Our Noble Lady
Our Noble Lady
Our Noble Lady
“Where else shall I find˙ another to be my help? ˙ To what refuge ˙ shall I hasten to be saved? ˙ Whose fervent aid ˙ shall I have in need? ˙ Alas, I am shaken ˙ by life’s affliction and turbulence. ˙ In thee alone, O Maiden, ˙ do I hope, trust, and glory; ˙ and I run to thy shelter; do thou save me.”
For the past fifteen days, during the period that is called “Dekapentavgoustos”, we chanted the Service of Supplication to the One who is Full of Grace. Here, we received the verification that we are not alone in our sufferings. The Most Holy Mary, who experienced the greatest of all human pain seeing her Son being crucified, participates in our various afflictions and tribulations. She is our help when we are “crucified” by various bodily maladies and by the passions that attack our souls. She is also our refuge and shelter as we face the narcissistic demands and the raging anger that dominate today’s world and that threaten human dignity. She is our Noble Lady (Arxόntissa), who in her humble dignity, safeguards the living presence of her Son throughout the world (oecoumeni). For this, we glorify God for granting us the console and protection of His Mother, the One of Great Grace, who gives hope that we will be saved.