Mtr Taylor Devine

Dear friend,

Today the commemoration is of Macrina the Younger, and the commentator that I often read for these days says that Macrina's early community of nuns was the inspiration for Basil the Great's order and others. She must have known much about Christian community. Even from a description some 1600 years later it's clear that her commitment to the human family was foundational for her and for subsequent communities. She helped to raise her 10 brothers, started the order, and brought her intellect and affection to the relationships she had. Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa are two of her brothers, can you imagine their dinner time conversations?

Spending time learning about the lives of the Saints is not only inspiring so that we can follow their example, and find comfort in the Communion of Saints, but it is also refreshing to remember that these holy people were also people like ourselves. Inspired to live a life faithful to the path of Jesus, they were members of families, quirky siblings, people who worked and played and prayed. I am sure they had their off days, and yet what we remember is when their gifts were transformed into love for the world.

Thanks be to God for quirky siblings (biological and in Christ), caring relationships, and the ways in which God's love enters into our human lives in Jesus.

In Christ,
Mtr. Taylor