It happened 10 years ago. That incident became
for me an evidence that Great Lent is not just the time of usual sorrow, but
the sorrow, through which the beams of hope come.
The woman’s name was Dolores. Yes, she had such an
unusual name in the world, while she was baptized with the name Daria. I
learnt about that woman, who was a lecturer of the philological faculty, from her
relatives. It was Great Lent – the time, when the sacrament of Holy Unction is
usually served in churches. So, they asked me to come to Daria and perform the
sacrament at home. The thing is, Daria was severely ill: she had the terminal
cancer of the spinal column. She underwent treatment several time, but it did
not help, so the disease progressed instead.
I remember that I entered her room and saw an
exhausted middle-aged woman; she was so weakened by her disease that she could
not walk any more. Her relatives lifted her up and helped her to sit. During
the sacrament, the sick woman was praying wholeheartedly with tears in her
eyes. I will remember forever that burning light of hope for God’s help that I saw
in her eyes. I anointed Daria and then I left them.
After some time I got a phone call. Daria, who could
not even sit without help some time ago, told me with a completely different
and joyful voice that she began to walk! Also, she told about the doctors, who
were very surprised by the positive dynamics of her recovery. She added that
she began to read the akathist to the mother of God before the Pantanassa icon.
It has been years since then and we still keep in
contact. I always recall this incident during the period of Great Lent. It gives
me hope. The hope that the Lord by His grace will send you the circumstances,
which will bring us to Him. The hope that He will not let us go without
repentance – even if we are in serious condition, He will cure us from any
disease and give us as much time as we need to prepare ourselves.
By Archpriest
Andrew Gerasimov
Source: https://foma.ru/dolores-u-kotoroy-byila-nadezhda.html
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