“O Sovereign Lord Jesus Christ our God, the Source of life and immortality, I thank you, for blessing me with the gift of children.
I thank you and I pray: Bless these fruits of my body; favor them and animate them by your Holy Spirit, and let them grow healthy and pure bodies. Sanctify their bodies, minds, and hearts, and grant them intelligent souls.
Vouchsafe faithful angels, guardians of soul and body. Protect, keep, strengthen, and shelter these children until the hour of their death.
O Lord Jesus Christ to you I entrust my children. Through your Holy Spirit sanctify them so that they may be communicants of your Heavenly Kingdom. Amen.”
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As we approach this Sunday, our national observation of Mother’s Day, I invite you to meditate upon the above prayer. Chances are, many of you may have never read this prayer, or especially have not recited it. There are many prayers of the Church that are universal in scope. They encompass the needs of the world. General petitions. Prayers which cast a wide net in an appeal before our Creator.
But some prayers are deeply intimate. Exceedingly personal. Prayers that saturate our every being even before the words leave our lips. We exist within the balance between the anticipation of an answered prayer, and the fear that we are not worthy to ask for specifics. Prayer is powerful. Prayer is communication with God. Conversations with the saints. Prayer is the lifeblood of a Christian existence. Of course, prayer should never be self-centered. Refer, once again, to the above prayer.
The prayer of an expecting mother is among the most self-emptying of anything we can offer God through our words. Every syllable that comes from the prayerful breath of a pregnant woman is, by nature, the most selfless prayer that can be offered. Her sacrifice is unparalleled. That which grows within her is fused to her soul and dependent on her to the molecular level. As the baby grows, so does the mother. As the child is nourished, Mom is depleted. When that which is in the womb is distressed, the mother feels it as soon as, if not before the baby.
The glory, dignity, pain, and celebration of motherhood are, simply defined, through inexhaustible love and self-sacrifice. Only a mother can read the words of this prayer, and feel the words, literally moving inside of them. Only a mother can literally identify with God’s act of creation. Only a mother can pray on behalf of another, while simultaneously praying for herself.
This is a great mystery. This is a fantastic gift. This is the ministry of the Theotokos and role of every mother. Even the saint commemorated on this the 5th Sunday of Pascha, St. Photine, the Samaritan Woman at the Well was eventually and ultimately martyred together with her children. In gestation, in birth, in life, and even, at times in glorification, mother and child are connected physically, spiritually, experientially and emotionally.
I pray that all of our precious moms will enjoy a day of recognition, appreciation, and celebration. For those who have or have had an incredible mother in your life, please give thanks to the Lord for her every day. Maybe your mother could not live up to such ideals and is/was a continual disappointment. I pray that the Mother of God, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary will fill that void and exceed every want. She is the Mother to us all. She does not disappoint. She does not turn away. If your mom is no longer with us in this world, have comfort knowing that she continues to pray for you in the glory of the Resurrection.
And to the moms, themselves. Thank you. Bless you. May God always protect you.
With Love and Respect in our Risen Lord,
Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter