December: Day 26: Teaching 4: Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos

December: Day 26: Teaching 4:
Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos
 
(The Inner Image of the Mother of God)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. On the day of the Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos, that is, the gathering of believers for the glorification of the Mother of God, it would be appropriate, brethren, to make at least the weakest attempt to depict before you the inner image of the Mother of God.

II. Truly, my brethren, what astonishes us in the Most Pure Virgin is not so much the immaculate and pure beauty of her external body, but the inward perfection of her soul: "for all the glory of the King's daughter is within." The virtues of the Most Holy Theotokos and the grace of the Holy Spirit, which purified her for the great work of being the Mother of God, placed her above all, not only righteous and holy people, but even the heavenly powers. Her zeal for prayer and pious pursuits, Her ever-virginal purity and chastity, Her faith in the promises of God, Her constant attentiveness to the ways of God's Providence, Her boundless devotion to the will of God, Her good-natured endurance of difficult life circumstances, Her unwavering courage amidst the greatest temptations and sorrows, Her maternal care and warmth of heart towards her relatives, and most importantly Her unconditional humility in everything: these are the highly moral perfections that were constantly manifested in Her - from infancy to Her dormition!

Saint Dimitri of Rostov asks: "Who can count all her virtues? Who can count and express how, and by what and how many good deeds, the Most Holy Virgin pleased God her Creator, from her youth to her blessed end? We would sooner count the flowers in spring, the ears of grain in summer, the fruits in autumn, the snow in winter, the hair on our heads; we would sooner count the drops in the sea, the stars above, than we would count the good deeds, pleasing to God, and the virtues of the Mother of God."

The Most Pure Mother and Virgin has the crown of pure virgins, and a crown better than all virgins, because in Her purity She surpassed the angels.

She has the crown of fruitful women, such as Sarah, Elizabeth and others, but the crown is more adorned than their crowns, because, as He who was born of Her is greater than all, so She is more blessed than all women.

She has the crown of the martyrs, standing at the cross, with her soul pierced by a sword, She suffered more than all the martyrs.

She has the crown of the prophets, because She prophesied the truth that all generations would call Her blessed.

She has the crown of the evangelists, because She is the book of the Hypostatic Word.

She has the crown of the apostles, for She took part in the spread of the Christian faith; moreover, the apostles themselves boast, saying: “Have we not seen Jesus our Lord?” But who saw Him more clearly than the Most Holy Mother?

She has the crown of the confessors, for she firmly confessed, saying: “My soul magnifies the Lord... For He who is mighty has done great things for me." "Behold the handmaid of the Lord: let it be to me according to your word.”

She has the crown of the humble, because she said of herself: “for He has looked upon the lowliness of his servant.”

She has the crown of the venerables, Her Dormition before the Lord was more honorable than the death of all His saints.

She has the crown of the ascetics, because she was always and in everything extremely abstinent, and subdued her body to her spirit.

She has the crown of the merciful, for the Holy Church honors Her as the source of mercies, and prays to Her: “Open the doors of mercy to us.”

She has the crown of the unmercenary, for she gave birth to the Gratuitous Physician, who gave the power of healing and said: “Freely you have received, freely give.” And She herself is always the one who gives grace freely to those who ask.

She, finally, has the crown of the saints, and is the "Holy of Holies, the greatest of all;" because all the saints and hierarchs stand before the throne of God with fear and trembling, but She stands before Him with maternal boldness... And the prayer of a Mother can do much for the mercy of the Lord!!!

So many and such virtues compose the inner image of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, our Lady, the Most Holy Theotokos! But all the countless virtues and qualities of the Mother of God are concentrated in her three principal virtues and qualities: virginal purity, humility, and love. Through virginal purity She drew near to God the Holy Spirit, through humility to God the Son, through love to God the Father — or, better yet, through all three qualities mentioned — that is, through virginal purity, humility, and love, taken together — She ascended to the one God in Trinity. 

III. Christian brethren, take heed of this divine, inner image of the Most Holy Virgin Theotokos, and strive to adorn all your powers and faculties of soul and body with it, so that you may grow into a perfect man and attain the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Otherwise, all your veneration of the Mother of God will remain vain, and all your prayerful sighs futile. Amen. 

 

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.