St. Macarius the Great: The Spiritual Homilies and the Prayer of the Heart

Introduction

St. Macarius the Great (c. 300–391 A.D.) is considered to be a major figure of early Christian mysticism, though also one of its most obscure. Macarius was known as a Desert Father, who spent more than 60 years living in the wilderness of Scetis and developed a profound inner spirituality that placed the heart as the center of prayer, that believed the Holy Spirit transforms the heart and soul, and that mystical experience is attainable to all those who sincerely seek God.

There are still questions today about whether or not St. Macarius wrote the famous homilies known as the “Macarian Homilies” , but the spirituality contained within them has been a significant influence on the Christian contemplative practices for over sixteen centuries. His teachings regarding the prayer of the heart, spiritual sensation, and the indwelling Spirit laid a foundation for Eastern Christian mysticism, which helped create the hesychast tradition that continues to thrive today.

From Tax Collector to Desert Father: The Transformation

Details about the early life of St. Macarius are scarce. He is reported to have been born in the 300s in Upper Egypt, to have worked as a camel driver, and perhaps as a tax collector, preceding his conversion to the ascetic lifestyle. His previous experience with worldly commerce and dealing with the corrupt business practices of tax collection only add to the significance of his spiritual transformation.

Traditional accounts of St. Macarius portray a young man who experienced spiritual hunger and dissatisfaction with the normal pleasures associated with contemporary life, who was drawn by an internal calling towards a transcendent experience. Like many others of his generation, St. Macarius had heard tales of St. Antony and the early desert movement and these stories inspired him with a similar burning desire to encounter the Divine without all of the hindrances of material transition.

When St. Macarius reached approximately age 30, he withdrew from the community on the outskirts of his village and lived in a small cell. He began his monastic training as a monk, in a cell, learning to pray, and develop the skills of a monk. This was a period of physical, spiritual, and intellectual asceticism and he worked with local (nearby cells) desert ascetics, acquiring their understanding and implementing them in order to establish his own practice of prayer.

However, Macarius’s spiritual thirst caused him to go deeper. After his training period in a cell, he ventured out to the desolate area of Scetis, the most austere and isolated area of hermits in that day; there, he would spend the next six decades of his life pursuing God with a singular focus. The desert would serve as his monastery, school, battlefield, and ultimate dwelling state, for here, heaven and earth met through the crucible of prayer.

The decision to live in Scetis holds great significance. Compared to the increasing numbers of monks and dwellings in the Nitrian Desert, the growing amount of visitors to the Nitrian Desert made Scetis remain close to isolated as all who seek God would do so after traveling many days through a dry, arid terrain; thus preserving the silence and solitude necessary for those truly seeking God through prayer. Macarius did not want to live in the Nitrian Desert because peace and joy could be found through earthly relationships; instead, he sought after strict solitude, where he could honor God with the purest of devotion, drawing near to Him without distractions, and nothing separating his soul from Heaven.

The School of the Desert: Learning to Pray

The desert was the teacher of the greatest form of prayer imaginable. Many external silent situations forced one to pay attention to internal distractions created in the mind because of the environment where one existed. Because they had no earthly comforts and amusements they had to see themselves internally without the distractions that accompany busy and noisy lives; external scenario as with danger of physical death, furious weather, dangerous creatures, starvation, which were in continual threat upon the physically weak, caused them to have to continually stay aware and alert to the environment around them in order to avoid impending doom.

Macarius learned from years of practice not through books or theory but through practicing and through internal struggles with his thoughts and cries out for God. Macarius endured days and days, hours after hours, of sitting in his cell fighting against his thoughts, calling upon the name of God, struggling against sleep and destruction while always continuing to pray, and by doing that, Macarius built his relationship with God.

Logismoi is the term used by the Desert Fathers to explain those thoughts and emotions that entered into the mind of a monk while alone in the wilderness. Logismoi are not simply neutral thoughts; they represent charged suggestions. Macarius learned how to distinguish logismoi and the difference they had to offer and the power of each source’s message—divine inspiration, natural human thought, or demonic suggestion—and to resist those leading away from God.

Macarius also learned that logismoi are a good thing, for he was encouraged by others to “guard your heart” or “watchfulness” (nepsis is a Greek word). This form of dual vigilance involved being keenly aware of one’s inner state so that if there was anything disturbing the serenity of one’s thought process turn immediately to prayer when there is a temptation for a diversion or destruction. This is not being paranoid, hypervigilant, or obsessive, rather, this is being aware of oneself in the manner that a craftsman has an intense focus on their work with complete concentration.

As part of learning about the relationship with God, Macarius learned of the concept of “throwing oneself before God” ; Macarius learned to have an intense dependence and reliance upon God’s mercy and grace. Macarius wanted to develop an awareness of his complete and absolute dependence on God’s grace and to endeavor to express this through prostration before God (both physical and spiritually prostrate).

Over time Macarius learned of how to develop an unceasing prayer life. Macarius started very slowly by only praying for only a few minutes at a time. Throughout this time period he felt distracted and his body felt restless and tired. But he continued to return to prayer even when he was experiencing setbacks. By continually returning to prayer Macarius eventually developed an ability for his thoughts to be collected together and hence his prayer became more natural; he became a more consistent and habitual individual praying.

Manual labor played a crucial role in this training; while weaving baskets, St. Macarius consistently created a work of a productive activity using a rhythmic pattern for the construction of each basket, providing him with an opportunity to be productive in his labor while he prayed at the same time. Therefore, to successfully combine productive work with a contemplative prayer life is essential for a balance.

The Macarian Homilies: A Treasury of Mystical Wisdom

The collection of the Spiritual Homilies, aka the Macarian Homilies, consists of 50 sermons or discourses (homilies) that are well-documented to have been a significant influence on early Christian Mysticism, especially in the Eastern Church. There are scholarly discussions about who wrote these homilies, but many believe they were written in 4th century Syria as opposed to having been written by the Egyptian Macarius. However, regardless of their place of origin, their teachings reflect a philosophy of spirituality which is in harmony with the philosophy of the Desert Fathers, and for many centuries have been attributed to Macarius.

The homilies do not comprise systematic theology, rather they reflect experiential wisdom, thus they do not consist of academic treatises but rather the products of a deep engagement of the heart with God in prayer. The homilies articulate an experience of God through direct personal encounter and transformation in the heart through availing oneself for divine union. The authors use vivid, poetic, and metaphorical language, derived from the scriptures as well as the experience of life, to describe their experience with God.

The homilies emphasize the importance of the human heart as the center of spiritual life. The authors understand the heart to be the locus of human personhood; thus, it is the deepest awareness of the inner self where the awareness of self, moral choice, and encounter with God exists. The author writes:

The heart itself is but a small vessel, yet dragons are there, and there are also lions; there are poisonous beasts and all the treasures of evil. But there too is God, the angels, the life and the kingdom, the light and the apostles, the heavenly cities and the treasures of grace—all things are there.

The teachings regarding the heart are foundational for the Hesychasm and for the rest of Eastern Christian spirituality. The goal of prayer is not to reach altered states of consciousness or have extraordinary experiences but to purify and illuminate the human heart, to prepare the heart as a dwelling place for God. Therefore, contemplation originates from the head (rational thought) into the heart (the innermost self), where we meet the True Presence of God.

The homilies articulate the role of the Holy Spirit as a significant component in the prayer life and process of human transformation. The authors discuss the Holy Spirit as being an intimate presence that dwells in all believers, who transforms them from within, who prays with them, and who unites them with Christ. Therefore, the homilies teach that Macarius’ spirituality is in accordance with Pneumatology—wherein all is based on the work of the Holy Spirit in the soul. “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit; thus, all authentic prayers will come forth through the Presence of the Holy Spirit residing within.

Spiritual Sensation is another theme recurrently expressed. The authors teach that as one is purified, the human soul develops interior senses analogous to the physical senses, enabling the individual to experience divine sweetness, to smell divine fragrance, to hear divine whisperings, and to see divine light. Thus, the experience of the divine by way of sensation is not a metaphor; it is authenticity; it is the actual awareness of the presence and action of the divine. Therefore, the homilies encourage seekers of God to pursue direct experience rather than mere intellectual knowledge of God.

The authors provide an extensive examination of the various levels of spiritual awareness and the stages of human transformation, which commence with an awakening of the will through an awareness of one’s inclination to sin, leading to an ongoing and dynamic transformation, based on God’s grace, of the soul to union and rest in God. The journey is not predetermined; the pace of the journey depends on each individual; thus, it is a very long journey that takes the utmost of patience and perseverance.

The authors of the Macarian Homilies provide a balance of the absolute necessity of God’s grace for spiritual transformation as opposed to humanity’s responsibility for cooperating with God’s grace through effort to avoid sin and perform prayer and virtuous acts. The cooperative relationship (synergy) of God’s power with humanity’s will is an essential aspect of Orthodox Christian spirituality and characteristic of Macarian spirituality. In essence, we cannot save ourselves, however, we must have an active part in our own salvation.

The authors of the Macarian Homilies offer insight into the human psyche, providing an accurate and sensitive description of the different spiritual states of being. They understand spiritual dryness, the dark night of the soul, the temptation to despair, and the danger of pride and self-delusion. Furthermore, they are familiar with the path of contemplation. Therefore, their thoughts reflect their experiential knowledge.

The Prayer of the Heart: Macarius’s Central Practice

The most well-known form of prayer that is attributed to Macarius—the actual individual, or the spiritual tradition named after him—is the practice of Prayer of the Heart. In this way of praying, there is an intentionality of gathering one’s scattered thoughts/concerns towards accessing God by coming down to the level of the heart, where God resides, and maintaining continual focus upon the name of God. The Prayer of the Heart consists of several components:

• First, it emphasizes an intention of gathering scattered awareness of oneself and directing one’s focus of attention to one thing, the name of God. The process of gathering and focusing consciousness is a physical and mental exercise requiring discipline.
• Second, the Prayer of the Heart is the practice of coming down from the head to the heart; therefore, turning from thinking rationally to the deeper levels of existence. In other words, the heart transcends rational thought, thus perceiving truth directly and whole.
• Third, the Prayer of the Heart employs repetition of a short phrase; in this case, typically the name of Jesus, or a brief petition; for example, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” The prayers are not viewed as vain, such as repetition that is condemned in scripture. In this context, repetition is viewed as a single-mindedness similar to the way one would repeat the name of one’s beloved. The words do not convey a direct meaning, but rather they serve as a vehicle directed toward maintaining a certain disposition of the heart.
• Fourth, as one practices the Prayer of the Heart, one coordinates the prayer with the act of breathing from the belly, thus enabling oneself engrained within the physical body and deeply rooted within the consciousness of oneself and to set the rhythm of the Prayer of the Heart by synchronizing the inhaling and exhaling with the repetition of the petition. Furthermore, this methodology provides an understanding of how to keep focused, and as such, creates the environment for the Prayer of the Heart to be ongoing like the very act of breathing.
• Fifth, through sustained practice, the prayer becomes “self-acting” or naturally repeated without any conscious effort by the one praying. At some point in one’s spiritual maturity, one experiences the praying of the Prayer of the Heart without consciously directing the prayer. One can perform various tasks of life, while simultaneously praying the Prayer of the Heart in the background, and eventually when sleeping, one can awaken and find oneself praying the Prayer of the Heart at the same time, fulfilling Paul’s injunction to “pray without ceasing” .

It is worth noting that the ultimate goal of the prayer practice is not merely to become proficient in doing the Prayer of the Heart, but to achieve a union of communion with God through the Prayer of the Heart. The repetitive prayer phrase is comparable to scaffolding built around a piece of art until it is visible; at some point, the scaffolding should be removed, and the only remaining thing is the piece of art. As one matures in practicing the Prayer of the Heart, one eventually reaches a point where they do not require words, but rather they rest in the silent awareness of God’s presence. Therefore, in time, prayer will become a connection (being) rather than a function (doing), an existence rather than an action.

The Macarian Homilies describe in detail the fruits of the prayer practice as the interior experience of God’s love filling one’s heart with warmth; the shedding of tears through Spiritual privation; the interior experience of joy in the midst of life’s discomforts; the achieving of perfect tranquility of mind, and having the capacity of experiencing divine reality through one’s spiritual senses. Additionally, the Macarian Homilies emphasize that the aspiring contemplative requires experience with God rather than desire or need to have pseudo-spiritualities. Once the soul experiences intimate connection and communion with God, it must die to human desire for experience through spiritual wealth.

Spiritual Warfare and Demonic Combat

Like all desert fathers, Macarius saw prayer as a military act against sinful spirits attempting to block us from God. The homilies and sayings that are preserved influence contemplatives for generations, providing them wisdom for the same battle. The Macarian tradition recognizes the heart as a combat zone. The heart is where sin sets up strongholds, which are unhealthy patterns of desire, habitually cultivated vices, and the very passions that have been deeply rooted within us. They are not merely sinful habits that may potentially be broken; the created factors of every soul are a fortress built up by evil spirits, and each spirit defends its fortress and territory. Prayer is the way to conquer these strongholds through grace.

Vivid imagery is used by the Macarian tradition to describe this warfare:

Two cities exist, that of light and that of darkness. Satan is the ruler of the city of darkness, and all who belong to him are slaves in his city. The Lord of light came to free those imprisoned in darkness, to translate them into his kingdom of light. But the prisoner must first struggle against his captor, must fight for liberation.

This combat has different facets:

First, we have warfare against the flesh—bodily appetites that draw our consciousness and soul down towards material satisfaction. Fasting, vigils, and physical discipline will help subdue the body—not because the body is evil, but because the body must be trained to follow the Spirit and not dominate it. In order to train the body through asceticism, an appropriate balance must be struck, where the person creates enough rigor to attain proper discipline, but not so much that health is ruined.

Second, we have warfare against the world—the cultural and societal systems and pressures of the world, as well as the established conventions of society that contradict the truth of the Gospel. Although the desert fathers withdrew from the world physically, Christians remain to maintain internal detachment from worldly attitudes and behaviors even while living in the cities. Continuous vigilance is necessary because worldly patterns re-establish themselves in a very short amount of time.

Third, and most importantly, we have warfare against demonic forces. Demons are spiritual beings that are working against our salvation. The Macarian tradition takes these entities quite seriously and does not see them as being psychological projections, nor as mythological symbols, but rather as real adversaries in the spirit. These demons attack contemplatives by thought, temptation, illusion, and direct attack against that which is good.

At the same time, Macarius emphasizes that victory is assured for those fighting correctly. Christ has defeated these enemies. All believers need to do is take hold of that victory through faith and prayer. The demons have no power over those who trust in the promise of God’s protection; through calling the name of Jesus, and through persevering when attacked, they have nothing left to do except give suggestions, deceptions, tempt people, and lie.

Macarius provided direction on the best method of fighting back against evil thoughts. When evil thoughts attack the person, he should immediately turn to prayer—call the name of Jesus, make the sign of the cross, and read from the Scriptures. The person is neither to engage with nor debate with the suggestion to do evil nor trust in his own capabilities to overcome evil. Instead, he is to flee to God for shelter, and God’s divine power will do that which is not possible for the person to do by his own energies.

Macarius also taught that humility is the ultimate weapon against the demons. Pride gives the enemy the opportunity to enter into the person’s life. Humility renders the person immune to the techniques of the demons. The demons especially focus on attacking the person through pride, convincing the person that what he has achieved spiritually is somehow impressive; causing the person to compare himself with other people; and causing the person to have a contemptuous view of those who have not attained the same level as he did. Humility, in this sense, knows all good that comes from God, is not deserving of anything, and would be lost without the divine grace of God.

Macarius taught that the battle continues until the person dies, and there is no permanent victory or invulnerability achieved while living on earth. Even strong contemplatives will continue to be attacked, and their attacks may be more severe than those of the beginner. Therefore, they need to continue to be vigilant in prayer and cultivating a spirit of humility in their lives. The battle will end only when one is in heaven.

Spiritual Sensation and Mystical Experience

The Macarian Homilies provide some of the most colorful descriptions of mystical experiences found in early Christianity. The soul experiences the direct presence of God, through the use of what this tradition calls the spiritual senses. This teaching had an overwhelming impact on the development of most mystical theology after the early Christian church, particularly in the East, but some in the West have seen suspicion towards the mystical theology because of the focus on experience.

The Macarian Homilies teach that there are five physical senses to perceive physical reality with our bodies, and therefore, the soul has five spiritual senses. In most individuals these spiritual senses remain largely undeveloped due to the distractions and impurities of sin. But through purification and grace, individuals can develop and use their interior senses; therefore, the soul can experience God directly.

The Macarian Homilies use tasting to describe how a pure soul experiences God, because the soul has tasted divine sweetness, which is so much sweeter than anything one could imagine and experience physically. This description must not be taken as an analogy, as it is a real experience registered in consciousness. Individuals have tasted divine sweetness, have experienced God, to such an extent that all pleasures on earth in their eyes are evident compared to divine sweetness.

Similarly, purified souls can smell spiritual fragrance as the perfume of divine presence surpasses that of human smell. Purified souls can hear the word of God by means of the inner ear of the heart; therefore, when God communicates their soul may communicate through verbal communication as they learn to hear spiritually. Purified souls can see divine light; therefore, they cannot rely on physical means to see the divine; but use the light to receive spiritual wisdom and joy.

Ultimately, the purified soul can touch and be touched by God. The Macarian Homilies make references to the Spirit embracing them; the Spirit’s fire warming the heart; and Christ dwelling in the person as a friend with a similar type of experience. These experiences are genuine; therefore, they are real encounters with each soul and each experience is touching between finite and infinite beings.

The gift of God is how these encounters take place. Mystic experiences arise when one is prepared through prayer and purification; there is absolutely no method or means of producing a mystical experience. The contemplative prepares the spiritual ground through purification and prayer, so grace may have an opportunity to develop, but no one can produce or manufacture a mystical experience.

The Macarian Homilies also caution against minimizing or misinterpreting a spiritual experience as psychological based on emotional feelings. Not all pleasant feelings indicate a divine presence. The Macarian Homilies also state that not every vision indicating a spiritual experience is from God. Satan is able to counterfeit mystical experiences, therefore individuals may find that some false consolation may lead souls into deception. Discernment is essential in order to identify experiences of God. To identify an experience of God, they are judged by their fruits (how they affect individuals), their own consistency with the doctrine of the church, and how they promote a character.

True mystical experiences, according to the Macarian tradition, lead to humility and love of others instead of leading to pride, and lead to greater commitment of virtue instead of leading one to believe that there are exceptions to continued discipline. If one recognized that after a mystical experience arises that one’s character produces either pride, isolation, or moral distraction, then the experience likely sources from mental projection or from a demonic being instead of being from God.

The Macarian tradition further notes that the pursuit of mystical experiences cannot be viewed as the ultimate goal of the spiritual life, rather; they must be taken as a means by which to fulfill the ultimate goal—to become transformed into Christ’s image. Mystic experiences may be an opportunity for a soul to encounter God, but they are not automatically a part of how each soul experiences spiritual growth; rather, character transformation is what remains. A soul may enjoy profound mystical experiences and yet remain untransformed—this represents a failure to achieve maturity in the spiritual life. A soul may remain relatively unchanged, but it may achieve a high degree of virtue—this represents spiritual growth. However, even though the Macarian Homilies regard the value of mystical experiences highly, it does not define Christianity as having merely ethical elements or as merely an idea but encourages an individual relationship with God.

Tears as Gift and Gateway

Tears have an important place in Macarius’ tradition. When praying, a person may spontaneously express their sorrow through tears when being moved by the Holy Spirit. This teaching concerning tears became foundational to Orthodox Christians, and was influential to later hesychasts who viewed the “gift of tears” as an important point in one’s development in contemplation. The homilies define four types of tears:

First are tears of compunction—tears of remorse after seeing one’s sins; sorrow for having offended God; and sorrow for the consequences of sin. The tears produced by compunction stem from a true act of repentance, and arise from a heart that has truly been broken by its own failures and betrayals. Compunctional tears are the result of sincere emotional honesty for the horror of sin, without the minimization or excuse.

Second are tears of longing—tears of loss or absence of God, and a desire to reunite and commune in fullness with Him. The tears produced by longing represent the soul’s homesickness for Heaven, dissatisfaction with their current state and their desire for the full vision of Him, which faith promises, but which will be withheld until the next life. Longing tears are the tears of lovers who are separated from their loved ones.

Third are tears of joy—tears of thankfulness, joy and vibrancy. Joyful tears of satisfaction are produced when one’s soul is overwhelmed by an intense love of God. It is the inability to hold in the overwhelming joy of God overflowing to the soul through the experience of His love. Joyful tears are produced when the soul touches the Divine sweetness and God’s grace is made manifest with particular might.

Fourth are tears of compassion—tears shed for the sufferings of others; sorrow for those who are lost; intercession for those who are in need of encouragement and support. Compassionate tears are produced by love which goes beyond one’s self and encompasses all of humanity. Compassionate tears are associated with Christ’s own compassion, as well as His tears shed over Jerusalem and humankind’s state.

The Macarian homilies affirm that both physically and spiritually, tears cleanse the spirit. Just as water washes away physical impurities, so also tears wash the heart, removing spiritual impurities, softening the hardened heart, and cleansing the soul of the conscience. While Macarian tears cleanse the heart, they are another form of baptism—a continual purification that complements the regenerative effects of the sacrament of baptism.

The gift of tears cannot be manufactured, nor is it something that one creates through force of will; they are gifts of the Holy Spirit given according to God’s divine wisdom. One can prepare oneself by praying for the gift of tears, creating conditions that are conducive to experiencing them through meditating upon the seriousness of one’s sin against God, and the greatness of God’s love for one. However, a person cannot create the experience of tears artificially. When authentic experiences of tears occur, they should be accepted as gifts from God, while the absence of authentic tear experiences should not be an indicator of spiritual stagnation.

The Macarian writing tradition cautions against pride while in tears. There are many who would contend that tears demonstrate one’s advancement in spiritual life. Comparing one’s weeping to the non-tear producing state of others engenders a feeling of satisfaction in the exhibition of one’s emotional response to God. Therefore, pride destroys the spirit of humility, which is where the gift of tears comes from. Therefore, tears are a gift from God, and they do not reflect human works and merit.

On the other hand, the tradition cautions against failures to recognize the gift of tears as emotionalism. Thus, the truth must be understood that religiously-based tears are not always authentic; however, authentic tears are not simply a psychological expression. Authentic tears are a result of an authentic spirit-led process of sanctification, as a result, they are a spiritual experience, and reveal an authentic connection between God and the soul. To declare tears an emotional experience is to negate the spiritual richness of authentic tear experiences.

Community in Solitude: Macarius as Spiritual Father

Even while Macarius lived in solitude as a hermit in the desert, he developed significant numbers of followers seeking his guidance in the form of disciples. As the number of disciples increased, they began gathering together in cells near his hermitage. This reality illustrated one of the traditional patterns of monastic life in the desert—thus, in the monastery there is an established form of laura wherein individual hermits can exist independently, yet receive encouragement from each other.

Furthermore, Macarius filled the role of spiritual father in four different ways:

First, he provided instruction—as a teacher, Macarius instructed new disciples the basic acts of ascetical life, taught them the Holy Scriptures and interpreted theological questions.

Second, he offered discernment—assisting disciples in the interpretation and interpretation of their spiritual experience; assisting in distinguishing the voice of God from the delusions of demons, and to comprehend what was taking place in one’s inner life as disciples.

Third, he modeled the life—his conduct on a daily basis served as an example for the disciples. Disciples learned from Macarius’s actions the way to pray, greet visitors, endure hardships, and practice a combination of solitude with community service. Therefore, the practical application of Macarius’s teachings was as important as the verbal teaching.

Fourth, he exercised spiritual authority—specifically the power to give or withhold penances, and assign permission to engage in certain practices. Macarius’s authority is not the result of being institutionalized in his office, but rather from recognition of his holiness. Therefore, the desert fathers had developed a system of spiritual authority that is based on personal virtue and wisdom rather than on the office.

The writings of Macarius illustrate his humility in guiding those seeking guidance within the confines of his spiritual family. Macarius’s approach of guiding or directing disciples was based on individual capabilities. Macarius did not scold or reprimand those who failed; rather, encouraged individuals to continue their progress regardless of where they were in their lives and spirits. Additionally, Macarius did not demand that all his disciples practice radical ascetic acts.

For example, when the monks complained to Macarius regarding a brother living an easy and comfortable life while others practiced severe ascetic disciplines, Macarius instructed all the monks to bring their greatest ascetic achievements to the house of the monk living in comfort. Macarius indicated to the comfortable monk, in comparison to the monks’ asceticism, the only acceptable achievement the comfortable monk had was the highest level of virtue, i.e. charity and kindness to everyone; thus, teaching his followers the importance of virtue in comparison to fulfilling specific duties.

In addition, Macarius taught that true spiritual fathering is to serve and guide his apprentices through their search for God; spiritual fathers do not impose dependency upon themselves, i.e., they do not create dependency upon themselves, creating a false security. Macarius’s ultimate goal was that his disciples would eventually transcend their need for human guidance. Therefore, through their internalization of sound wisdom regarding God, they established a level of direct relationship with God which requires no intermediary for communication.

Persecution and Exile: Suffering as Contemplative School

In his later years Macarius faced persecution, but not from Pagans; rather from other Christians. During the Arian heresy, when the majority of the emperors and bishops were heretical in their beliefs and therefore not Orthodox, Macarius was sent into exile because he remained Orthodox and associated with Athanasius. This experience of suffering for the cause of truth gave Macarius a new perspective on his spirituality, i.e. that his contemplative nature was formed by patiently suffering injustice.

There is little specific detail about the persecution that Macarius underwent as all historical writings are vague. Many authors describe how he was driven out of Scetis, imprisoned at some point, and subjected to harassment by Arian authorities. Despite these experiences, however, Macarius did not respond with hatred, bitterness, or violence. He maintained the serenity that he developed through decades of prayer. Thus, persecution was a contemplative practice and an additional opportunity to trust in divine providence.

Macarius’s attitude toward suffering is indicative of a mature spiritual state. The immature person’s natural reaction to injustice is to get angry, wish for revenge, and complain bitterly about it. The spiritually mature contemplative person, however, has developed such a profound trust in the sovereignty of God that he views even persecution as a gift and an opportunity for a greater purification and an experience of the Passion of Christ.

As expressed in Macarius’s homilies, the teaching concerning suffering explains that God permits trials as a benefit for the soul. Although God does not cause evil, He uses even the most malicious acts of man for His own glory. Persecution is a means of purifying and testing the authenticity of faith, confirmation to the Passion of Christ, and a preparation for eternity with God and for the greater glory of being with Christ.

When we suffer, the homilies teach us that we should accept the suffering with faith, not resignation. The tortured soul is not simply resigned to the suffering. Rather, by an act of conscious love, the soul gives its small suffering to God, thereby joining it to the enormous suffering of Christ. As a result, the passive victim becomes a co-worker with Christ in the redemption of mankind.

Nevertheless, Macarius does not romanticize suffering or intimate that it is the will of God. Evil remains evil, injustice remains a wrong, and persecution should not go unopposed. If suffering is unavoidable, the contemplative should regard it as an opportunity for grace and trust God for the ultimate good that He will accomplish through evil.

The ability to achieve this kind of balance regarding suffering indicates spiritual maturity. This balance is only possible through the contemplative stability that Macarius acquired during his tenure as a hermit, and the deep trust in the providence of God that develops through prolonged and faithful experience of God as a faithful Father.

The Final Years and Peaceful Death

Macarius was to live to an advanced age and to die in peace (dying around c. 390 or 391) after more than sixty years of hermitage. Although the last years of his life are somewhat vague, one might presume that they were characterized by the deepest kind of comfort associated with contemplation. Not that there was no struggle; but that he would possess a very faithful presence of God during his remaining days.

It is traditionally recorded that Macarius prayed every day until his death, and did not eventually relax in his discipline or presume upon grace. Macarius recognized that spiritual warfare lasts until death. He believed the contemplative should remain vigilant until death. Due to the battles and struggles in the earlier years of his life, Macarius had been given a deep and profound peace, a sense of safety from the storms of life. His passing was as befits a saint—peaceful, knowing he would depart as he had spent his life preparing to do; learning to die every day by his prayers, looking forward to the opportunity to see God face-to-face at death, having lived out his life through prayer.

The impact of the death of Macarius on the desert community was tremendous. For decades, Macarius was a spiritual father to many individuals. He lived as a continuation of the early days of desert monasticism and personifies all that would be sought after by monks. Macarius’s death signified the passing of an era and yet his spiritual legacy encountered a new beginning by way of his disciples and the spiritual tradition that he instilled in them.

Within a few decades after his death, the homilies attributed to him began to circulate throughout the Christian community and have had a significant impact on Christian spirituality throughout the eastern and western world. Whether the homilies were written by the Egyptian Macarius or by a follower of the Syrian tradition, they preserved and conveyed to the Christian community a way of experiencing God to an infinite number of Christians.

Legacy: The Heartbeat of Hesychasm

It is impossible to overestimate St. Macarius’ contribution to the field of Christian mysticism, especially Eastern Christian mysticism. His teachings on the prayer of the heart are the foundation for the contemplative tradition called “hesychasm,” which focuses on contemplative prayer, the Jesus Prayer, and the mystical experience of God’s Light. Monks living today on Mount Athos, Russian startsy (elders), and the contemporary Orthodox spiritual directors all look to St. Macarius as the origin of their prayer method.

The Macarian teaching on the role of the Holy Spirit in prayer and the transformational process of becoming holy impacts many of the components of Eastern theology concerning the Holy Spirit. While some of the approaches to spirituality in the West appear legalistic or merit-based, Macarius’ teachings center on grace, the gift, and divine initiative. Transformation is solely the work of the Holy Spirit; all humanity can do is cooperate with the Spirit, but it will not take place because of anything a human does.

The writings regarding spiritual sensation by St. Macarius influenced the writings of future mystical writers such as Symeon the New Theologian, Gregory Palamas, and Seraphim of Sarov. St. Macarius taught that the authentic way to experience genuine Christianity was through experiential knowledge of God, rather than through the intellectual agreement with the teachings of Christianity and doing what God says.

Although they were not as influential on Western Christianity, the Macarian homilies had an impact. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, was a devoted reader of the Macarian homilies and was impacted greatly by the teachings of Macarius concerning experiential religion and being transformed by the Holy Spirit. Although distinguishing between the Holiness Movement and Pentecostalism and Orthodox Hesychasm is easy to do, all three have in common the belief in the Macarian understanding of the Spirit-filled experience.

The renaissance of contemplative prayer in the 21st century has re-discovered St. Macarius. Many Christians of various denominations are practicing forms of centering prayer or Christian meditation which are based on one or more of the Macarian principles. Such principles are descending into one’s heart, the use of a short prayer phrase, openness to the work of the Holy Spirit, and the necessity of being transformed by the Holy Spirit rather than simply experiencing a feeling.

Conclusion: The Way of the Heart

The Way of the Heart is the point of reference for St. Macarius the Great and his teachings. His calling to fall into the “Heart” of God is relevant not only in the 21st century, but to humanity throughout the ages. St. Macarius’ spirituality cuts through the facade of “religion,” provokes us to re-evaluate our “comfortable religion,” and leads us to depths of our true selves where we can encounter the Living God.

As superficiality diminishes the existence of God, we as believers need to focus on our own personal relationship with the Triune God. If we cannot experience a genuine transformation, any amount of religious activity or service remains hollow. Likewise, if the Holy Spirit does not live and work within us and transform us, then we are merely ethical members of society or a cultural identity rather than followers of Christ in living relationship with Him.

Because St. Macarius teaches that the essence of prayer and the relationship we have established with God are central to our lives, he challenges the church’s activity of substituting “doing” for “being.” Service flows from our communion with God, whereas action is birthed from our contemplative contemplation. The foundation of ministry is the source of genuine service, and because of this, ministry will exhaust the individual minister and burn him or her out unless it is founded and sustained on a deep relationship with God through prayer.

As a reflection of the contemporary spiritual hunger for meaningful experience, St. Macarius affirms that a valid and authentic encounter with God is possible, he reaffirms that God desires a personal relationship with all who desire Him, he reiterates that Christianity is not merely about theology but about a relationship with God.

We find in the Macarian writings an overall balanced approach to spiritual experience, in which St. Macarius highly values spiritual experience without being controlled or limited by it, pursuing to know God rather than the experience of God, and testing all spiritual experiences based on the fruit that such experience manifests within the life of the Christian. Therefore, as believers navigate their way through today’s spiritual marketplace, the discerning Christian can test if what he is experiencing in his life is truly a work of the Holy Spirit and what the Holy Spirit does in the believer’s life.

St. Macarius the Great’s emphasis on the Holy Spirit and the need for Holy Spirit empowerment in order to be authentic faith resonates with the re-examinations of the pneumatological aspects of faith that are occurring across the spectrum of denominational Christianity within today’s society. Through continual denominational challenges, Christians of all backgrounds are coming to recognize the fact that a faithful and relationship-based practice of Christianity is one that is based completely on the empowerment and leadership of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, this is a hopeful affirmation for many who are seeking a way to experience the spiritual life of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit’s empowerment in their lives.