Word of praise to the Blessed Virgin Mary

When I, insignificant, wished to talk about the brilliant radiance of the Mother of God, about terrible and incomprehensible powers, about the mystery of heaven and the Universe, about a miracle, about purification, and tried to tell in detail, driven by the inner trembling of my heart, about the highest wisdom and about a miracle, I was seized by a great and great fear and horror. For even the very memory of this terrible wisdom about the Mother of God, filling my soul with horror and my heart with fear, became for me not a light punishment, but a strong torment. The memory of this greatest wisdom reproaches my mind, for it does not have the power to speak about what is an incomprehensible mystery. And who can tell about this sacrament? Whose mouth and whose tongue will speak? In their confusion they are unable to utter a word. Now I dare to tell about our Lady Theotokos to the best of my ability. And again I am afraid, for my tongue is not able to describe so great and lofty. For I, like Moses, am weak in voice and tongue-tied, and I am not a rhetorician to utter words befitting the All-Glorious and Most Reverend and Unartificed Mother of God Mary, the Mother of the Lord, about whom every human tongue finds it difficult to speak. He does not find the strength in himself and is timid, because he does not have the words appropriate for Her. For Her, who struck down the Heavenly Powers. All the Angels, Archangels, Principalities, Powers, Thrones, Dominions, Cherubim and Seraphim stand before her in bewilderment. All the Angelic Hosts were filled with great fear and horror. They saw on earth, in the midst of it, That which abides in Heaven, and they became confused. They saw the Virgin who had become Heaven and the Throne, and were filled with fear when they saw that the Beginningless One, sitting on the Cherubic throne, had settled in the Virgin’s womb. O blessed root! Where did he escape from? The prophet Isaiah exclaims about him with his fiery tongue: “And a branch will come from the root of Jesse, and a branch will grow from his root; and the Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and piety; and he will be filled with the fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11:1–3). From the root, that is, from the line of Jesse, comes King David, and from his tribe the Holy Virgin, the Reverend Daughter of reverend men. Her parents Joachim and Anna, who pleased God with their lives, gave birth to the Holy Virgin Mary, the Church of God and the Mother. Joachim, Anna and Maria the three of them served the Holy Trinity. Joachim means “preparation for the Lord,” for from him the Church of the Lord, that is, the Virgin, was prepared. Anna means “grace,” because Joachim and Anna, through their prayers, received the grace to bring the Holy Virgin into the world. Joachim prayed on the mountains, and Anna in her garden. And so Anna carried the Holy Daughter Mary in her womb, and gave birth to Heaven and the Cherubic Throne, for She is Heaven, and the Church, and the Throne. Mary means “Lady,” but also “Hope,” for She gave birth to Christ, the Hope of the whole world. This name also means “myrrh of the sea,” but myrrh means immortality, in my understanding, for She was destined to give birth to the Immortal Pearl in the middle of the sea, that is, in the middle of the world. The whole world is called the sea, to which the Virgin gave peace and calm, giving birth to Refuge, that is, Christ. The blessed name of the humble Daughter Mary also means “Illuminated,” for She received the light of the Son of God and She Herself illuminated all on earth who believe in the Holy Trinity. For the Holy Mother of God Mary is the Bride of the Trinity, the indescribable Treasure of the entire Universe, the One Who was greeted by Gabriel with the words “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” After that greeting from Gabriel, the Father from heaven sent Her the Holy Spirit for conception. He united the Virgin with His Only Begotten Son as the heavenly Bride, whom the Father loved, the Son dwelt in her, and the Holy Spirit desired. For She is the Bride and the Bridal Chamber, and from Her comes the Bridegroom Christ, the Virgin's Robe, according to the prophet David: “He has made a dwelling for the sun in them, and it comes out like a bridegroom from his bridal chamber” (Ps. 19:5-6). Oh, how the Bridegroom desired purity! He made His servant His Bride and Mother. Gabriel hastened and made the matchmaking of the Virgin, combining the incense of Heaven and earth, as the prophets preached, who wisely predicted how this marriage would take place. How did the Virgin become at the same time the Bride and Mother, who received the Holy Spirit as a pre-wedding gift, and as a dowry the whole of Heaven together with Paradise? The Virgin asked to know the One Whom She desired, saying: “Where is the Bridegroom, Whose beauty I desired, Who surpasses the sun in radiance, Whose glory is indescribable? Where is the eternal light, which I ask with great desire? Where is the Sun searching for a ray? Where's the cherubic guitar? Where is Christ, the vigilant gaze of the Seraphim? Where is the worship of Angels shown by Gabriel? Where is the one and only Son of the Father, Whom the Virgin desired and loved, and kissed him asking?” It was Gabriel who told Her: “Rejoice, O Blessed, boundless Grace of the Holy Virgin. Rejoice, O full of grace, adorned with many virtues. You are the Virgin, holding, like a candle, an Unquenchable Light brighter than the sun. Rejoice, O Gracious One, the attachment of a mental hook, and the hook in You is the Divinity. Rejoice, Full of Grace, mental Ark of Glory. Rejoice, Blessed One, you are the golden Hand that carries manna from heaven. Rejoice, O Blessed One, who gives water to the thirsty like a pure, inexhaustible source. Rejoice, Full of Grace, mental sea, bearing the heavenly Pearl of Christ. Rejoice, O Most Gracious One, shining Heaven, keeping within God, Whom Heaven cannot contain. Rejoice, Blessed One, sparkling with the Cherubic Throne of the Divine. Rejoice, O Blessed One, you are the mental Heaven, which without difficulty accommodates the incontainable God. Rejoice, full of grace, pillar of cloud carrying God, leading the people of Israel through the desert.” What should I say? How to sing praises to the Many-Glorious One? The one that is the highest after God of all. The most beautiful of the Cherubim and Seraphim and all the Angelic Powers, Which neither heavenly, nor human, nor angelic language is able to sing. For the Angels also brought Her hymns and praise, honor and glory, but they were never able to sing Her worth. The Angels rejoiced that only the Lord surpassed them, and so the Virgin Mary ascended above them, for she gave birth to the Heavenly God on earth in order to attract the Angelic Armies to earth. For She became what connected Heaven with earth. O Blessed Virgin, pure Dove, Heavenly Bride Mary, You are Heaven and the Church and the Throne of the Divine, and Christ dwells in You - the shining Sun - in Heaven and on earth, You are the Light Cloud, who brought Christ into the world as an all-brilliant Lightning. You are the Heavenly Cloud, who hid the thunder of the Holy Spirit and sent Him to earth. You brought a torrential downpour of the Holy Spirit throughout the whole earth, so that the fruit of faith would grow in it. Rejoice, full of grace, Gates of Heaven, about which the prophet said: “... these gates will be shut, they will not open, and no man will enter through them, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through them, and they will be shut” (Ezek. 44: 2). The prophet clearly speaks about these gates in the Song of Songs: “A locked garden is my sister, my bride, a closed well, a sealed spring” (Song 4:12). The Holy and Humble Daughter Mary remained a Virgin, the Bright Cloud containing the Divine Word, about whom the prophet Isaiah announced with a thunderous voice: “Behold, the Lord will sit on a light cloud and come to Egypt” (Is. 19: 1). You are the Unhandled Mountain, from which the Stone, that is, Christ, was torn away, about which the wisest Daniel testifies: “... the stone was not torn out of the mountain with hands...” (Dan. 2: 45), implying that the Virgin gave birth without a husband to Christ, Who is the Solid Stone. You are the Church in which the Heavenly Stone is Christ, the Thundercloud, carrying lightning in its belly, about which, in accordance with my word, the Holy Scripture says: “Your belly is a heap of wheat, surrounded by lilies” (Song. 7: 3). You are the Unsown Field, who received the Word as a wheat seed and gave birth to a whole sheaf. You are the Mental Oven, containing within yourself the Fire and Bread of Life, that is, Christ. You are the Reverend Mother of the Savior, who gave birth to the Incarnate Word of the Father, about whom Isaiah said: “... behold, the Virgin will be with child and give birth to a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel” (Is. 7:14). O Holy Virgin, Mother of the Lord! Blessed Bride, inseparable from the Trinity. You are more blessed than all wives, for You gave birth to the Creator of all as a Child. You are more blessed than all wives, for only You were honored to give birth to the Heavenly God on earth. Blessed are You of all women, for You have suckled with Your breasts the One who feeds the Universe. You are the Blessed Mother of God, the Holy Virgin, who has now given birth to the One who once created Adam in Paradise. You are the Mother of God, for You gave birth to the Incarnate Word. You are the Mother of God, for you carried in your womb the Divine Word in human nature. You are the Mother of God, for, having received the Divine Word into Yourself, You gave birth to Him in human flesh. You are the Mother of God, for You alone gave birth to the Only Begotten Son of God, not a temporary God, but the Eternal One Who abided before You, and the God of all, Born of You. You are the Immaculate Lamb, who gave birth to the Lamb, that is, Christ. You are a Youth (heifer), who has not experienced the yoke, and who gave birth to a Taurus, that is, Christ. You are the spiritual Table of Faith, bringing the Bread of Life to the world. What should I say? How can I sing the praises of the All-Glorious? About this Reverend and Ever-Virgin Daughter, God speaks in the words of the prophet: “Out of you will come to me He who is to be Ruler in Israel and whose origin is from the beginning, from the days of eternity. Therefore He will leave them until the time when she who is about to give birth gives birth; then their remaining brothers will return to the children of Israel. And He will stand and feed in the power of the Lord” (Micah 5:2–4). O holy Virgin, Mother of Eternal Light! The Light that illuminated the Angelic Hosts in heaven, the Light that illuminated the indescribable gaze of the Seraphim. A light shining brighter than the sun. The light that illuminated all ends of the world with the Holy Trinity. The light that said: “I am the light of the world,” “I came to give light to the world.” Light that ascended and illuminated the Universe in Heaven and on earth. O Blessed Virgin, who slayed the Angelic Hosts! For all Heaven was surprised at a strange miracle - a Woman holding Light in her arms. It is a strange miracle to Heaven that another Cherubic Throne has been erected. It is a strange miracle to Heaven that the Son of this Woman is the Eternal Father. It is a strange miracle to Heaven that the Virgin’s womb received the Son of God, God the Bridegroom, Christ. It is a strange miracle to Heaven that the Child of the Virgin is the Lord of Angels. About the Virgin Mother of God, Mother of the Savior, who gave birth to the Beginningless Word, the Son Co-Altar with the Father, Consubstantial with the Father and the Spirit, Creator of Heaven and Earth. Rejoice, Most Holy Virgin, for You, like a mental bush, burn without being consumed by the fire of the Divine. You are the One who brought into the world the Bread of Life, about which the Savior of the world Christ speaks: “Take, eat, this is My Body, which was broken for you for the remission of sins.” Oh, how rich, my beloved, is the Virgin Meal, full of virtues, which has given the world various foods to delight. This is the Reverend Virgin and Mother of Christ, holding a burning lamp that illuminates heaven and earth, about which the prophet Zechariah said: “Behold, a lamp all made of gold, and a cup of oil on top of it, and seven lamps on it” (Zechariah 4:2). And that is why David sings of Her in a euphonious song: “Your word is a Lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105). O Virgin Lamp, driving away darkness and illuminating with its light! O Virgin Lamp, who brought both fire and oil together for illumination! O Virgin Lamp, who took from the Heavenly Throne the Eternal Consubstantial Three-Bright One Fire and illuminated the Universe with It. O Virgin Lamp, about which God speaks through the mouth of the prophet: “There I will raise the horn of David, I will set up a lamp for My anointed.” (Ps. 131:17). You are the Royal Crown with precious pearls - Christ. You are the Royal Purple, clothing the body of the King of Heaven and earth in purple robes. You are the All-Pure Faith of Christians, the Incomprehensible Book that told the world about the Son and the Word of the Father. Blessed are You among women, for you gave birth to the Incarnate Word, the Son of the Father, the Eternal God, the Beginningless and Eternal, worshiped together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Word, co-throne with the Father, sitting on the Cherubim, glorified by the Angels, Principalities and Powers created by Him. The Word that stretched out the heavens and established the earth. The word of the true God Jesus Christ our Lord, born of You, Virgin Mary, who remained a Virgin after the Nativity. You gave birth to the Pearl and wove the Royal Crown, Blessed Virgin, who sprouted the Heavenly Glory and filled the world with the fragrance of many heavenly flowers. The Virgin is the Pure Krin (lily), who gave birth to Christ, the Unfading Flower, the Vine of Truth, full of fruit and untouched in Her virginity, which, although never cultivated, is full of grapes and which bore Ripe Fruit, that is, Christ. Tell us reliably how You gave birth, O Virgin Mother of God? How was it worthy to become the Mother of God on earth, having received the Eternal Word? I, the Virgin, who carried Him in My womb, remained incorruptible and therefore was honored to become the pure Church of the Word of God, who settled in Me, having not known marriage. I carried Emmanuel in My incorruptible and immaculate womb, as on the Cherubic Throne, on which the Word of the Father took on flesh, and the Beginningless and Invisible One, according to His dispensation, became the Visible God Incarnate. Without knowing a husband, I gave birth to the Eternal God Jesus Christ. And now after Christmas I remain a Virgin, even more pure than before. I gave birth without pain, not like other wives, for everything that happened to Me is different from what happens to them. And people did not understand what I carried in my womb, but only God, who settled in Me. O Virgin, precious Treasure of the Church, which calls You both the Priest and the Altar, on which, as on a table, lies the Heavenly Bread, Christ, whom You give to us for the remission of sins. O Pure Womb, which contains within itself the incontainable God. O The womb of heaven is wider, not constricting the God who was in it. O Womb, endless as the sky and larger than it. O Womb, higher and wider than the seven Heavens. O Womb, you are the eighth Heaven, towering above the entire firmament. O Womb containing eternal Light, full of grace. What else should I say to the Humble and Holy Virgin? Desire prompts me to talk about the Mother of God, but fear makes me silent, for I cannot say anything worthy of Her. Reason pushes me, and fear pushes me away, the first pulls me forward, and the second back. And since I am being torn apart by both of them, I decided to talk about the All-Glorious and Reverend Virgin. I call Her Heaven, Throne and Cross, for She stretched out Her holy hands and held our Lord and Master, like the Throne of the Cherubim, cruciform, heavenly. Looking at Heaven through the Holy Scriptures, I see how the Angels worship Her. Gabriel is the first to greet the Virgin, saying: “Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Rejoice, O Blessed One, for You are the shining Heaven. Rejoice, O Most Gracious One, on You is the Sun – Christ, illuminating the Sky with His bright rays.” The Virgin became a Seraphim, adorned with many names and many eyes that saw an incomprehensible vision. Like a kind of mental cover, She covers the Universe with Her Body, surpassing the Cherubim. For they look away, unable to look at the mental fire of the Divine, while She, with wide-open eyes, meets the incomprehensible and vigilant gaze of Christ, greeting Her with desire and love. The Angelic Hosts worship the Savior, unable to look at Him or touch Him, but the Mother of God greeted the Incomprehensible One with a kiss. O Virgin, bringing the miracle of the incomprehensible Mystery, You preached throughout the Universe the faith so desired by You. The Virgin became older than the Angels, higher than the Cherubim and Seraphim, pleasing to King Christ as a worthy servant and Mother, Whom God honored. The Immaculate Holy Mother, who gave birth to Christ, who was before Her and who said: “Before Abraham was, I am.” You glorified the cave and honored the manger. For the Virgin, the cave and the manger, like Heaven, contained the Incontainable God and the three of them served the Holy Trinity. When the Virgin gave birth without pain in a cave to the Lord of Heaven and earth and laid Him in a manger, She was surrounded by the Angelic Orders singing: “Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, good will to men!” And the shepherds, who were not sleeping at that hour, heard this angelic praise of the Savior and hastened to come and worship the Light, seeing a strange miracle - the servant of God and the earthly Virgin who became the heavenly Bride. For She appeared in the cave as the Bride and Bridal Chamber and Mother of God when she gave birth to the child Christ, according to the prophetic voice of Isaiah: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6). And after the shepherds and wise men from the east, led by a bright star that illuminated their way, after a long journey they came there to worship the One who was born in Bethlehem. As soon as they arrived in Jerusalem, they lost sight of the star. Fearing not to find the way without their guide, they were forced to ask the inhabitants of the city about where Christ was born. Everyone was surprised at this strange miracle. Herod, hearing about this, was greatly frightened and, calling the priests, began to ask them where Christ would be born. They answered him without hiding, confessed without lying, for they could not hide the rays of the Sun, and revealed the revelation of the Father, interpreted by the prophet, saying that Christ was born in Bethlehem. The prophet speaks about this: “And you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, are you small among the thousands of Judah? from you will come to me one who is to be ruler in Israel, and whose origin was from the beginning, from the days of eternity” (Micah 5:2). Woe to you, rebellious Israel! You accepted the law and rejected the Lawgiver. Your people revealed to the world where Christ would be born, but they did not recognize Him when He was born. What happened to the Magi? Their minds were confused, and their hearts were filled with sadness, their groans were like a rapidly advancing wave, sinking a ship, a stream of tears flowed from their eyes to the ground, in unbearable grief they looked for the star - their guide, which guided them on their way from the East and which they had now lost. Where did the star that showed them the way go? How did she hide from them? Find out the truth and look at the miracle and its meaning. The star hid from them so that they would begin to question and so that this Mystery of Heaven and Earth would be revealed from the lips of unbelieving priests. And after everyone knew about this, the star reappeared before the Magi and continued to guide them until it stopped above the Baby in the cave, or rather in Heaven. For where Christ is, there is Heaven, and therefore the cave became Heaven on earth. They, seeing the star, or rather the Savior, rejoiced with great joy, and, falling on their faces, bowed to him and brought him gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Gold, as befits a King, frankincense as God and myrrh as mortal, for they wanted to foreshadow in this way the coming burial of the Creator and Creator of all Christ, born of the Heavenly Bride Mary, Heaven and the Church and Throne of the Divine, the indescribable Paradise Treasure. Once the Angels reviled Eve, but now they glorify Mary, who exalted the weakness of female nature, corrected Eve, who fell through disobedience, sent Adam, expelled from Paradise, to Heaven, opened the previously locked Paradise and, following the thief, returned Adam there. O Holy Virgin, who abolished enmity between people and God, destroying the wall that separated them. For your sake, the world was given heavenly peace, all the ends of the Universe were illuminated, people became Angels and were called friends and slaves and children of God. For your sake, heavenly wisdom has been reborn, and praises are ascending from earth to heaven. For your sake, people boldly look to Heaven to the Highest God. For your sake, the Cross on which Your Child, Christ our God, was crucified, shone across the entire Universe. For your sake, death was trampled upon and hell was emptied, idols fell and heavenly wisdom reigned. Most Holy Virgin, for Your sake we recognized the Only Begotten Son of God, born of You, our Lord Jesus Christ, Whom we all, Angels and people, worship and call: the Beginningless Father, the Beginningless Son, the Beginningless Holy Spirit - glorifying the indivisible and Consubstantial Trinity to endless ages. Amen. (Modern Greek translation: Al. Christodoulou, theologian) You might be interested in: