“Most Holy Theotokos Save Us.”
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As we find ourselves towards the end of the fasting period which precedes the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, our minds and hearts often turn to what troubles the mind and what pains the heart. Though suffering is not the entirety of the Christian experience, it certainly plays a key role in how our souls are sharpened, how our resolve is exercised and how our character is built.
Jesus Christ suffered on the Cross. Mary, His mother suffered as she endured the Cross. The Disciples suffered and were martyred for the sake of the Cross. Though our lives follow the same pattern, it is the Cross and glory which defines us; not the suffering or the anguish.
As we participate in the Paraklesis, this evening being the last of the season, we are called to identify the origin and purpose of our suffering. Where do we hurt? Why do we hurt? What hurt have we caused in others? Panagia removes these points of suffering from us through her tender prayers and intersessions before Christ.
I experienced pain, mostly physical, following what turned out to be a pretty serious cycling accident a couple of years ago. I didn’t think my fall was too bad at first, but reality soon set in. I spent numerous hours in prayer and contemplation searching for a reason for my fall. What lessons must I take from it? What message is being sent? Why this suffering and why now?
The answers to my questions were found in this season. During these days.
“Most Holy Theotokos Save Us.”
We repeat it over and over again.
The Theotokos does not save us from damnation. She does not, and cannot offer salvation. But her prayers, above all others’ are heard and answered. When we invite her into our most intimate and vulnerable spaces – where we hurt and where we suffer – our pains become her pains. Our anxieties, weaknesses, deficits, holes and wounds become her own, just as any good mother suffers the ills of her children. After three months, I eventually began walking again and getting back to a routine. I was grateful to have fallen during a time when I could attend the Paraklesis as part of my spiritual healing and inspiration.
And when we finally approach the occasion of commemorating her falling asleep on the 15th of August, we as Christians, receive the blessed assurance that a life lived in faith, patience, perseverance and steadfastness is rewarded in the end. Can we ever imagine how much hurt and pain she endured in this life?
She was a young maiden, given the most perplexing news from an angel sent by God. She was doubted and nearly rejected by the man who was betrothed to be her husband. On the occasion of dedicating her holy Child to the Temple as was accustomed in the Law, her pain and future agony was prophesized. She saw her Son’s life in danger from the moment He was born; being forced to flee into Egypt. She saw her Son grow and mature, only to be despised by the very children He created. She saw Him mocked, stripped, beaten, scourged, spat upon and hung on the Cross.
She buried her only Son.
And after a lifetime of pious obedience, she departed this world in peace. We honor this blessed repose on Monday as we celebrate the Dormition of the Theotokos. We come together as her faithful children, and give thanks to our Father above who rewarded her faith with her body’s assumption into the heavens.
I’ve written this before. And I’ll write it again. We all suffer. We all feel pain. We all experience loss.
And so did she, the Mother of our God. She teaches us that suffering is strength, pain is an opportunity to bless, and losses in this world can lift up gains in the world to come.
Most Holy Theotokos Save Us.
In His Love,
Fr. Anthony