him; and how much he falls
short of his duty, and of the perfection of virtue, and says every
day to himself, that now he ought to begin, and that to-morrow
perhaps God will call him to himself, and deliver him from his
labors and dangers (Hom. 26.) The absolute necessity of divine grace
he teaches in many places; also the fundamental article of original
sin, (Hom. 48. pag. 101, t. 4, Bibl. Patr. Colon. an. {}6{}) which
the Pelagians denied.
{162}