So, the day of Easter was coming – and so did the
Passion of Christ. What did those days mean to the Mother of God? No tongue of
the man dares to say about this, for no mother’s heart should know such
sufferings, which the Mother of God faced looking at the sufferings of Her Son.
The time Elder Simeon had told about finally came: “A sword will pierce through your own soul also, that the thoughts of
many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:35).
The Holy Church, moved by love towards the Mother of
God, with the help of the best spiritual authors, hymnographers and men full of
the Holy Spirit, tried to express in the limited human language the pain, worries and sorrows that the Mother of God lived through near the Cross
of Her Son and Lord.
“The blessed
Virgin with other women was looking at Her Son and Lord hanged on the cross. Moaning and crying She said:
I see You
my beloved Child, hanging on the Cross, and my heart is aching, - says the
Blessed One, - but let Your servant speak...
...Peter
escaped because of the fear of the Hebrews’ wrath, and all the loyal ran and
left Christ, said the Virgin and cried...
...For the
sake of Your mysterious and inexplicable Nativity, My Son, I was honored more
than all the other mothers. Woe is me
now, for I see You on the Cross and get burning with pain inside...
...The never
setting Sun, eternal God and Creator of all the creatures, why are You bearing
this passion on the Cross, - says the Virgin and cries...
...I see You
beaten and dishonored, naked on the Cross, My Child, and I get wounded and
mourn, for I am Your mother...
...Crying
and wondering, Joseph and Nicodemus took the blessed body from the Cross and
kissed it, honoring Him as our God...
...The
Virgin and Mother took Him and laid Him on Her knees, She begged Him and kissed
His body crying and then exclaimed...
...I am
amazed while looking at You, Good God and generous Lord, lying beaten up without
glory and without breathing. I hold your body and cry, for I do not even hope
to see You again, My Son and Lord...
...Seeing
Her Lamb led to slaughter, Mary followed Him together with other women, crying
the following words: where are you going Child? Why are you going in such a
hurry? Maybe for another wedding at Cana to turn water into wine again? Should
I go with You, Child, or should I stay and wait for You here? Give me Your
word, do not pass me by in silence, the One Who preserved My purity, for You
are my Son and Lord...
...From now on, the joy will never come to Me, - the
Blessed Virgin said. My Light and my Joy is now in the tomb, but I will not
leave him there, I will stay here to die and be buried with Him”...
This is how our Holy Church dared to praise lovingly
the Mother of God, Her sufferings and her grief in the Lenten Triodion.
Perhaps, if the Church did not know that the Lord and
God would resurrect, that He would turn grief into joy, that He would wipe the
tears away from our eyes and wash any sorrows away, then we would never dare to
praise and write all these mournful chants; we would never dare to try to
express Mary’s pain and grief for the Crucified Savior.
The word
of St. Gregory of Neocaesaria:
“In the Name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy
Spirit. Amen. All-Holy Virgin Mother of God, we humans cannot offer to you the
hymn and the praise that is appropriate to you, for your proper praise is
superior to any human melody. From you God Himself received flesh and was born
as a human being. The totality of nature in heaven and on earth offers to you
its boundless respect. For you have become an Angelic Throne of Cherubim. As a
reflection of Light, You shine brightly in the imperceptible world and in all
the ends of heaven and earth and in the whole universe, where the Unoriginate
Father is praised, Whose power always overshadowed you; where the Son is
worshiped, the Son to Whom you gave birth; where the Holy Spirit is glorified,
the Spirit which enacted in your womb the birth of the Great King. Through you,
who are full of grace, the Holy and Consubstantial Trinity is revealed in the
world to become known by human beings. We pray to you and beseech you, Most
Blessed Theotokos, to make us also worthy of you perfect grace that we too may
partake of it with you in Christ Jesus, our Lord, in Whom the glory and the
power abides unto the ages of ages. Amen.”
End of
part VI
To be
continued…
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CONVERSATION