Protection (Shroud) of the Most-Holy Theotokos – Metropolitan of Strumica Nahum
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Christ said: “And whatever you ask the Father in my name, I will do it for you, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14, 13).
The God-Man Jesus Christ establishes, for us, a spiritual rule; to ask of Him something beneficial to the soul in the name of Someone who is immensely important to Him. Will He not be the first to honour it Himself? Therefore, whatever we ask of Him in the name of His Mother, He will fulfil it for us, so that the Mother is also glorified in the Son. And consequently we receive every gift of God through Her. Basically, it means “shroud”, and importantly, this is where our “shroud” comes from.
It is not by chance that the Gospel reading about Martha and Mary is read (see: Luke 10:38-42; 11:27-28) every time we celebrate the Most-Holy Theotokos and it is not by chance that the choice of the better part is mentioned; let us once again determine why…
But before we continue specifically with today’s topic, I want to first recall a little-forgotten Tradition of the Holy Fathers: The Holy Fathers demand that the rule according to which the receiving of priestly orders corresponds to the three stages of spiritual growth should be respected.
The one who is at the stage of purification and passes it correctly under the guidance of a spiritual father, can receive the rank of deacon. The one who has reached the stage of enlightenment of the mind and the gift of the prayer of mind in the heart can be ordained as a presbyter, and the one who has reached the stage of deification can be a Bishop.
It is easily noticed by all of us, how the offering of gifts on the altar of the temple, that is, the appearance of the priest in front of the altar, is connected with the appearance of the mind in front of the altar of the heart (the prayer of the mind in the hearth) and the conscious sacrifice of the human persona that is offered to God in the heart.
The prayer of the mind in the heart is actually the inner, New-testament priesthood, royal, eschatological, i.e. eternal priesthood – that which will remain in the Kingdom of Heaven. The prayer of the mind in the heart is that inner spiritual covering (aptitude) for the priesthood as a Holy Sacrament. In other words, this prayer is a “cover (shroud)”. The prayer of the mind in the heart keeps this world still in existence and allows for all of us, a time for repentance.
From the aforementioned, we can presume the kind of spiritual and prayerful state the Most-Holy Theotokos was in while staying in the Holy of Holies of the Old Testament temple, where the high priest only was permitted to enter once a year. After all, if our deeds are known by their fruits, then what can we say about the One who gave birth to Christ God for us? I think it is better to let Saint Gregory Palamas speak for the Theotokos:
“Examining what the praying person most needs in order to converse with God, from which path the prayer comes, the Theotokos finds the sacred silence (contemplative prayer) – stillness of the mind, distanced from the world, forgetting everything earthly and striving for divine revelations, choosing the better part. She discovers that if the mind is not scattered by earthly things, it could be given to a better and more exalted action, which is to turn to itself: the only action through which it could be united with God.”
“…Those who do so, who have purified their hearts with sacred silence and in an inexpressible way draw near to Him Who is above every feeling and thought, they see God in themselves as in a mirror. Silence is, therefore, a way-leader, a quick, directed, successful unification with God, especially for those who practice it in everything and completely.
And what can we say about the Theotokos, who lived in Hesychia from childhood? Prayerfully silent supernaturally, from the earliest years, She, precisely because of this – not knowing for a man – acquired the grace to give birth to the God-Man Christ”.
These words of St. Gregory Palamas explain the last passage of today’s festive gospel: “And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!” But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.”‘(Luke 11, 27-28). In that also, blessed will be those who will follow Her path.
The Theotokos, with Her example and experience, gave forever, to the entire Christian race, an example of a composed and heedful life of the inner man, so that Christians – like those who renounced the devil at Holy Baptism, as well as all his works, words and thoughts, renouncing the worldly and bear a resemblance to Her, to be zealous in the struggle of Orthodox spiritual life and especially in the struggle of the prayer of the mind in the heart, each according to his strengths.
Now, if we want to fully understand the meaning of the celebration of the blessed day of the “Protection of the Most-Holy Theotokos”, I think that it will best help us to contemplate upon and remember the meaning of the Lord’s words: “I came to save the sick and sinners, not the healthy and righteous.” (see: Matthew 9, 12–13). You know the answer: the God-Man Jesus Christ came to save those who think of themselves as sick and sinful, not those who think of themselves as healthy and righteous – such people do not even feel a need for Him.
Again, verily, the sick, sinful and lost can experience themselves as such, only those who strive to unite with God, and not in any way, but only those who have harmonised their way of life and asceticism with the stage of spiritual development they found themselves at; in obedience to their spiritual father.
So it’s not enough to just think of ourselves as spiritually sick and sinful – that’s just false humility and true illusion. The true thought and feeling of sinfulness can only come from a real and correct asceticism – from getting closer to God.
For example: you say that you are sinful and you hope for the protection of the Most-Holy Theotokos. Okay, I’ll ask you: Do you say the prayer “O Theotokos and Virgin, Rejoice, Mary, full of grace”, for example, a hundred and fifty times a day? If your answer is no, I know your straggle is also lukewarm. If you had been hot, you would have seen your imperfection in terms of fulfilling Christ’s commandments and you would have simply wept before the Theotokos. And that is a “shroud”.
We have a “general shroud (protection, covering)” that the Theotokos always provides us with – as our Mother, regardless of who we are and what we do; because without that “covering” we would have perished by now – according to our deeds. And only this undeserved “covering” of Her’s allows us time for repentance. The time for repentance, if we contemplate upon it, is one of the greatest gifts of God that we receive because of the Theotokos.
Furthermore, we have a “shroud” because of the special relationship we cherish and have established with our Mother Theotokos. We cannot have a greater blessing in our life than this “special shroud (protection, covering)”.
I will tell you a story that I don’t know from where I heard or read it, which best explains what I am writing about: Three monks got drunk and being that drunk they came to a railway line and there they fell asleep. The train passing on that track was approaching. Suddenly the Theotokos appeared to the train driver and said to him: “There are three of My pigs lying on the track, stop the train because it will derail.”
The Theotokos appears and saves everyone, but what has been said clearly emphasizes that “Her three pigs” are more important to Her than the composition of the railway and everything it carries inside. I personally have not come across a story that better explains what it means to have a “special protection” from the Most-Holy Theotokos.
A few more words about the “general protection”. We are often surprised that the unbelievers seem to have everything going their way, while nothing goes our way. In addition to this perception, we, at that moment, forget that every person, no matter how “ordered” his life may seem from the outside, has his own personal cross that only he knows and that only he can carry, and no one else; we also forget that the “general shroud (cover)” – also covers the unbelievers, the Theotokos, as a Mother Who cares for all of us, provides us with a suitable surroundings for our normal life, as well as a time for repentance and salvation. Imagine what kind of hell this life would turn into for all of us if God allowed misfortunes to happen to us according to our sins as well as the sins of unbelievers?
God forbid that the “general covering” be pulled from us a little, as it happens sometimes when most of us lose ourselves in sin.
And the “special shroud”, you yourself have also noticed, is sometimes removed from us in order to learn and progress in the spiritual fight.
Most-Holy Mother, thank you for your “shroud” and forgive us!
Metropolitan of Strumica Nahum
(13.10.2022 15:52)
