A HOMILY FOR THE GREAT FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION
(March 25/April 7)
About Learning Virtue from the Life of the All-Holy Virgin Mary
Brothers and sisters!
Today we are celebrating the Great Feast of the Annunciation of the immaculate Virgin Mary. Doubtless, the heart of each and every one of you is today especially full of love for our All-Holy Mother and gratitude to her for the joy she has brought us by enabling our salvation. Naturally, on this day every pious Orthodox Christian soul is wondering: “What can I bring as a gift to the Queen of Heaven in token of my thankfulness?” Therefore, since I am pondering in my heart such thoughts as yours, I would like to offer you in my homily reflections from the Saints, those great lovers of the Theotokos, about the gift by which we can best please our Benefactress on this, her most beloved feast.
What the saints of our Church teach us in this regard, dear brothers and sisters, is that we can offer no finer gift to the All-Holy One than to acquire for ourselves the spirit of her life. This way, we can become her true children and, together with other Orthodox Christians who fervently love their heavenly Mother, we can become part of the family of the Queen of Heaven. If our spiritual eyes were open, we would need look no further than her sacred icon, and in her holy countenance we would see all the characteristics she embodies and she so wishes us to acquire. But since our inner eyes are darkened and we need help to see, permit me to list the characteristics, the virtues she longs to see us learn.
So then, beloved Christians, if you wish to honor and please the All-Holy Virgin:
First, dedicate yourself immediately and entirely to the Lord’s service, as did she who was dedicated to the Lord before her birth and as a little girl was brought to the Temple and handed over to God, to live exclusively for His purposes.
Second, learn to love prayer, spiritual reflection, and the reading of soul-saving books from her who, during her years in the Temple, dedicated herself first and foremost to these activities.
Third, learn to love labor for God and for others from her who never shunned labor, either in the Temple or in Joseph’s house, where she carried out all domestic chores without ever uttering a word of complaint.
Fourth, learn to keep your promises, both those you made before Baptism to God and those you have made to men, if only the latter promises are not sinful in nature. Learn this from her who made and kept her vow of virginity, even though such a vow was unheard-of in Israel until that time.
Fifth, learn to be content with your situation in life from her who, although the child of wealthy parents, did not disdain to become the espoused wife of a poor carpenter.
Sixth, learn humility from her who, despite her evident perfections, regarded herself unworthy of any special attention before God, and when the great archangel honored her with the lofty titles of full of grace and blessed among women,[1] became embarrassed and wondered how she could possibly be the recipient of such greetings.
Seventh, learn to offer gladsome praise to the Lord for every blessing, great or small, from her who after conceiving God in the flesh hymned the Lord’s majesty thus: My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit doth rejoice in God my Saviour.[2]
Eighth, learn reticence in justifying yourself in the face of accusations from her who committed herself wholly to God and did not hasten to justify herself before Joseph when she was found to be with child.
Ninth, learn to be brave and to trust the Lord in every trial and difficult circumstance from her who, always maintaining her composure as much as possible, fled into Egypt with the divine Infant in her arms, in order to escape the sword of Herod.
Tenth, learn self-control and patience from her who with patience waited thirty years for her Son to initiate His public ministry and, once He began it, never dared meddle or interfere with His doings as the Saviour of the world.
Eleventh, learn compassion for others from her who showed much sympathy for the family of the newlyweds when the wine ran out at the marriage in Cana of Galilee.
Twelfth, learn to endure even the most grievous sorrows from her who endured the most grievous sorrow of all, the sight of the unjust, brutal slaughter of her beloved Son and God.
And finally, learn how to meet death well from her who rejoiced at the angel’s proclamation that she would pass over to the next life in three days and who greeted death with the celestial branch of joy in her hand.
Dear brothers and sisters, I could draw out almost endlessly this enumeration of the Theotokos’ virtues. But so as not to tire you beyond endurance after the lengthy services, let me conclude now, summarizing my list by repeating Saint Paul’s list of the fruits of the Holy Spirit in his Epistle to the Galatians. It is: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.[3] All are perfections of the Most Holy One, our Lady the Theotokos. Be zealous to acquire these and the rest of her virtues, so that you may please her greatly by offering them to her in thanksgiving for enabling our salvation always, but especially on the supremely blessed day of her Annunciation. So doing, you will most surely gain her as your constant helper, protector, intercessor, and truest Mother. Amen.
[1] Luke 1:28
[2] Luke 1:46-47
[3] Gal. 5:22
