February: Day 14: Venerable Maron

 

February: Day 14:
Venerable Maron
 
(The Custom of Resorting in Certain Cases To Prayer To Certain Saints Has a Legitimate Basis)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Venerable Maron, a Syrian hermit, whose memory is celebrated today, labored near the city of Cyrus, which was a two day journey from Antioch. He chose the summit of a mountain, revered in ancient times by the pagans, as the place for his exploits. Having made this place of idol sacrifices a place of service to God, he labored in a small hut, which, however, he rarely visited, almost always remaining in the open air. To mortify the flesh, he undertook heavy physical labors. God sent him the gift of healing various ailments and diseases, not only physical, but also spiritual, through prayer and blessing. He healed those sick with fever, the frenzied, and those possessed by demons. He healed souls from the ailments of covetousness, anger, intemperance, and carelessness, and inspired humility in the proud and justice in the unjust. After a short illness, he peacefully departed to eternal life, around the year 370. The inhabitants of a nearby village took his holy relics and placed them in their church, as a blessing to their village.

Our ancestors prayed to Venerable Maron for healing from fever.

II. Brethren! Many Christians believe that in some cases only a certain saint can ask God for special help. For example, to get rid of a toothache, they pray to the Holy Martyr Antipas; to save cattle from death, they seek help from the Martyrs Floros and Lavros, the Great Martyr George and the Holy Martyr Blaise; to receive help from the Lord in the calamities and difficulties of earthly life, they ask for prayerful intercession from the Holy Martyr Tryphon; to find stolen things, they resort to the Martyr John a warrior, etc.

a) In this belief in the special help of this or that saint in certain cases, there is nothing reprehensible. For if they believe, then of course they resort to this or that saint with special zeal and love on their part, and in zeal and love for the saints, except for the good, nothing else can be seen; and on the other hand, the faith of such people is right also because the grace-filled activity of the saints sometimes receives, as it were, a certain definite direction. If we ask the Apostle Paul about this, we can have the following answer: all this is the giving of grace-filled gifts, the determination of their kind, degree, power, "one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills" (1 Cor. 12:11).

However, since the Spirit of God, in His infinite goodness ready to give every man every gift of grace, actually distributes gifts in accordance with the law of righteousness, to those who are worthy, and in accordance with the law of wisdom, to those who are able to use them for good purposes: then it can be assumed that the highest definition of the kind, degree, power, space of the gifts of grace sent down to a believing man, happens according to a certain application to the kind, degree, power, space of his free spiritual disposition, and his exploits and virtues. Something similar to this thought we find in the Apostle Paul, when he says about the exploits of Jesus Christ Himself: "For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted" (Heb. 2:18).

He who with faith and love for God and His law, with hope in God's grace-filled help, stood firm against temptation and actually received grace-filled help to repel it; who zealously and constantly practiced some pious feat or virtue, and actually received grace-filled help to accomplish the feat and virtue; who courageously decided to suffer and die rather than betray the truth and justice, and actually received grace-filled help to victoriously pass the course of innocent suffering: he is able to help others who are tempted and struggling; or in general, because the power of Christ, attracted by his faith and feat, is instilled in him (2 Cor. 12:9), and acts not only in him, but also through him; and especially because he, from the experience of his own temptation and exploit, pities and sympathizes with others in a similar temptation and exploit all the more deeply, and the more zealously seeks their help, and, from the experience of the grace-filled help he has found for himself, with the greater boldness of faith and the greater success, intercedes before God for others who require similar help, finding in the joy of beneficence a reward for his exploit.

b) Such an applicable direction of the beneficial power of the saints can be seen in their lives.

A certain man, who was being severely tempted against his chastity, asked for help from the Venerable Daniel of Skete. The elder sent him to the grave of the Martyr Thomais to pray through her intercession. And when the command was fulfilled, the temptation disappeared. Why did help have to come through this Martyr? Because in life she had gone through a severe temptation against her chastity and died a martyr for preserving her chastity.

In the life of the Holy Martyr Blaise, whose memory the Holy Church celebrates on February 11, the following incident is related.

A certain woman had an only son. One day, when he was eating fish, a fish bone became lodged in his throat, and since, despite all efforts, it was impossible to remove it, the boy began to suffer inexpressibly, lost his voice and was close to death. His mother took him half-dead, carried him to Saint Blaise, laid him at his feet and, having told him what had happened to them, began to beg for help with tears. “Have mercy on my son,” she cried, the servant of our Savior Jesus Christ, “for this is my only son!” Blaise heeded her pleas, placed his hand on the boy’s mouth and, raising his eyes to heaven, began to pray thus: “O Lord, who helps all who fervently resort to You! Hear my prayer: by Your invisible power pull the bone out of this boy’s throat and heal him. And also make it so that if something similar happens to people or cattle, then those people who say: 'God, help them through the prayers of Your servant Blaise,' O Lord, hasten to help them, and grant healing to the glory and honor of Your holy name!" After the prayer of the saint, the youth became completely healthy, began to loudly praise the Lord, and Saint Blaise gave him to his mother.

III. From this it is clearly revealed that the Holy Great Martyr Blaise asked God for a special gift of healing during his lifetime. And if he asked, then why should not those who believe in him turn with special faith and zeal for a certain help to him and other saints? Amen. 

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