Our Venerable Father Macarius the Great of Egypt was born in the early fourth century in the village of Ptinapor in Egypt. At the wish of his parents he entered into marriage, but was soon widowed. After he buried his wife, he withdrew to the wilderness. He spent sixty years in labor and struggle, both inwardly and outwardly, for the Kingdom of Heaven. So much did he succeed in cleansing his mind of evil thoughts and his heart of evil desires, that God bestowed upon him the abundant gift of miracle-working, so that he even raised the dead from the graves. Macarius often told his disciple, Paphnutius: “Do not judge anyone, and you will be saved.” Before his death at age ninety-seven, Macarius was visited by St. Anthony and St. Pachomius who told him he would die in nine days, and so it came to pass.
You made the wilderness your dwelling, O father Macarius, the bearer of God. You became an angel in the flesh and a wonderworker. Through fasts, vigils, and prayers, you obtained from God special graces to heal the sick and to sanctify the souls of those who come to you with trust. Glory to the One who gave you strength! Glory to the One who crowned you! Glory to the One who through your intercession grants healing to all!
You ended your life among those who imitate martyrdom, and you have inherited the land of the meek, O father. You filled the desert with people like a city, and God gave to you the grace to work wonders. Therefore, we come to venerate you, O Macarius.
2 Peter 1: 1-10
Simeon Peter, servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have been given a faith like ours in the justifying power of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: may grace be yours and peace in abundance through your knowledge of God and of Jesus, our Lord.
That divine power of his has freely bestowed on us everything necessary for a life of genuine piety, through knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and power. By virtue of them he has bestowed on us the great and precious things he promised, so that through these you who fled a world corrupted by lust might become sharers of the divine nature. This is reason enough for you to make every effort to undergird your virtue with faith, your discernment with virtue, and your self-control with discernment; this self-control, in turn, should lead to perseverance, and perseverance to piety, and piety to care for your brother, and care for your brother, to love.
Qualities like these, made increasingly your own, are by no means ineffectual; they bear fruit in true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Any man who lacks these qualities is short-sighted to the point of blindness. He forgets the cleansing of his long-past sins. Be solicitous to make your call and election permanent, brothers and sisters; surely those who do so will never be lost.
Mark 13: 1-8
At that time as Jesus was making his way out of the temple area, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, look at the huge blocks of stone and the enormous building!” Jesus said to him, “You see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another– all will be torn down.” While he was seated on the Mount of Olives facing the temple, Peter, James, and Andrew began to question him privately. “Tell us, when will this occur? What will be the sign that all this is coming to an end?”
Jesus began his discourse: “Be on your guard. Let no one mislead you. Any number will come attempting to impersonate me. ‘I am he,’ they will claim, and will lead many astray. When you hear about wars and threats of war, do not yield to panic. Such things are bound to happen, but this is not yet the end. Nation will rise against nation, one kingdom against another. There will be earthquakes in various places and there will be famine. This is but the onset of the pains of labor.”
Thursday, January 18 –
