1 October 2022 года

The patronal feast of the monastery’s hospital church

The hospital church of the Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery celebrates its patronal feast on the day of the glorification of the “Healer” Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God. Rev. Fr. Alexiy Kurnosov, the monastery’s clergyman, celebrated the Lesser Vespers with the akathist, the All-Night Vigil, the prayer canon to the Most Holy Mother of God with the water blessing prayer service, and the Divine Liturgy there. At the end of the Divine Liturgy, the clergy, hegumenia Sergia, and the sisters walked in the procession with the cross around the church and the hospital.

The name of the icon of the Queen of Heaven commemorated today is a testament to a great number of healing miracles from various diseases that happened over the centuries by the prayers of the sick to the Mother of God.

The icon shows the Most Holy Mother of God standing at the bedside of a sick priest Vikenty. She appeared to the afflicted in response to his ardent prayer. It is known from the story about this icon that Vikenty humbly endured his infirmity never ceasing to appeal in prayer to the Most Pure Virgin. In the same way, we each need to remember that physical illness is an act of God often acting as a pre-requisite to spiritual healing, whereas the cross given by God is necessary for our salvation.

Venerable Seraphim of Sarov left the following instruction about sickness: “The body is the slave of the soul, and the soul is like a queen. Therefore, it is often by the grace of God that the body is wasted through illness: thus the passions grow weaker and the man comes to senses; passions often lead to physical illness. If someone endures illness with patience and thanksgiving, it is regarded as a merit, and even more so.”

As we praise the Most Pure Virgin today, we ask Her to heal “our souls and bodies, as we suffer from the wounds of different sins and passions,” deliver us “from all kinds of tribulations, misfortune, sorrow and eternal condemnation,” preserve us “from heretical teachings and unbelief, the honey-tongued and unashamed attacks of invisible enemies,” give us “a Christian ending to our life – painless, peaceful, blameless in communion with the Holy Mysteries,” and make us worthy “to stand at the right to hand of the Most Righteous Judge at the judgment without mercy of Christ and to hear His blessed appeal: “Come, you who are the blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.”