April 10: Saint Macarius the Patriarch

Portio mea, domine, dixi custodire legem tuam. ps. 118.
My portion and my goal, oh Lord, is to keep Your law and to obey Your orders.
Bonnum in tribulatione magis amplectite, in camino habere te mecum, quam esse sine te vel in caelo. S. Bern. serm. 17. qui habit.
Oh Lord, it is better that I embrace you through my tribulations, and that I possess you in the ardent inferno, than to be in Heaven without you. Your Holy Will is the sum of all true felicity.

Example: Who has ever suffered more than Saint Macarius the Patriarch? Who was more resilient in their sufferings than he was? Don't be surprised that his conformity to the Will of God fortified him. He was the Patriarch of Antioch, but after finding his post too burdensome, he retreated to the sepulchre of Jesus Christ to hide. The Sarrasins abused him there in terrible ways, during which the angels consoled him. His parents forced him to return to his patriarchate. They lost use of their eyes and hands, which he restored with a cross which he used as a staff. He banished himself from the World. At last, he arrived at Ghent in Flanders, which was being brutally ravaged by the plague. He offered himself to God as a victim to appease His wrath. Ever since his death, we see two circles in the sky. In one, we can see the Cross that he carried.

Practice: Do as the saints did with love during their lives, which bestows a special dignity to them, Lover of God, and make the law of God and his Will the object of every encounter. You will be given astounding vigor. The Cross will be your consolation and your force. If your enemies persecute you, your family entangles you, if you are neglected and abused even by those whom you respect and love, then in the Cross you will find sweetness and all that you need to make your days joyful.