Homily at the Paraklesis of the Theotokos: On the Preservation and Strengthening of Our Communion With the Holy Mother of God (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

Homily at the Paraklesis of the Theotokos: 
On the Preservation and Strengthening of Our Communion With the Holy Mother of God

By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov

(Delivered in 1960, the Seventh Week After Pentecost)

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!

Dear brothers and sisters, the history of the Church knows many examples of special intercession and help of the Mother of God both to a nation or city as a whole, and to individual God-loving Christians. The patronage of the Queen of Heaven especially extended to the Greek Church with its capital Byzantium/Constantinople, to the Holy Mount Athos with its inhabitants/holy monks, and to our Russian Land – when our ancestors were distinguished by their piety and devotion, firm and deep faith. We will not speak about examples of this patronage now, but they are very comforting and precious for everyone and always.

The patronage of our Most Holy Lady, the Mother of God, teaches us a living and strong trust in the Providence of God and in Her merciful and all-powerful intercession for us. It clearly assures us that our entire life passes under the beneficial and saving actions and influences of the highest Providence, and assures us that the Most Pure Virgin, like all the saints, takes the most active part in our fate, delivering us from great troubles and evils and sending us heavenly blessings and help from above.

The protection of the Mother of God and the saints appears to us differently. It appears in the gift of earthly blessings to us, in the preservation of our lives and in the countless benefits that are constantly poured out on us by God, and disposing us to love, thank and glorify Him with all our heart and soul. It appears also in our very sorrows and misfortunes, which teach us patience, trust in God and devotion to His All-holy will. Finally, it appears in supernatural help. True, at their beginning, all these actions are actions of God's Providence and originally proceed from God, Who, being the One Almighty and Most Good Master of the world, governs everything and serves as an inexhaustible Source of all blessings, spiritual and physical, for everyone. But, pouring out on us ineffable gifts of mercies and generosity, the Lord acts through the instruments of grace chosen for this. He glorified His saints, who, being filled with grace, abundantly pour it out to all who ask and pray. However, just as in the visible world all the stars emit the same light, but not in equal measure, so in the spiritual world all the saints exalted and glorified by God can give the grace of God to others, but not in equal degree and measure. The Mother of God, as the highest of all saints, more honorable than the Cherubim and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim, is the first Intercessor for us before God after Jesus Christ and the first Giver of gracious gifts to all who seek them. "No one who comes running to You comes away from You ashamed, Most Pure Virgin Mother of God, but asks for grace and receives the gift for a useful request" - so the Holy Church believes and teaches.

But in order for this inexhaustible Source of all blessings, spiritual and physical, to always be open to us, so that we are always worthy of the protection of the Most Holy Theotokos, we must try in every way to preserve and, as far as possible, strengthen our inner communion with Her. The closer the spiritual communion between us and the Most Holy Theotokos, the stronger our inner connection with Her, the more and more often we will enjoy Her all-powerful protection and receive great mercies from Her. What measures, one wonders, should be taken to preserve and strengthen this spiritual communion with the Queen of Heaven? The same ones that help bring people closer together and strengthen friendly relations between them.

In ordinary everyday life, people are brought together primarily by frequent meetings, lively conversations, and the exchange of thoughts and feelings. The same is required to preserve and develop our inner connection with the Mother of God. Therefore, frequent prayerful appeals to the Most Holy Theotokos and reverent contemplation of the greatness with which She rises above all earthly and heavenly beings are the first condition for preserving and developing our spiritual communion with Her. We know that many holy ascetics, through constant prayer to the Most Holy Virgin Mary, managed to place themselves in a completely filial relationship with Her, so close that they were honored with Her visible visit, as was the case, for example, with Saint Gregory of Neocaesarea, Saint Sergius, Saint Seraphim and many, many others. Let us also try, dear brothers and sisters, to resort to our Heavenly Queen with prayers as often and as fervently as possible. If for us, in our everyday activities, prolonged prayers, such as those performed by great ascetics, are impossible, then reasonable and attentive ones are always possible.

Who and what can prevent us from reading several prayers to the Mother of God with zeal, love and reverence during our morning and evening prayers? Who and what can prevent us from attending church services, especially on feasts and Sundays, so that there, having put aside all worldly cares and worries, we can hasten with fervent prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos? Let us try to intensify our prayers to the Queen of Heaven, both at home and in public. May our pious ancestors serve as a good example for us in this, who not only in times of trouble, but also at all other times loved to turn with fervent prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos and often received miraculous, supernatural help from Her. She will not allow us to perish, but will always help and save us if we resort to Her more often and more strongly with our appeals, our warm and sincere sighs.

However, let us remember, dear brothers and sisters, that even in our ordinary life, frequent meetings and lively conversations are not the only conditions for strengthening acquaintance and closeness between people. Most of all, unanimity of thought, communication in studies, labors and pleasures, similarity of character and views on things bring people together and strengthen friendship between them. Therefore, another most important means for maintaining and strengthening the connection and religious unity with the Most Holy Mother of God that we desire is to have the same practices in virtue as She and to imitate Her godlike qualities.

These qualities are marvelous and numerous. There is no virtue of which the Mother of our Lord is not the highest example. Everything that we know about Her from the sacred books and the tradition of the Church is worthy of our imitation. Whether we wish to acquire faith in the Lord God and devotion to His holy will, whether we want to learn patience, whether we desire Christian humility, or moral purity and chastity - in all these cases we must look to the Most Pure Virgin Mary and from Her life borrow rules for our own life and behavior.

But the most important and distinctive feature of the earthly life of the Most Holy Theotokos is Her continuous striving for God, Her constant detachment from the earth and ascent to heaven. As a three-year-old maiden She was brought into the Temple for upbringing and here, removed from all the temptations of the world, She dwelt in constant prayer, reading the word of God and wrapped in the contemplation of God. With love and attention, the Most Holy Virgin Mary practiced these feats of piety and ascended to an unattainable height of holiness and moral perfection, so that She was deemed worthy to become the Mother of the Son of God. And after the sufferings on the Cross, the Resurrection and Ascension of the Savior, the Most Pure Mother of God desired only one thing more than anything else - to quickly move from earth to heaven, in order to be united there forever with Her Divine Son. That is why, dear brothers and sisters, how important it is for us to borrow from the Mother of God at least a little of this detachment from the earth, this striving for the Heavenly Fatherland, this prayerful contemplation of God and sincere love for the Lord Jesus Christ!

With sorrow we must say and confess that our Christian piety has become increasingly weaker and our indifference to everything that Jesus Christ invites and teaches in His Gospel has begun to increase. Constant vanity, cares and worries about the needs, comforts and pleasures of earthly life absorb all our attention, as if we were to live on earth forever. This is a disastrous trend. Let us, dear brothers and sisters, look more often at the bright face of the Queen of Heaven and more often recall Her holy life. Let us always try to imitate the godlike qualities of Her soul. May our God-loving ancestors, distinguished by their sincere Christian piety and love for the holy Orthodox faith, serve as a good example for us in this. If we, like them, sincerely and with all our might strive for piety and holiness, then the Most Holy Theotokos will take us with love under Her protection and will give us Her assistance and help in all good things. Amen.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.