РОСА БЛАГОДЕЯНИЯ

Bring out wealth of blessings to everyone: for all you can do, for you have given birth to the mighty Christ in the fortress (Canon of Prayer, Song 3). Pavel Domontovich, a Chernigov inhabitant, lying on his sick bed, barely alive, was brought to the Elias Monastery from Friday to Saturday of the first week of Lent. Here, when the local monks offered a diligent prayer for him to God and the Mother of God, he soon stood up healthy. Such is the blessing of the Theotokos that heals ailments, for He makes prayers to His Son and our God for us. Who under heaven will ever find a benefactor according to God greater than our Lady? The Good King, the Good Mother, does not cease to do good to the human race. And it is not in vain that the Church calls Her the ever-flowing Source. For, just as a source constantly, and not only when they come to draw, flows out water, so the Pure Virgin, without becoming scarce, benefits everyone, good and evil, righteous and sinful, who resort to Her and those who turn away from Her. Thus, Jacob the Jew, about whom “New Heaven” tells, fell into the hands of robbers, wounded and bound, the Virgin Mother of God freed and healed him, although he did not flow to Her, but turned away from Her. I will mention here the ancient Jacob. Having fallen asleep on the way, he saw in a dream a staircase from earth to heaven, and along it the Angels of God ascended and descended. Why do those Angels never rest for a moment, but constantly ascend and descend? That staircase was an image of the Mother of God, as it is sung: “Rejoice, O Bridge, leading to heaven, and the high Ladder, even as Jacob appeared” (Stichera on “I cried to the Lord”). That is why the Angels have no rest on it, because the Mother of God commands them to never cease to do good to us: ascending, they bring our prayers to God, and descending, they bring us mercy and gifts from God. Isaiah, prophesying about the Virgin Mary, called Her a cloud: “Behold, the Lord will sit on a light cloud” (Isaiah 19:1). Why does he call Her that? Listen to the reason: you will never find a time in which you would not see clouds in the sky, be it during the day or at night. I present your eyes as a testimony to you, they will always show you a cloud in the heights, and it is not in vain, for either it carries rainwater within itself, or from the hot rays of the sun it shades and cools, or, if the air is light, it decorates and amuses the vision. This is the mystery why the prophet calls our Benefactor a Cloud, for She does not stop doing good deeds even for a short time, but always either brings the rain of God’s grace to us, healing passions and healing the illnesses of our souls and bodies, or from the hot righteous anger that approaches us, she overshadows and cools us with Her intercession, or, decorating our thoughts, spiritually cheers our hearts. And who can count Your blessings, O All-Merciful One?! Every good deed requires thanksgiving, and we, who have received ineffable blessings from the Mother of God, must not be ungrateful. Be grateful, for whoever is ungrateful for anything is unworthy of it. But what shall we bring or what shall we repay the Virgin Mary for all that she has done good for us? Gold, or silver, or precious stones?.. She, our Lady, does not require this, these blessings of ours, for nothing on earth is worthy of Her. Let us give ourselves to Her, and she will be satisfied, for She demands us, not ours, saying together with God in Scripture: “My son! give your heart to Me” (Proverbs 23:26). How can we give ourselves to Her? Nothing less than “cleansing yourself from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit” (2 Cor. 7:1). For if even earthly masters do not accept a foul gift, what kind of pure gift does the Most Heavenly Lady deserve? And how will the unclean be pleasing to Her, the Most Pure One? This is how we will be pleasing to Her, our Lady: having cleansed ourselves of our defilements, let us give Her soul and body, mind and heart, to serve Her in honor and truth all the days of our life. The unclean praised the pure, but she did not accept, for praise from the lips of the unclean is not red. Someone, very sinful and uncleanly living, did not cease to greet our Lady with an angelic kiss: “Rejoice, O Blessed One! The Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28). And he once happened to get lost in the deep desert, where he was so exhausted from hunger that he despaired of staying alive. Then the Most Holy Virgin appeared to him with many beautiful maidens carrying sweet foods on dirty dishes, and commanded: “Eat.” He turned away with the words: “Even though the food is good, I cannot eat it because of the great badness of the food.” Then the Virgin said to him: “So I cannot accept the praise that you send to me: although they are good, they come from foul lips and an unclean heart, therefore they are unpleasant to me. Go, cleanse yourself from your uncleanness, and then you will open your mouth to praise and be satisfied with heavenly food.” Having said this, she became invisible. He woke up near his house and from that time corrected himself by repentance. You might be interested in: