The eldest of ten children, the daughter, granddaughter and sister of saints, Saint Macrina is credited by her brothers—Saints Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa—as having been the one whose example and counsel led them to put aside earthly pursuits in favor of service to God. With her brother, Saint Peter of Sebaste, the saint founded twin communities—a women’s convent and a men’s monastery—on opposite banks of the River Iris. It was in this convent that Saint Macrina pursued a Life of prayer, accompanied by her mother and many other ascetic women.
~Prayers
1.
You free us from the dread of death,
and make this life a door. You grant
our very flesh a fallow season,
then gather all at the last horn’s blast.
You sow the earth with these our bodies,
shaped by Your own Hand. You bring
the harvest in, transforming death into
abundant life, all defect into beauty.
Bearing our curse, becoming sin,
You loose us from both the burden
of the law and from our lawlessness.
You bruise the serpent’s head,
and snatch us from its grip. You open
the way to resurrection, shattering
the gates of hell. You slay the one
who held death’s power, give comfort
to those who honor You. You give the holy cross
by which our enemy is slain, by which
our life returns to us abundantly.
2.
Most Holy God, into Whose Hands
I was born, Beloved of my soul, to whom
I have offered my consecrated flesh
since even my earliest days, entrust me
to a luminous angel, who will lift
my hand to guide me to the place
where I may drink, and rest, and gain
my strength in the embrace of my holy fathers.
3.
You Who shattered the fire of the flaming sword,
Who gathered to paradise-for the sake of his plea
for pity-the thief crucified by Your side,
remember me also in Your kingdom.
I too have been crucified with You.
For fear of You, I have nailed down my flesh,
trembling as I await your judgments.
4.
Please, may the horrible abyss not separate
me from those you have redeemed.
Please, may the corrupt, corrupting enemy
not hinder my path to You.
Please, if by any human weakness
I have sinned in word or deed or thought,
may my sin pass unnoticed by Your sight.
5.
Please, O Holy One with power to forgive,
forgive me. May I awaken that day drawing breath,
and revive within Your Holy Presence, having shed
every ill of the flesh, and without spot or wrinkle
as a replenished soul be received by Your hand,
rising to You as incense.
From Scott Cairns, Love’s Immensity: Mystics on the Endless Life
