September: Day 2: Teaching 1:
Holy Martyr Mamas
(Lessons From His Life:
(Lessons From His Life:
a. God's providence in the lives of orphans;
b. the good sides of orphanhood;
and c. an exhortation to take care of orphans)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
I. Today the Holy Church celebrates the memory of the holy martyr Mamas. The parents of Saint Mamas were noble and wealthy Christians, originally from Asia Minor, and their names were Theodotos and Rufina. For their Christian faith they were imprisoned. Theodotos died in prison, and his wife, overcome with grief, gave birth to a premature son, and soon after also gave up her soul to God. The merciful God did not leave the infant without help and care. At that time there lived in Caesarea a virtuous and pious rich widow, Ammia. The Lord inspired her with the good thought to ask the ruler of the country for permission to bury the bodies of deceased Christians. Having received permission to do so, she herself went to the prison and when she saw the poor baby between the dead parents, her heart was filled with compassion, and she decided to take the child and raise him as her own son. She nursed him, calling him Mamas. Having reached adolescence, he loved God and his neighbors, learned a pious life and was awarded the crown of martyrdom for his firm confession of his Christian faith.
II. a) From the life of St. Mamas we see what wonderful providence God has for orphans! Mamas lost his parents as soon as he was born; he - an infant - lay in prison between the cold corpses of his father and mother. But what? Did the Lord leave him without supervision? He instills in a rich widow the desire to take this infant into her care, and she brings him up in the fear of God and Christian piety. Therefore, if God judges to leave young children unraised and uneducated, let such not be despondent! There is the Lord - the guardian of orphans - there are good people in the world who live for good, seek an opportunity to do it, and have every opportunity and means to do so. These good people will always be found, the Lord Himself sends them, and they often, unexpectedly for no one, take part in such a case in the situation of an orphaned family so sincerely that they replace their own father and mother for them, and often do even more than the latter could do. Who does not see here the merciful hand of God, visiting and comforting?
b) True, orphanhood is a misfortune and a great misfortune; it is hard to bear, many tears will have to be shed and many sorrows will be experienced from it, but from this bitter tree what sweet fruits often grow! How many great people have come and are coming from orphanhood? How many great saints can be named whose youth was spent in the bitter lot of an orphan! Who was John Chrysostom? He grew up an orphan, having only with his mother, since he lost his father when he was still an infant. Who was the Prophet Moses? And although he was brought up at the royal court, he was raised by strangers, he grew up among strangers; even among pagans. Did not the Mother of God herself live in orphanhood? And yet what spiritual perfections did she attain! What godlike virtues did she adorn herself with!
It is hard to live as an orphan – an orphan feels like a superfluous, alien person everywhere; but this very thing cultivates in him a feeling of humility, meekness, obedience, encourages him not to rely on himself, but to place his hope in God, to seek mercy from Him, to help himself.
No one can be offended so quickly as an orphan; but on the other hand, no one's tears can reach God so quickly as an orphan's, no one can find protection from God so quickly as an orphan.
Orphans go through a sorrowful, narrow path of life in their youth; but for that reason it is all the easier for them to meet the hardships of life in their years of courage - they will endure them more quickly and with greater courage than those brought up in luxury and riches, than those who have seen only caresses, only signs of their relative's love for them.
c) But no less happy are those who love to educate and provide for orphans. "I was a stranger and you took me in, naked and you clothed me, I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink" - all these words also apply to educators of orphans. They do not prove their faith, their love for Christ in any way so clearly, so obviously, as by this feat of theirs - caring for and educating an orphan. "Pure and undefiled piety before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble," says the Apostle James (James 1:27). And if at the same time they try to educate them in Christian piety, to educate them for heaven, for the kingdom of heaven, so that they may be not only good citizens of the earth, but also heirs of the heavenly fatherland, so that those who are happy here may be happy there too - oh, what an immeasurable benefit they then show them! How many blessings, how many mercies from God they thus ask for themselves! And will not the one who is educated, nurtured, and arranged by them in turn send up his fervent prayer for his educators? For whom should he pray so earnestly, if not for them?
It is a great blessing and a high good deed to take orphans into care! This means, my beloved brethren, to lay a solid foundation for your eternal salvation.
III. Brethren! Do not shun, do not run away from orphans, especially wealthy people, familyless people, honor with your sacred duty to certainly have one or two orphans under your care. And the more, the better. You will fulfill your Christian duty, fulfill the Savior's commandment about love, you will prepare for yourself a crown in heaven.
Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
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