Homily at the Paraklesis of the Theotokos:
The Mother of God as an Intercessor For Us Sinners
By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov
(Delivered in 1960)
The Mother of God as an Intercessor For Us Sinners
By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov
(Delivered in 1960)
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!
Dear brothers and sisters, one hymn of the Church says: “Every tongue is at a loss and every mind is overwhelmed to praise You worthily. Transcending this world we hymn you, O Theotokos, yet being good do accept our faith, for you know our divine longing. You are the Protectress of Christians and we magnify you" (Irmos 9 of the Canon for the Theophany).
In fact, what worthy praise can we give with our sinful and meager lips to the Purest of all creatures, Higher than the Angels and Archangels, the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, who was honored to be the Mother of the Most High God, the Intercessor of the Christian race! But nevertheless, in order to be worthy Christians, we must always glorify (and not be disobedient to the will of God!) the Cause of our salvation, looking at Her love for us.
The Most Holy Virgin Mary is and is called the Mother of God and the Mother of Christians. She is the Mother of God by the natural birth from Her of God the Word, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Mother of all Christians by the grace of adoption. For if our Lord Jesus Christ called all who believe in Him His brethren (Matt. 12:49-50; Luke 8:21), and if He dwells among believers as the Firstborn among many brethren (Rom. 8:29), then, consequently, we are the sons of the Mother of God. As the Mother of God, by maternal dignity, She must have before God such grace and honor as is fitting for a mother before her son; on the other hand, as the Mother of Christians, by virtue of maternal love, She must bestow upon Christians the same mercy that a mother ought to show her children. However, the grace that the Most Holy Virgin receives from God must correspond to the dignity of the Mother of God, which is limitless; thus, the grace She receives is also boundless. Similarly, the mercy She extends to Christians must correspond to a mother's love for her children, and this love is likewise limitless. By measuring the infinite grace She receives as the Mother of God from God, and the infinite love and mercy that She, the Mother of Christians, shows to Christians, it is necessary to acknowledge that the Most Holy Virgin Mary is a great ocean of gracious powers and gifts.
Indeed, the Church rightfully praises and glorifies the Most Pure Virgin through numerous spiritual hymns and praises composed in Her honor, knowing that we have no other so swift and reliable helper in God but Her. As the Mother of God, She possesses more boldness before Her Son and God than all the saints and angels, and as the Mother of Christians, She extends to us, Her children, greater benefits than the saints and angels. Therefore, the holy Church, calling the Mother of God our Intercessor and Defender before Her Son and our God Jesus Christ, commands us to primarily turn to the Most Holy Virgin with prayers.
But perhaps someone might ask: why should we turn to Her intercession when Christ our Savior has redeemed us from sin and directly accepts our supplications? Indeed, we, the believers, have boldness before the Lord, but only if our conscience is not burdened by sins, if our heart does not condemn us (1 John 3:21). And who can boast of having a pure heart? Who does not acknowledge that not only after baptism but even after multiple confessions, he has often provoked and continues to provoke his Redeemer by violating His commandments? We sin every day, every hour, every minute. Let each person's conscience testify to this. Woe to us! With what a multitude of sins our lives are defiled! They present a continuous and uninterrupted series of the gravest injustices. How much impurity resides in our thoughts, how much shameful speech on our tongues! How much deceit in our actions does the Son of God see! He sees it and endures it, for He is long-suffering.
But when we, in our folly, remain unrepentant, uncorrected, and persist in our evil ways, then through our ingratitude we offend Him and provoke His righteous anger against us. And then He can no longer bear us, ready to punish us, threatening us with eternal torment and suffering, physical death, and other calamities. He will cleanse His weapon, bend His bow, and prepare it; and in it He has prepared deadly vessels (Ps. 7:13–14) – where shall we, unfortunate sinners, flee from the righteous indignation and wrath of the Son of God? There is no other escape for us but to repent and fall at the feet of our Loving God. Yet, being violators of the commandments of our Savior, we lose our boldness before Him, do not dare to turn to God because of our sins, and find ourselves in need of intercession on our behalf before Him.
We find such intercession in the person of the Most Holy Theotokos. We beseech Her intercession, and She implores for us Her Son with a supplication that is more powerful than the intercessions of all saints and all angels; for She, as the Mother of God, is above all saints, She is more honorable than the Cherubim and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim. And when the Most Holy Theotokos intercedes before Her Son and God for someone, the Lord does not deny Her request. With love, She intercedes before God for all who believe in Him, provided they resolve to forsake their iniquities and to be true, zealous Christians. With love, we say, because She is, so to speak, of our kind; She knows our weaknesses, our temptations, and how difficult it is to struggle against them without help from above.
The Most Holy Virgin loves Christians with a Mother's love, and for this reason, will she refuse to help those who, although faltering and sinning out of weakness, repent and wish to be saved, despite all obstacles to salvation? As for these obstacles, they are known to anyone who has ever begun to live a Christian life with the desire to attain blessed eternity, the Kingdom of Heaven, prepared for the righteous. Within ourselves, we always carry the enemy of Christian life – the flesh, which wars against the spirit and weighs us down to the earth. Outside ourselves, we have a sinful world with its countless temptations and our most wicked adversary of salvation – "the devil, who, like a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). Upon those who are little concerned about their salvation, he seldom attacks with his temptations, but those who wish to achieve perfection in the Christian life find themselves in continuous struggle with him and his crafty schemes, which are countless. And where shall we find the strength for success in overcoming the mentioned obstacles? – In the grace of God and in prayers to the Mother of God. "For if You were not to stand before us in prayer, who would deliver us from such great misfortunes?"
Dear brothers and sisters, our ancestors especially revered the Mother of God, and their hope and trust were never put to shame. The history of our homeland bears witness to the exceptional grace shown to it by the Mother of God, especially during the most difficult days of trials faced by the Orthodox Russian people. The miracles that have come from the Most Holy Virgin are so numerous that they cannot all be counted. The entire history of our people is filled with testimonies of these mercies from the Mother of God, Who has shown particular favor to the Russian Land due to the simple, good-natured character of the Russian people, as well as their steadfastness and purity of Orthodox faith. The lives of the saints recount that our pious ancestors had the custom of entrusting themselves and their loved ones to the protection of the saints, and particularly to the Holy Mother of God. The Queen of Heaven and the Saints of God became invincible intercessors for those entrusted to them.
Thus, a certain pious man had a wife, a meek and devout woman, and a six-year-old daughter, whom he was raising in piety and the fear of God. One day, he was to leave home for his trading affairs. As his wife accompanied him, she asked, "To whom do you leave me and your daughter in your absence?" He replied, "To our Lady, the Mother of God," and after bidding them farewell, he set off on his journey.
And thus the devil instigated the servant of this pious household to raise his hand against his mistress, to kill her, to steal the finest possessions, and to flee. The villain took a knife from the kitchen and went to the chamber to commit this heinous act. But as soon as he touched her door, he was unexpectedly struck blind and could not move either backward or forward. He struggled for a long time to enter, but an invisible force held him back. The madman, failing to recognize the Almighty Divine Providence that cares for the entire world and especially for humanity, was determined to realize the thought implanted in his heart by the devil at any cost! And he began to call for his mistress, begging her to approach him.
Not suspecting anything, the mistress, however, was surprised by his request, and did not go to him, but ordered him to come by himself. Then he began to beg for her daughter to come to him, to which she, although unaware of his intentions, also responded with refusal. After this, the villain, not having come to his senses, in despair and malice at being unable to fulfill his intention, struck himself with the knife. At the lady's scream, the neighbors immediately gathered, and upon finding the servant still alive, learned what had happened and how. Everyone then recognized the unfathomable ways of God's Providence in this incident and praised God and the Intercessor of the faithful, Mary the Ever-Virgin Mother of God.
Thus, knowing the inexpressible grace of the Mother of God, let us cherish Her love for us and our love for Her; let us keep ourselves in purity from all unrighteousness and vice, and, with deep faith, honor Her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, as our pious ancestors honored Him. Let us always turn to Her, the wondrous Intercessor of the Christian race. If any adversity or spiritual sorrow befalls us, let us hasten to prayer before the Lady; if sins or passions torment us, or if unwholesome habits take hold of us, let us turn to the Intercessor of our salvation. Whether sorrow, grief, or affliction befall us, let us remember the Most Blessed Virgin, who stood at the Cross of Her Son, let us turn to Her with our prayerful sighs and be assured that She understands our sorrows, She sees our plight, She will pour out mercy and warm our afflicted souls with Her Motherly love – she will save us from danger and hardship. "To whom shall I cry out, O Sovereign Lady, to whom shall I flee in my sorrow, if not to You, Queen of Heaven! Help us, for we place our hope in You and glory in You. Rejoice, our Joy, cover us from all evil with Your honorable omophorion." Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
