Daily Devotion to the Theotokos

 Thirteenth Day of the Month

“Rejoice, O full of grace; the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women... Behold thou wilt conceive and give birth to a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus. He will be great, and He will be called the Son of the Most High...” (Luke 1:28-34)

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Behold the wonder of the love and mercy of God! He could not bear to see us in bondage to Satan, so He Himself came down to earth in the form of a babe to save us.

The angel proclaims to the Virgin that she has been chosen to be the Mother of the King and Lord of heaven and earth. She is to be the vessel in which God will dwell as He takes on our human form and nature, growing in Her, to come forth for the redemption of humanity. Surely no other human being could be as exalted or as filled with grace as the Virgin Mary. No one else could ever bear the titles she bears, “Theotokos,” and “Mother of God”; for angels are astonished and the very universe trembles at the thought.

And yet, are we not instructed by the life of the Virgin about a great mystery which takes place in all who are baptized in faith? Apostle Paul says, “I travail in labor until Christ be formed in you.” Orthodox people pause and marvel about this great mystery with grateful fear.

The archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce that God was going to take on a form in her womb. When you were baptized, did not your guardian angel come to you with a similar greeting? “Rejoice newly enlightened servant of God,” he proclaims. We cannot approach the greatness of the mystery of the Theotokos, but let us contemplate the likeness we bear to her, so that our lives may be guided and strengthened by it.

If we were baptized as infants, then we came to the hallowed water still pure and virginal. If we were baptized as adults, then we rose out of the saving water made pure and spiritual virgins by Divine grace. Our guardian angel was given to us, and he greeted us, “Rejoice, O newly enlightened servant of God.”

As spiritual virgins, the Holy Spirit overshadowed us and the spiritual seed of Christ was planted in us. Now, the long struggle begins. Now, we begin to labor and work on ourselves, with learning, fasting and prayer, so that Christ can become fully formed in us and dwell in us, for our salvation.

Orthodox Christians stop and think about what happened to you at baptism. Think of what you have received and call to mind what you have done with that treasure. Have you struggled to grow in faith and understanding so that Christ will truly be formed in you and change and transform your life? Or have you been like Herod who sought to “kill the young child, “ by giving yourself over to the world and to the passions? Have you honestly attempted to keep the fasts of the Church both bodily and spiritually? Or, have you chosen instead to be a slave of the world and the passions which hate fasting? Have you loved to be in the house of the Lord together with your Orthodox family, to praise and glorify the Saviour, or have you found every excuse, often shallow and insincere, to be absent from the Divine Services? Did you find time to pray and read the Holy Scripture together with your family, or did television occupy your time so that you forgot about God?

Think carefully and with fear, O Christian, about your life style. Who is being formed in you, Christ or Satan, the Heavenly Kingdom or the world? Contemplate these things, brothers and sisters, and turn to the Most Pure Theotokos in prayer: