Daily Devotion to the Theotokos

Tenth Day of the Month

"Thy throne, O God, is everlasting; the scepter of Thy Kingdom is the scepter of righteousness... The queen stood at Thy right hand arrayed in robes of gold and many colored vesture." (Psalm 44:5, 9)

*     *     *

You are the queen, O Ever-Virgin Theotokos, because you are the Mother of the King of Kings, the King of Peace, the King of Glory. The world does not see you as the queen because it does not accept your Son, our God and Saviour, as its King. The world does not have eyes with which it can see and understand spiritual things.

How did those Magi of old, seeing you and your Son in the humble manger cave, recognize Him as King and worship Him? Was it not by Divine grace? They did not see you clothed in fine garments of gold and many colored silks, but by the grace of the Holy Spirit, they saw you as the queen, the Mother of the Holy King.

What are these robes of gold and vesture of many colors, O mother? Does not the gold represent the exceeding purity of your virginity. You were a virgin not only in body but in soul and spirit, and your virginity was dedicated to the service of God as an offering and sacrifice before Him. The many colored vesture, we understand to represent your many virtues. As sincere and loving virginity is more precious in the Kingdom of God than the most refined and purest of gold, so the virtues of meekness, humility and sincere, loving obedience, are like raiment of the finest and most expensive cloth.

As you think of these things, O believer, understand that there is no real and eternal value in our earthly wealth or in how we clothe our bodies. God takes account only of our spiritual wealth and in how we have adorned our souls. Oh that we could learn this and take it to heart. We toil and work and sometimes even deal dishonestly with others in order to gain wealth and clothe ourselves in luxury. Often we do not even think to help the poor and the hungry, the homeless and the suffering. We think only of acquiring worldly goods, and completely lose our souls.

We see Mary as queen, standing at Christ's right hand in the manger cave, where He lay as a babe. She was chosen for this great ministry and honor because of the completeness of her obedience to the will of God and because of the purity of her life and soul. We see her again standing at the right hand of the King as He suffered on the Cross, and we see the strength of her faith and love. On the last day, when Christ returns in His glory to judge the world, we shall see her standing at His right hand, praying and interceding for the whole world, and then we will realize the greatness of her love and compassion and her care and concern for all mankind.

We can strive to imitate her and, since the grace of God has made her a spiritual helper and intercessor for us, let us call upon her in prayer asking for her aid in our struggle with our sins and passions:

O Most Pure and Ever Virgin Mother of our Saviour, as you have been given such grace, we beseech you to pray for us that we may find the strength and faith to struggle against the passions which beset us and lead us back into slavery to the power of Satan. Help us to refine our souls and bodies to the pure gold of sincere and loving chastity. By your prayers, O Lady, clothe us in the many-colored garment of virtue. Help us, by God's grace, to strip away the filthy rags of our passions and become clothed in the wedding garment of the Kingdom, so that we may not be cast out from the presence of our Saviour on that Great and Holy Day of His coming; rather, let us dwell in the splendor of His glory, together with you and all the saints who have pleased God from all ages.

*     *     *

"The prophet David foretold both thy joy and thy great sorrow, and thine ineffable glory when he proclaimed in vision, 'The queen stood at Thy right hand arrayed in gold and many colored vesture,' for thou didst stand in joy by the manger of thy Royal Child, and in great agony beside His Cross. But on the great and holy day, thou shalt be seen at the right hand of the King of Glory as the Church cries out to Him: Alleluia." (Kontakion Ten, Akathist Hymn for the Joy of Canada)