December: Day 26: Teaching 3: Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos

December: Day 26: Teaching 3:
Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos
 
(The Virtues and Perfections of the Mother of God)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Yesterday, the Church glorified in songs the One born in a cave and a manger, and today the Cause of our joy, the Most Holy Theotokos.

This feast is called “synaxis” because ancient Christians had a custom of gathering in holy churches on this day to glorify the Mother of God.

II. On the day of the synaxis of the faithful for the glorification of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, let us point out the most important virtues and perfections with which the Most Holy Virgin was adorned on earth, without daring to enter into the very depths of the grace that rested upon Her.

a) The first virtue, and at the same time the foundation of all human virtues, is devotion to the will of God with forgetfulness of one's own will. This virtue, necessary for man, constantly filled the whole soul and the whole life of the Holy Virgin Mary. "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to your word!" She said this to the Archangel, who announced to Her the conception of the Son of God. Apparently, it was not difficult to express such devotion at a time when it was necessary to decide not on something sorrowful and humiliating, but on the honor and glory of being the Mother of the Son of God: in fact this was the height of human devotion and self-denial. For, firstly, to the rank and title of the Mother of God belonged, as we shall see, a multitude of sorrows and temptations, such as do not visit the greatest ascetics of piety. Therefore, to say: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord," meant to say: Behold, I am ready for all deprivations, sorrows and sufferings - ready for the sword to pierce My very soul! (Luke 2:35). The very dignity of the Mother of God, although it is the highest of all dignity, but for a soul truly humble, such as the soul of Mary, to decide to accept it is even more difficult than to decide on sorrows: for the latter a humble person considers his natural lot and belonging on account of his moral imperfection, but to become higher than the cherubim and seraphim, as befitted the Mother of God, only boundless devotion to the will of God could incline a truly humble soul to this. And this devotion was expressed in all its power in the words of the Ever-Virgin: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto Me according to your word!" It was said once - to the archangel; and it was always fulfilled, not only before the angels, but also before the stubborn enemies of truth and justice. Nothing could shake this devotion in Mary, not even the cross of Her Son, which shook the whole earth.

b) The second virtue of a righteous soul is purity of body and spirit. All the servants of God are adorned with it, but no one was adorned in such fullness as the Most Holy Virgin. By this virtue She, still belonging to the Old Testament, where the celibate state was, as it were, even contrary to the law, which promised many children and numerous descendants as a reward for fulfilling it, chose virginity for Her whole life, and thus showed in Herself an example of the perfection belonging to the new covenant. By this virtue the Most Blessed One did not consent to the good news of the Archangel before knowing that by fulfilling it over Her the holy vow of virginity would not be broken in the least. For what does She say to him? “How will this be, where I know not a man?” (Luke 1:34). As if, that is, She spoke thus: the matter about which you will tell, in everything depends on whether I can remain in it in the celibate state, chosen by Me for Myself - if I can, then I am ready to serve the mystery; if not, then let your good news pass on another head! This is how far, as you see, the love for purity of spirit and body extended in the Most Pure One!

c) The third virtue of the souls of the saints is the courageous endurance of sorrows and temptations. The Holy Virgin Mary, after Her Son and God, is the first and highest example of this virtue. What temptation did She not endure, what sorrow did She not bear? “The Word became flesh” (John 1:14), that is, He was conceived of the Spirit in the womb of the Ever-Virgin: for the least of mothers there is weakness and condescension in such a situation; for the Mother of the Son of God there is none! The holy betrothed, unaware of the secret, suspects Her of marriage theft! What could be more difficult than this temptation? But the Holy Virgin bears it silently. One word from Her could have calmed the elder, and with him Herself, and dispelled suspicions; but she dare not say this word, because it is a secret of providence - she suffers and remains silent! Then the time of birth approaches - here peace is needed even more; and the Mother of the Son of God had to go to Bethlehem with Joseph at that very time to undergo the census of the people. At the very moment of birth there is not enough room in the inn; and Mary goes for this to the cave, places the newborn in a manger! Hardly has the joy of the newborn made her forget the constraint of her position, as Herod's sword is already stretched out over the cave; and the Mother with the Child is forced to flee to Egypt by the way by which even in the middle of the day even the strongest and most armed people pass with difficulty.

Imitating the Evangelist, we pass the following years in silence. Behold, Mary is already on Golgotha. What torment for the heart of the Mother to see on the cross in agony her Son, that Son Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Who, according to the prophecy of the Archangel, was to reign “in the house of Jacob forever!” (Luke 1:33). Strangers could not bear this sight, and returned from Golgotha “beating their breasts” (Luke 23:48); but the Mother of Jesus stands at the cross in silence, her thoughts immersed in the abyss of God’s ways. What can compare with this holy courage of spirit and heart?

III. Let us not continue the narrative of the greatness of Her who is more Honorable than Cherubim. Instead of glorifying the Most Pure One, let us hasten to turn to Her with prayer. About what? Above all, that through Her grace-filled assistance even in our impure souls there might be reflected at least a small and weak image of those virtues and perfections which adorned Her on earth, that we might be guided and controlled in our actions not by our vain desires, but by the most holy will of God, that we might preserve, as far as possible, our soul and body from worldly filth, and that we might be able to endure with good humor those calamities and sorrows which meet us on the path of our earthly pilgrimage. Amen. 

 

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