At the early age of twelve Mary left her home and came to Alexandria, where for upwards of seventeen years she led a life of public prostitution. At the end of that time, on the occasion of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, she embarked for Palestine, not however with the intention of making the pilgrimage, but in the hope that life on board ship would afford her new and abundant opportunities of gratifying an unquenchable lust. Arriving in Jerusalem she persisted in her shameless life, and on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross joined the crowds towards the church where the sacred relic was venerated, hoping to meet in the gathering some new victims whom she might allure into sin. And now came the turning-point in her career.
When she reached the church door, she suddenly felt herself repelled by some secret force, and having vainly attempted three or four times to enter, she retired to a corner of the churchyard, and was struck with remorse for her wicked life, which she recognized as the cause of her exclusion from the church. Bursting into bitter tears and beating her breast, she began to bewail her sins. Just then her eyes fell upon a statue of the Blessed Virgin above the spot where she was standing, and in deep faith and humility of heart she besought Our Lady for help, and permission to enter the church and venerate the sacred wood on which Jesus had suffered, promising that if her request were granted, she would then renounce forever the world and its ways, and forthwith depart whithersoever Our Lady might lead her. Encouraged by prayer and counting on the mercy of the Mother of God, she once more approached the door of the church, and this time succeeded in entering without the slightest difficulty. Having adored the Holy Cross and kissed the pavement of the church, she returned to Our Lady's statue, and while praying there for guidance as to her future course, she seemed to hear a voice from afar telling her that if she crossed the Jordan, she would find rest. That same evening Mary reached the Jordan and received Holy Communion in a church dedicated to the Baptist, and the day following crossed the river and wandered eastward into the desert that stretches towards Arabia.
Perhaps some of us here can identify with St. Mary’s struggle, she was dead, and now she is alive. And of all days, that of the Holy Cross, she, like us, had a hole in her heart that she tried to fill, but she filled it with sin, with things that temporarily felt good. She filled it with death. She continued to go through the day to day motions but just could not, with everything the splendid world has to offer, she just could not find peace. Her hole remained empty and dry. She was just blowing through life like a fallen leaf in the fall season, dispensed from the nurture of the mothering tree, decaying and returning to the Earth.
And finally one day with all of her busyness, her mother the Most Holy Theotokos finally got her attention. “I sing of thy grace, 0 Sovereign Lady, and I pray thee to grace my mind. Teach me to step aright in the way of Christ's commandments. Strengthen me to keep awake in song, and drive away the sleep of despondency. 0 Bride of God, by thy prayers release me, bound with the bonds of sin.” (Jordanville Prayerbook Prayer VII, to the Most Holy Theotokos) You see, nurturing mothers never give up on their children!
We all know the story of the prodigal son who returns home after exhausting his free-will and squandering his wealth. And his father says: “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.” (Luke 15:24) And just as your Father is yearning for you to choose life over Earthly death, The Most-pure Virgin is also praying for your salvation.
Shaped by centuries of prayer and the writings of the Fathers, boldly and lovingly invokes the Virgin Mary with the words: “Most Holy Theotokos, save us.” This is not a contradiction. The key lies in understanding the ancient and broader meaning of the Greek word σῴζω (sōzō)—“to save.” In Scripture and patristic usage, this word can mean not only “to redeem” but also “to deliver,” “to help,” “to protect,” or “to preserve.” It is in this wider spiritual and pastoral sense that the Church calls upon the Theotokos. When we say “Most Holy Theotokos, save us,” we are not asking her to redeem us from sin and death. That is Christ’s alone. We are asking her to intercede for us or as St. John of Damascus called her the “secure mediatrix,” not because she mediates like Christ, but because she never ceases to intercede with the One who is the Mediator between God and man.
When we say “Most Holy Theotokos, save us,” we are not asking her to redeem us from sin and death. That is Christ’s alone. We are asking her to intercede for us, to help us, to protect us as a loving nurturing Mother, one who always and unceasingly prays to her Son for our deliverance.
“0 thou who art above the angels, raise me above this world's confusion. 0 Light-bearing heavenly tabernacle, direct the grace of the Spirit in me. I raise my hands and lips in thy praise, defiled as they are by impurity, 0 all-immaculate one. Deliver me from soul-corrupting evils, and fervently intercede with Christ, to Whom is due honour and worship, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.” (Jordanville Prayerbook Prayer VII, to the Most Holy Theotokos)
Fr. Gabriel Weller 3-29-2026
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