Pseudo-Macarius: The Fifty Spiritual Homilies and the Great Letter (Classics of Western Spirituality)

Rating:
Summary: Will the Real Macarius Please Glaze Up
Review: Its too bad at times that history can cross over its facts. Macarius is one of its victims, maybe a mix of two different persons from around 385-430 AD, one an Egyptian desert father & the other a Syrian monk, therefore the term 'Pseudo' is always used before this collection of writings. Because of this mix up, it is not know if this set of writings were condemned at the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD as a part of the heretical movement called 'Messalians' which emphasized prayer rather than the sacraments, or if these writings are 'Orthodox' & have greatly influenced eastern Christian spirituality, & later Pietism & Methodism.

Within this spiritual masterpiece, Macarius writes about the 'Brotherhood' with its duties & instructions of living, a sort of monastic manual. Then the writings focus of the primary need to follow Jesus Christ, under the control of the Holy Spirit, while grazing directly at God the Father by direct experience. This is done chiefly by prayer with 12 steps of progression to perfection that causes a 'Sober Intoxication' that affects first the single person, than the community at large.

Paulist Press does another fine job creating an easy to read, well-made paperback that can fit nicely with the other books from the fantastic series 'Classics of Western Spirituality'. Highly recommend.

Rating:
Summary: Will the Real Macarius Please Glaze Up
Review: Its too bad at times that history can cross over its facts. Macarius is one of its victims, maybe a mix of two different persons from around 385-430 AD, one an Egyptian desert father & the other a Syrian monk, therefore the term 'Pseudo' is always used before this collection of writings. Because of this mix up, it is not know if this set of writings were condemned at the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD as a part of the heretical movement called `Messalians' which emphasized prayer rather than the sacraments, or if these writings are `Orthodox' & have greatly influenced eastern Christian spirituality, & later Pietism & Methodism.

Within this spiritual masterpiece, Macarius writes about the `Brotherhood' with its duties & instructions of living, a sort of monastic manual. Then the writings focus of the primary need to follow Jesus Christ, under the control of the Holy Spirit, while grazing directly at God the Father by direct experience. This is done chiefly by prayer with 12 steps of progression to perfection that causes a 'Sober Intoxication' that affects first the single person, than the community at large.

Paulist Press does another fine job creating an easy to read, well-made paperback that can fit nicely with the other books from the fantastic series `Classics of Western Spirituality'. Highly recommend.