From a Family of Saint: Macrina

Today the Church remembers Macrina, a woman from a family of saints!  Karen Keck writes:

The eldest of ten children, St. Macrina was born into a family that has graced the church with many saints. Her grandmother, St. Macrina the Elder, moved with her husband to Pontus during Galerius’ persecution of the Church; the family had lost its property but were witnesses to the power of Christianity. The younger Macrina’s parents, Basil and Emiliana, were declared saints by the Church, as were three of her four brothers, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, and Peter of Sebaste. In his work, On the Soul and the Resurrection, Gregory calls Macrina the Teacher, and, from his Life of the Teacher, it is clear that she was the spiritual influence on and the spiritual center of her family.

She was born around 327.  Macrina’s parents taught her to read the Scriptures. At twelve (the minimum age of marriage for girls in the Roman empire), her parents arranged for her to marry a young man of St. Basil the Elder’s choosing, although she preferred a life of celibacy. After her fiancé’s death, she persuaded her father that the intended marriage was as good as a marriage. Therefore, she was a widow, and from that time forward, Macrina led a celibate life of asceticism.

After the death of her father, which was coincident with the birth of her youngest brother, Peter, Macrina helped her mother raise her siblings and manage the family’s financial affairs, at the same time persuading Emiliana to live without servants and other “necessities.” Macrina raised her youngest sibling, who became, like their brother Basil, a monastic leader.

After her brothers and sisters were raised, Macrina led her mother to the ascetic life, and the two established a monastery on the family estate, with their former maidservants as their sister nuns. Legend tells us that the community became a double monastery with Macrina’s younger brother, Peter, the abbot of the men’s section. Her monastic rule does not survive, nor does a full account of the influence that she and Basil exercised upon one another, although Gregory gives Macrina credit for bringing Basil into the monastic life. Each, as can be inferred from accounts of Macrina’s thought and from the Rule of St. Basil, saw the life of the monastery as similar to that of the family.

Macrina shepherded her siblings and her monastic family through the grief that followed the deaths of first Emiliana and later, Basil the Great in 379. When Macrina herself was approaching death later that same year, she comforted Gregory, prepared him for her death, and inspired him with her faith and calmness.

Gregory gives an account of their last conversation in his dialogue, On the Soul and the Resurrection.1 In the dialogue, the Teacher argues that foolishness and misunderstanding are the causes of the grief that attends the death of a beloved one and that often weighs down those who remain on earth. These arise from a failure to comprehend that the flesh passes away; being composite, the body alone is dissolved at death.

The body lies in the grave; the body is insensate. The soul, however, remains sensate. It knows all that it knew when the body lived, and its knowing derives from what the body experienced and what the soul knew. The soul can still contemplate God and will be like God insofar as it sees His beauty.

As he prepared her body for burial, Gregory learned from a nun assisting him that, several years earlier, Macrina had refused medical treatment for a tumor in her breast, despite her mother’s entreaties. When her mother again beseeched her to visit the doctor and have it removed, Macrina simply asked Emiliana to make the sign of the cross on the tumor, which disappeared at her mother’s touch. A small scar was Macrina’s private reminder of the mercy of God.

Let us pray:  Merciful God, who called your servant Macrina to reveal in her life and her teaching the riches of your grace and truth: Mercifully grant that we, following her example, may seek after your wisdom and live according to her way; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

RONALD McDONALD HOUSE IN GALVESTON IS IN NEED—Their pantry is running low. Here is a list of items you can bring to Church so that we can help those in need: 

         Boxes of Macaroni & Cheese

         Tuna
         Ramen noodles
         Milk
         Sliced bread
         Rice
         Mayonnaise/Salad dressing
         Hot dogs
         Tomatoes, Onions

         Jalapenos

         Cookies or cake

         Any fruit or fruit cups (luxury)

CALENDAR REMINDERS

We had a great day today with the Seniors and enjoyed Bubba’s Burgers!  Thanks to Micelle, Evelyn, Pat, Sherman, Melva and Bubba for all of their good work!  Everyone said how much they enjoyed the burgers!

Saturday at 10:00 a.m.: Summer Art Camp continues at St. Augustine’s.

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially Joanie, Dina, Dwayne, Wanda, and all of those who are traveling.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550