In the life of the sixth century saint, Mary of Egypt, we find a beautiful illustration of the proper, pious, and humble veneration of the Mother of God, depicted on a holy icon as well as the power of God, which worked through the Theotokos and through her icon:

…And so I stood weeping when I saw above me the icon of the most holy Theotokos, and I prayed to her, “O Lady, Virgin and Theotokos, who gave birth in the flesh to God the Word, I know – how well I know! – that it is no honor or praise to you when someone so impure and depraved as I am looks upon your pure icon, for you kept your body and soul in purity, O ever-virgin. Before your virginal purity it is right that I inspire only hatred and disgust. But I have heard that God, who was born of you, became man only because He wanted to call sinners to repentance. Help me, for I have no other help! Order the entrance of the church to be opened to me. Allow me to see the venerable tree on which your Son suffered in the flesh and on which He shed His holy Blood for the redemption of sinners, and for me, unworthy as I am. Be my faithful witness before your Son that I will never again defile my body by fornication, but as soon as I see the tree of the cross I will renounce the world and its temptations and go wherever you lead me.”

In the January 1, 1848 letter of the great Russian author, Nicholas Gogol, to the poet Zhukovoski, we read:

Art reconciles us with life.  Art is the introduction of order and harmony into the soul, not of trouble and disorder…If an artist does not accomplish the miracle of transforming the soul of the spectator into an attitude of love and forgiveness, then his art is only an ephemeral passion.

“The Holy Spirit speaks to us concerning the miracle-workings of the saints during the period of their life on earth, that they bore witness to the power dwelling within them.”  The Elder Cleopa of Romania continues:

In the person in the Orthodox Tradition, Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos writes:

In the Church man can go from the image to the likeness, he can really be fulfilled, achieve his deification by grace, that is to say, become by participation what God is in essence.

In the Diary of a Russian Priest, Fr. Alexander of blessed memory, shortly before his repose wrote:

The Christian gift of healing is not something all-powerful, nor a victory over nature.  Many righteous men suffered up to the very end of their lives from diseases, which remained uncured.  The Apostle himself was sick while curing others.  How can this be explained?  By the fact that so long as we live in this body of death, we bear all its consequences – until the final restoration of all things. 

“It is simply undeniable that, as a fact, there have been any number of miracles attesting the one, sublime, and saving miracle of Christ’s Ascension into heaven with the flesh in which He arose from the dead.”

God ordained the honoring of the Sabbath, the months and festivals, not because He wanted these days to be honored by men as days, for that would be serving the creature more than the Creator (Rom. 1:25), implying that days are naturally worthy of honor and therefore of worship themselves. But through the ordinance to honor the days, He symbolically ordained the honoring of Himself. For He, Himself, is the Sabbath, the source of rest from the cares and labors of life. He is the Pascha, the Liberator of those held in the bitter servitude of sin; He is the Pentecost, the beginning and end of all.

In the second century, St. Clement of Alexandria taught the faithful, “Those who glory in their looks — not in their hearts — dress to please others.”  His writings are replete with like sayings, which together attempt to communicate the utilitarian nature of clothing, the importance of modesty in attire, and the true splendor of the well-dressed soul.   

Today you have appeared to the inhabited world, and your light, O Lord, has been signed upon us, who, with knowledge, sing your praise, “You have come, you have appeared, the unapproachable light.

This kontakion is chanted on the Feast of Theophany, the first manifestation of the Triune God to humanity.  Like the kontakion of the Feast of the Nativity, it was composed by St. Romanos the Melodist who lived between the sixth and seventh centuries in Constantinople.  The aforementioned kontakion is the prelude to a much greater poem of 18 stanzas titled, “ On the Holy Theophany”.  Based on the Gospel text of Matthew 3:13-17, St. Romanos focuses on the dialogue between St. John the Baptist and our Lord, Jesus Christ.  May his words be a great inspiration to each of us as we prepare to commemorate with solemnity and joy this Holy Feast: 

Today the Virgin gives birth to him who is above all being, and the earth offers a cave to him whom no one can approach.
Angels with shepherds give glory, and magi journey with a star, for to us there has been born a little Child, God before the ages.

This kontakion, chanted on the Feast of the Nativity, was composed by St. Romanos the Melodist who lived between the sixth and seventh centuries in Constantinople.  In this instance, the Kontakion is simply the prelude to a much greater poem of 24 stanzas titled, “On the Nativity.”  Based on the Gospel text of Matthew 2: 1-14 and simply titled On the Nativity, the faithful are led by a Star into awe-filled cave, wherein the Kings from the East fall prostrate before a little Child, God before all ages.  As we continue to celebrate the Feast of the Nativity, it seemed fitting to likewise continue the reading of his kontakion.  May his words be a further inspiration to each of us as we contemplate the mystery of the Incarnation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: