August 2023 Letter

Dear brethren,

On the occasion of the fast of the Virgin Mary, which begins this month, let’s contemplate on the eighth piece of Sunday’s Theotokia. It is the part which is repeated during the glorification in the revival of the Virgin Mary, and speaks of some of the characters of the Old Testament and how it refers to St. Mary:

• “The salvation of our father Adam”: Adam because of his sin, is hiding from God: “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Gen 3: 10). As for the Virgin, she did not hide from God, but contained Him in her arms.
• “The joy of Abel the just”: Abel’s blood cries out from the ground, mourning the injustice and asking for revenge, “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground” (Gen 4: 10), so the incarnate Christ would come from the Virgin to offer His blood, not for revenge, but for redemption and atonement.
• “The salvation of Noah’s”: Noah knew of his salvation from the flood, when the dove brought an olive branch. The Virgin is the beautiful dove that preached for humanity the deliverance from eternal punishment.
• “The pride of Judah”: Because in the Virgin, Jacob’s prophecy to Judah was fulfilled: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people” (Gen 49: 10).
• “The preaching of Moses”: Moses preached to the people in the land of slavery after he saw the burning bush, and his message was: “Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, `The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt” (Exodus 3: 16). The Virgin is the bush that did not catch fire inside her, and she presented Him who came to visit the people in the land of slavery.
• “The honor of Samuel”: who gained honor because God began to speak to the people through him after a long silence, as “the word of the Lord was rare in those days” (1 Sam 3: 1), and God used to speak to him directly: “Speak, for Your servant hears” (1 Sam 3: 10). Thus spoke the Lord after silence of more than five centuries since the last prophet of the Old Testament, constantly speaking in the ears of His mother.
• “The friend of Solomon”: Solomon built a temple for God to dwell in, and the Virgin became a temple for God the Word to dwell in the flesh: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you” (Luke 1: 35).
• “The redemption of Isaiah”: In the days of king Ahaz – king of Judah – the king of Aram ascended to Jerusalem, and that was in the time of Isaiah. The sign of salvation from Aram was “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7: 14).
• “The Healing of Jeremiah”: Jeremiah cries out in sorrow when he sees the condition of his people: “Is there no balm in Gilead, Is there no physician there? Why then is there no recovery For the health of the daughter of my people?” (Jeremiah 8: 22). The Virgin bears the true physician who brings the healing.
• “The power of Elijah”: Because his strength is in his certainty that he is always in the presence of the Lord: “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand” (1 Kings 18: 15). While the Virgin, God was always in her presence being her son.

May the blessing of St. Mary and St. Mercurius be with us all. Amen.

Belleville, August 1, 2023

رسالة شهر أغسطس ٢٠٢٣