Homily on the Day of the Feast of the Icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow"
By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov
(Delivered in 1962)
By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov
(Delivered in 1962)
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!
"Joy of all who sorrow, Intercessor of the offended, Nourisher of the hungry, Comfort of strangers, Refuge of the storm-tossed, Visitor of the sick, Protection of the infirm and Defender, Staff of old age, You are the Mother of the Most High God, O Most Pure One: hasten, we pray, that Your servants may be saved." With these touching and profound words, the Holy Church, on behalf of all Christians, addresses the Most Pure Virgin Mary, teaching us also to always flee under Her maternal protection.
Dear brothers and sisters, blessed is the person who has a kind, warm-hearted mother! Sincere love, affection, and warm, heartfelt words are always ready for them. Always at their side is a kind mentor, guardian, and guide of their pure, moral life. And what warm, ardent, and fervent prayers a mother raises to the Throne of the Most High for her child! Even when she parts with her own life, her primary concern is for her children. In a mother, everyone has a precious treasure, more precious than anything in the world. Conversely, those who lose their mothers early are forced to suffer hardship, grieve, and endure a difficult life. We sympathize with such unfortunates and call them orphans. But, dear ones, the Church now proclaims loudly that no, there have not been, and never will be, orphans with God! All who live on earth have a mother: a dear, holy one, deeply loving and tenderly caring, touchingly caring for us from the cradle to the grave; this Mother is our Heavenly Queen.
During Her life, She endured all the torment, all the worries, all the cares, the entire cross of motherhood. The sword of suffering repeatedly pierced Her soul and repeatedly inflicted wounds on Her pure and immaculate heart. She saw how Her Son, Who created heaven and earth, had nowhere to lay His head. She saw the mockery, spitting, blows, and persecution of Her Divine Son. She saw how He, Her Most Righteous and Most Holy Son, was condemned by human malice to a shameful execution on par with murderers and robbers. She saw how He fell under the weight of the Cross; she saw Him on the Cross, when before Her eyes the thorns on the Sufferer's head turned from dark to red with His blood. In those terrible moments, She endured, experienced, and felt so much! What terrible spiritual suffering She endured! After Her glorious Dormition, when She with Her most pure body transferred to heaven, all Her sufferings ceased.
Now the Mother of God sits at the right hand of Her Son; before Her, more honorable than the Cherubim and more glorious than the Seraphim, all the Archangels and Angels in heaven bow down, and all faithful Christians on earth glorify Her. Yet, experiencing the greatest joy and experiencing ineffable blessedness, such as we cannot even imagine, She nonetheless remembers and does not forget the land of weeping and lamentation — the earth, for the memories of the maternal torments She endured and bore remain deeply and forever imprinted in Her soul. And these memories have given birth to and strengthened in Her heart the deepest love for the suffering lesser brothers and sisters of Her Divine Son. Therefore, She is always with us — wherever we may be and however we may live. She is always ready to offer us Her aid, to ease our suffering, to pour comfort into our tormented, troubled, and grieving souls, and in Her maternal embrace to calm, console, support, and encourage us. No prayer or request is refused in Her maternal heart! Moreover, like a tender mother, She hastens to Her children when they grieve, are troubled, and perish. And as the Mother of the Most High God, She has the gracious divine power to help us.
Therefore, dear ones, you see, everyone living on earth has a loving, bright, all-powerful Mother. She is an indestructible wall, hope for the hopeless, joy for all who grieve. And when you suffer, when you are tormented, when life is truly difficult and hard for you, when you are on the brink of destruction, when you lose hope and fall into despair, remember that we, despite all the filth and impurity of our lives, have a deeply loving Mother! Believe that if you only call upon Her, She will immediately come, and is already coming to you with help, consolation, relief, and salvation! Just call upon Her, just say to Her with tears, with trust, with faith: “We have no other help, we have no other hope, except in You, O Lady! Help us! We trust in You and boast in You, for we are Your servants, let us not be ashamed!" And do not doubt that She, hearing your sorrowful cry, will come to you, wipe away your tears, ease your suffering, and deliver you from danger, death, from evil melancholy and despondency.
Once, Saint Andrew, a fool for Christ, was caught up to heaven and beheld the glory of the saints, but he was unable to see the Most Holy Virgin Mary there. When asked where She was, the angel accompanying the Saint replied that the Mother of God was now on earth, visiting the sick and drying the tears of all those burdened and oppressed by sorrow. It would be impossible to list all the instances of the Mother of God's intercession. The current feast — in honor of Her icon "Joy of All Who Sorrow" — can serve as an example of the Queen of Heaven's mercy to us.
It was in the 17th century, in Moscow: Patriarch Joachim's sister, Euphemia, fell gravely ill, with no hope of recovery. Everyone understood that her illness was incurable, and so they hastened to bid her farewell with the Holy Mysteries before departing to eternity. And so, lying on her bed after receiving Holy Communion, Euphemia began to pray fervently to the Savior and especially fervently to the Mother of God, saying: "O my all-merciful Lady, Theotokos! Hear me, the frail one, and have mercy on me, the sorrowful one, already lying on my deathbed. The whole world boasts of You, and all receive Your boundless mercies. I alone have been deprived of this grace of Yours, and, of course, I receive the punishment I deserve for my immeasurable iniquities. But, O All-Merciful One! Not with anger, nor with wrath, punish me, but look kindly upon this terrible infirmity of mine and have mercy on me." And suddenly, after her prayer, she hears a voice: "Euphemia! You have suffered for so long; why do you not resort to the Healer, the common Healer of all?" When the sick woman asked in amazement: "Where can I find such a Healer?" the voice answered her: "In the Church of the Transfiguration of My Son there is My icon, called 'Joy of All Who Sorrow.' Call the priest of this church with this icon, and when he serves a prayer service before it with the blessing of the waters, you will receive healing from your illness. Once healed, do not forget My mercy towards you and confess it to the glorification of the name of My Son Jesus Christ and My name."
Having learned that the Church of the Transfiguration on Ordynka really does have an icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow,” Euphemia called a priest to bring it to her home and, after performing a prayer service before the icon with the blessing of water, received healing.
Therefore, my dears, believe with all your heart, with all your soul, that the Queen of Heaven will never leave us, will never forget us, that She is always with us — in sorrow and in joy; when we are born and when we die; both here on earth and there in heaven. And She is the same in Her love and mercy for everyone — for the righteous and for sinners, both now and always, until the end of time. For She is our Mother, unchanging, loving, and saving.
Therefore, let us, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, always look upon Her, the merciful One, with hope and boldness, and, bowing before Her most pure icon, "Joy of All Who Sorrow," humbly with one mouth and one heart sing with love, crying out: "Rejoice, zealous Intercessor, Rejoice, O Joyful One, Rejoice, our Joy, protect us from all evil with Your honorable omophorion." Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
