November 30, 1997
Seek
Not the Praises of Men
This week's selection is from St. Macarius the Great, born
around 300 A.D. A former camel driver and trader, he was one of the earliest pioneers of
"Scetis," an area in the Egyptian desert near Alexandria that is renowned for
the richness of its ascetic life. St. Macarius lived before monasteries were established
and as with many monks of his time was a wanderer, not living in any particular place for
very long. He visited St. Anthony the Great in the Red Sea Desert at least twice. St.
Macarius died around 390 A.D.
BEGIN: A brother came to see Abba Macarius the Egyptian, and said to him, "Abba, give
me a word, that I may be saved." So the old man said, "Go to the cemetery and
abuse the dead." The brother went there, abused them and threw stones at them; then
he returned and told the old man about it. The latter said to him, "Didn't they say
anything to you?" He replied, "No."
The old man said, "Go back tomorrow and praise them." So the brother went away
and praised them, calling them, "Apostles, saints, and righteous men." He
returned to the old man and said to him, "Did they not answer you?" The brother
said, "No."
The old man said to him, "You know how you insulted them and they did not reply, and
how you praised them and they did not speak; so you too, if you wish to be saved, must do
the same and become a dead man. Like the dead, take no account of either the scorn of men
or their praises, and you can be saved." END
from "The Desert Christian," by Sr. Benedicta Ward, (New York:
MacMillan, 1975), p. 132
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