A Pure Mirror Turned to Face the Sun: The Story and Wisdom of Saint Macrina the Younger with Reflection Meditations
Ebook
Both carefully researched and engaging, this small book invites the reader into the story of a remarkable fourth-century Cappadocian woman, St. Macrina the Younger, who met challenges that may seem familiar today. Surrounded by polarizing political conflict, in an empire divided by growing disparities between rich and poor, Macrina lived through earthquakes and disastrous droughts. She saw people displaced by war and severe weather, pushed into the ranks of the hungry and houseless. She suffered breast cancer and lost loved ones in tragic, unexpected deaths.
Her response was nothing less audacious, fascinating, and inspiring than a commitment to know, reveal, and reflect God in her actions, and to make her home a microcosm of gospel life--an inclusive community of love, equality, simplicity, labor, caring, and generosity.
The story begins with Macrina's parents among Christian refugees hiding in the hills during the Great Persecution. Restored to their family estates after the Edict of Milan, they raised two of the Cappadocian Fathers and two other saints. In this book, we follow their eldest child, Macrina, as her lived faith changes the course of her own life, and gradually and steadily permeates and remakes her family and community.
“Reading R. K. Cogburn’s manuscript on Saint Macrina the Younger filled me with delight. Providing readers with powerful insights into Macrina’s life and theology, her accessible narrative is enriched by the historical, social, and theological context provided. Effortlessly, the author weaves in important elements of Macrina’s life and times, allowing us to appreciate more fully this beloved woman. The author not only provides an engaging historical narrative, but encourages readers to mediate and reflect on Macrina’s teachings. This book is perfect for small groups.”
—Maureen-Elizabeth Hagen, former dean, The Academy for Formation and Mission,
Episcopal Diocese of Oregon
“This book is a welcome introduction to the inspiring story of Macrina the Younger, a fascinating saint who is typically not so well known as her younger brothers, Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa. In these pages you will discover Macrina’s enduring and contemporary significance, both as a role model whose virtue is worthy of imitation and as a teacher whose wisdom is worthy of contemplation.”
—Shawn Keough, academic dean, Mount Angel Seminary
- Title: A Pure Mirror Turned to Face the Sun: The Story and Wisdom of Saint Macrina the Younger with Reflection Meditations
- Author: R. K. Cogburn
- Publisher: Wipf and Stock
- Print Publication Date: 2024
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781666727951, 9781666733365, 1666733369, 9781666727944, 1666727946, 1666727954
- Resource ID: LLS:9781666727951
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-07-22T20:37:50Z
R. K. Cogburn, is a spiritual director trained at the Franciscan Spiritual Center, psychologist, and writer in Portland, Oregon.