A HOMILY FOR THE GREAT FEAST OF THE DORMITION OF THE MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS
(Aug. 15/28)
About the Theotokos as Our Wondrous Mediatrix in Prayer Before Her Son
Brothers and sisters!
I greet you from my heart on today’s feast of the Dormition of Our All-Pure Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary! On Sunday we shall still find ourselves in the post-festal period, and I intend to relate the events commemorated by the feast then, so today I would like to speak to you about the person at the center of the feast, the Queen of Heaven, and about some of the chief reasons the Orthodox people honor this and all her feasts with such devotion.
Last night at the Vigil, we heard the words spoken by the Mother of God and recorded in the Gospel: Behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. The immediate reason the All-Holy One said this was because she foresaw in spirit that the New Israel would forever praise her with fervor for having been chosen as the Virgin who would give birth to the Messiah. However, in her humility, she dared not predict directly that every generation of Christians would likewise call her blessed for her supreme virtue, which made it possible for her alone, of all women, to become the Mother of God. Likewise, she dared not say that they would forever call her blessed for attaining the holiness that would make her mankind’s foremost mediator in prayer before God.
If we know anything at all about the inner life and history of the New Testament Church, then we know also that since its foundation, the Theotokos has been interceding ceaselessly with Christ on behalf of the Christians, winning His favor for them. Besides offering countless prayers for individuals, and for this parish or that monastery, she does the same for entire peoples and whole nations. Furthermore, because no one is closer to Christ or more virtuous than His All-Holy Mother, it necessarily follows that her prayers are the mightiest of all. This is why, when we meditate on this, a magnificent panorama unfolds, revealing how the Queen of Heaven delivers our entire race from every peril and necessity.
For this cause our divine services are full of entreaties to the Theotokos, almost all written by great saints, themselves mighty men of prayer, who nevertheless understood from experience that the most powerful prayer is that of the Mother of God. Naturally, the holy hymnographers Romanus the Melodist, John of Damascus, Cosmas of Maiuma, Theodore the Studite, Theophanes of Sicily, Theophanes the Branded, Joseph of Sicily, and the others understood well that the pious faithful, given their awe before the Theotokos’ holiness and unique role in our salvation, their boundless love for her, and their extreme gratitude to her, can never tire of extolling her and never wish to leave off singing her praises or appealing to her aid. The holy hymnographers responded to her excellences by composing numberless exquisite prayers and hymns to assist the faithful in entreating and lauding the Queen of Heaven.
In this connection, we must also remember that the Theotokos is not only the Mother of the Son of God, but our own Mother, by virtue of our kinship with Christ, Who became man for our sake. Additionally, the saints explain that by making her the Mother of His most beloved disciple, Saint John the Theologian, the Lord, before His death on the Cross, in a second, mystic way, made the Virgin the Mother of all of us, for we are also His beloved disciples. Thus every pious Orthodox Christian rests assured, in the very depths of his soul, that the Mother of the Saviour entreats her divine Son for us not just as His Mother, but as ours: that she prays for us constantly and most fervently, as for her weak, sinful, wayward children.
In the Kingdom of Heaven there is no night, but only unending day; there is no rest by night. There is only ceaseless daytime in the effulgence of God’s glory; ceaseless praise and glorification of God; and ceaseless, untiring prayer to Him on the part of the Queen of Heaven, the angels, and the saints. What a consolation, dear brothers and sisters, to know that we have such a powerful, yet loving Mother, who never desists from interceding for us before the Throne of Majesty on high! By her prayers, the Most Holy Spirit descends upon us with His grace, filling us with divine peace, stillness, and joy. Moreover, the All-Pure One remains the loving Mother even of those who fail to repent fervently or who fail to reform themselves. She is deeply troubled by the spiritual state of such persons – much more than you or I are troubled – for she loves them much more than we do, no matter how close to them we may be. Therefore, if it is possible to do anything at all for them, no saint, no angel, assists them as much as she.
Beyond this, the All-Pure One defends and delivers even people who do not believe and are not in quest of the grace of God. Remember that great sinner Mary of Egypt, whom the Mother of God led to repentance and an angelic life, although Mary was certainly not seeking these. Nevertheless, some spark of good still flickered in the sinner’s heart, or perhaps the Theotokos could foresee what would be Mary’s extraordinary future labors of repentance, if only she received extraordinary help. The wicked woman was stopped by an invisible hand as she tried to enter the nave of the sacred Church of the Resurrection, and she fell down in earnest prayer before the icon of the Theotokos; whereupon, through the intervention of the All-Holy One, Mary’s inner disposition and life changed suddenly and completely. This is as the well-beloved of the Mother of God, our venerable father Seraphim of Sarov, assured us, saying, “It is impossible that he who prays to the Mother of God should perish.”
The devil flees from the one whose Son crushes his head; that is, he flees from the Theotokos. He flees in fear and trembling. But truly, if it were not for the protection of her intercessions, that monster would swallow both you and me whole.
This, dear brothers and sisters, is why our Holy Orthodox Church so glorifies the Mother of God and urges us to pray to her, especially on the Great Feasts dedicated to her glorification, but at every other time as well. Let us bring all our troubles to her, as little children bring theirs to their earthly mothers. At the same time, let us not forget to offer up praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, Who has granted us such a wondrous Mediatrix: the All-Holy One, who without ceasing entreats His mercy on our behalf. Amen.
