The Praise of our Lady, the Virgin Mary, the Bearer of God - Thursday

The Bush which Moses saw in flaming fire in the desert, the wood of which

was not consumed, is a similitude of Mary, the Virgin who was spotless. The

Word of the Father became incarnate of Her, and the fire of His Godhead did

not consume the Virgin, and after She had brought Him forth Her virginity was

maintained, and His Godhead was unchanged. Our God, Who verily is God,

became a man; He came and delivered us.

Pray to Him for us, O Holy One!

We all magnify Thee, O our Lady, the God-Bearer, that Thy compassion may

be over us all. The Virgin Mary, the God-Bearer, hath become the object of the

boast of all of us, because through Her was destroyed the curse of olden time,

which rested upon our race, through the wickedness which the woman

committed when she ate of the tree. Through Eve was the door of the Garden

shut fast, and because of Mary the Virgin it hath been opened to us again. It is

allotted to us to eat of the Tree of Life, that is to say, the Body of Christ and

His precious Blood. Because of His love for us He came and delivered us. What

understanding, what language, and what hearing is able to comprehend this

mystery, which must be proclaimed to be wonderful, “God is the lover of

men?” One is He Alone, the Word of the Father, Who existed before the world

in His incorruptible Godhead, from One, the Father. The Only-begotten Son

came and was incarnate of the holy woman, His mother, and after She

brought Him forth Her virginity perished not, and because of this it became

manifest that She was the Bearer of God. O deep is the richness of the wisdom

of God! The womb which He decreed should bring forth children in pain, and

suffering, and sorrow of heart, had become the fountain of life, and has

brought forth without the seed of man Him Who removed the curse from our

race. And for this reason we will praise Him, saying, “Glory be Unto Thee, O

Thou, Lover of men, the Redeemer of our souls.”

Pray to Him for us, O Holy One!

O how wonderful and mighty in power was the womb of the Virgin, which

brought forth God without seed! And of this the angel who appeared unto

Joseph was a witness when he spoke, saying, “That which shall be born of Her

is of the Holy Spirit.” It was the Word of God Who became incarnate without

change. Mary brought Him forth a second time. And Gabriel said unto Her,

“Thou shall bring forth a Son, and shall call His Name Emmanuel, which is,

being interpreted, God with us. And moreover, He shall be called Jesus, Who

shall save His people from their sins.” And may He save us also by His power,

and forgive our sins, because we have known in truth that He is the God Who

became man. Praise be unto Him forever. O how wonderful is the birth of God

by Mary, the Holy Virgin! She completed the Word of the Father; seed did not

precede His birth, and her virginity was not destroyed by His Birth. The Word

went forth from the Father without weariness and was born of the Virgin

without suffering or pain. The wise men worshipped Him, and brought unto

Him incense because He was God, and gold because He was the King, and

myrrh, which was given for His death which gave life unto men. And for our

sakes He accepted death of His own free will. He alone is the Good Being and

the Lover of men.

Pray to Him for us, O Holy One!

O how wonderful! He took a rib from the side of Adam, and fashioned from

it a woman, and the whole creation of the children of men was given to God,

the Word of the Father, Who was incarnate of the Holy Virgin, and is called

Emmanuel. And because of this we beseech Her at all times to strive on our

behalf with Her beloved Son for the forgiveness of our sins. She was

beneficent towards all the saints and high priests, for She brought to them

that for which they waited, and She brought to the prophets Him concerning

Whom they had prophesied, and She brought forth to the Apostles Him in

Whose Name they were to preach in all the ends of the world, and from Her

went forth for the martyrs and believers Him for Whom they were to fight,

Jesus Christ. The richness of the grace of His wisdom cannot be fathomed. We

will seek after the greatness of His compassion, for He came and delivered us.

Pray to Him for us, O Holy One!

God swore unto David in righteousness and He will not repent, “Of the fruit

of thy belly I will seat upon thy throne.” And when that righteous man

received it from Him, that Christ should be born of him in the flesh, he wished

to seek out and prepare a dwelling place for God, the Word of the Father. And

he completed it with great effort and then he cried out in the Holy Spirit and

said, “Behold, we have heard it in Ephrata and the dwelling place of the God

of Jacob, which is Bethlehem, in which Emmanuel hath chosen to be born in

the flesh for our salvation.” And also another of the prophets has said it: “And

as for you, O Bethlehem of the land of Ephrata, you shall not be the least of

the kings of Judah, for from you shall go forth a king Who shall rule My people

Israel.” O how wonderful is the word of those who prophesied concerning

Christ in one Spirit, to Whom be glory, together with His Good Father and the

Holy Spirit, henceforth and forever.

Pray to Him for us, O Holy One!

David who reigned over Israel, wished to drink water from the pool of

Bethlehem, whereupon straightway the captains of his hosts rose up, and

waged war in the camp of the rebels, and brought unto him that water which

he wished to drink. And when that righteous man saw that they had willingly

delivered themselves over to slaughter for his sake, he poured out that water

unto the Lord and he did not drink of it. And then righteousness was

accounted unto him forever. And verily in like manner have martyrs rejected

the desire of this world, and poured out their blood for God, and have

endured bitter deaths for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Have

compassion upon us according to the greatness of Thy compassion.

Pray to Him for us, O Holy One!

One of the Holy Trinity saw our low state, bowed the heaven of heavens,

came and dwelt in the womb of the Virgin, and became a man like unto us,

with the exception of sin alone. And He was born in Bethlehem, according to

what the Prophets preached, He delivered us, and redeemed us, and made us

His own people forever and ever.

Pray to Him for us, O Holy One!

WE ALL MAGNIFY THEE, O OUR LADY, THE GOD-BEARER, THAT THY

COMPASSION MAY BE OVER US ALL.