April: Day 1:
Venerable Mary of Egypt
(Lessons From Her Life)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
Venerable Mary of Egypt
(Lessons From Her Life)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
I. In her youth, Venerable Mary of Egypt, whose memory is celebrated today, was exceptionally beautiful; however, alas! this heavenly beauty led her to the brink of destruction in our sinful world. Tempted by a young man, at the age of fifteen she lost the precious treasure of a woman – her chastity – and fell into the sin of unchastity. The further she went, the deeper she sank into carnal impurity. She did not miss a single opportunity to sin, and she could think of nothing else but her beloved passion. She transformed completely into fire, slowly melting and being destroyed in that fire. Thus, she lived for 17 years!
One day, while by the sea, she saw a ship sailing to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. Seeing many young people on the ship, she immediately desired to lure them into her nets. She implored to be accepted on the ship. And, oh horror! Despite the fact that the ship was sailing to such a holy place as Jerusalem with Golgotha and the Lord's tomb, and to such an honorable feast as the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Mary committed such shameful acts on the ship with the young men that it is surprising how the sea did not part and swallow the ship... But what sin can surpass the patience and love of God! From what sin is God unable to rescue a man, if, despite all his abominations, there still glimmers in the depths of his heart a spark of tenderness, kindness, love! And God rescued Mary from her sinful filth.
Arriving in Jerusalem and seeing that all the people were heading towards the temple, Mary herself wanted to go to the temple. But as soon as she approached the doors of the temple, some invisible force detained her. No matter how hard she tried and strained herself, she could not enter the temple. It was then that divine grace touched her soul for the first time. Ashamed and disgraced, for the first time lukewarm and then hot tears of repentance and endless sorrow streamed down her face. Stepping aside, she thought deeply. What was she thinking about? She herself did not yet know exactly what to think about or what to do. But if God, by His mercy, found her worthy of being touched once by His grace and help, then He would not abandon her in the future. Raising her eyes, Mary inadvertently saw the icon of the Mother of God on the church wall. The holy and gentle visage of the Mother of God seemed to call her to Herself. Mary falls to her knees before the icon and cries out with tears in her eyes: “Mother of God! My sins are grievous! I know that my place is not in the Holy Temple, but in hell! But You, all-good one, do not disdain my first repentance and help me before God, Your Son! From now on I will live only for Him and for You!”
Tears were overwhelming her and prevented her from speaking further. But was it necessary to say more? Wasn't everything that could and should have been said to Mary at that time already said?
Having risen from prayer, Mary again approached the doors of the temple. The former invisible force did not hold her back, to her great joy. She freely entered the temple and bowed before the honest cross of Christ. The spirit of tenderness and gratitude again embraced her. She again returned before the icon of the Mother of God, made a vow here to always belong to and serve the one God, and went into the Jordan desert, where she spent 47 years in prayer and asceticism!.. For forty-seven years she did not see a single human face! For 47 years she fed herself only on the crumbs of a few loaves of bread and herbs that she took with her into the desert! For 47 years she did not live in a house, but in the open air, enduring the heat of the sun, the summer rain and the winter cold!
It is not difficult to imagine what all this cost her body, accustomed to all the pleasures and sweets. And what troubles she did not endure from her passions and from the enemy of the human race! When she ate the grains of her bread, she wanted the meat and fish she had eaten in Egypt, and the wine she had tasted before. When she began to pray, shameful songs that she had once sung came to her mind. Passions kindled her like fire and drew her to her former sinful life. Thus 16 years passed. But Mary struggled and stood firm. Then a quiet sweet light illuminated her soul, and great peace settled in her in place of the former storm. After 16 years of exploits, Mary began to become a saint. The enemy of the human race was disgraced and no longer dared to approach her. Her whole soul and body were purified and sanctified, and therefore no more evil thoughts came to her mind, no evil desires appeared in her heart. Struggling further, for another 30 years, Mary achieved such holiness and miraculousness that she crossed the Jordan River as if on dry land, during prayer she rose from the earth into the air, knew the Holy Scripture well, although she had never studied it, knew what was happening far from her, could predict the future, her body resembled more spirit than flesh.
When the time of her death came, Mary desired to partake of the Body and Blood of Christ. Then God sent her a priest named Zosimas into the desert. She asked this elder to bring her the Body and Blood of Christ. Having partaken of the Holy Mysteries, Mary asked Zosimas to come to her in a year. Having come a year later, Zosimas suddenly saw that some extraordinary light was illuminating a place in the desert. Approaching this place, Zosimas saw the dead Mary there. Angels had lifted her holy soul into heaven. Having wept and thanked God for deeming him worthy to see a Saint unknown to any man in the world and to serve her, Zosimas began to think about how he could dig a grave for the burial of the deceased. Then two lions ran out of the desert, dug a hole with their claws and ran back into the desert. Having again thanked God, Zosimas reverently sang psalms and other sacred songs, humbly lifted the Saint and lowered her into the grave.
II. How much does the story told teach us.
a) From it you see that no matter how deeply a person is mired in sinful impurity, he should never despair, but should always hope for conversion and a better life.
b) From it you see that if a person will try with all his might and firmly believe in God’s help, then he can not only leave the path of sin, but even achieve a high degree of holiness.
c) From it you also see that although a converted sinner has to endure many trials and temptations, has to endure many struggles with his lusts and passions, but if he victoriously bears them, then, finally, perfect peace will fill his soul, and heavenly light will illuminate his inner being.
d) The further he goes, the easier and sweeter the holy life will be for him, until, finally, he passes into the afterlife, where there is neither sorrow nor sighing, but endless life.
III. Through the prayers of Venerable Mary of Egypt, may the Lord grant us His grace-filled help to enter upon the path of true repentance, and may He strengthen us, weak and poor sinners, with His grace-filled consolation on this path!
Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
