Table of Contents Contemplations on the Friday Theotokia. Verse 1 Blessed are you among women,and blessed is your fruit,O Mary the Mother of God,the undefiled virgin. Indeed, O Mary, you are both blessed and worthy of praise, for you have been chosen as foremost among women from all generations – by the Lord of Hosts Himself. All those who are honest with the Lord must bring forth fruit, imagine then the honesty and purity of the Virgin’s relationship with Christ, that her fruit be God the Incarnate Logos. She brought forth unto us the God of Majesty in the flesh

Table of Contents Contemplations on the Friday Theotokia Lobsh. Verse 1-2 What do I call you,O pure Virgin,Who gave birth to the Incomprehensible,And Infinite One? Many are your praises,O who is adorned with honor,For you became a dwelling,For the Wisdom of God. In the same way that I am wordless to describe your honor, O Virgin Mary, how wordless am I to describe the honor of the person who remains pure in his life, pure in his prayer, pure in heart. For the pure in heart and thoughts becomes united to true Wisdom, who is Jesus Christ our Lord. In

Table of Contents Contemplations on the Monday Theotokia. Verse 1 While Adam was sad,God was pleased,to bring him back,to his leadership. Fr. Matthew the Poor, the present Abbot of St. Macarius’ Monastery in Egypt, calls the Monday Theotokia the “Symphony of Salvation,” for it speaks about the whole history of salvation in beautiful, poetic words, which is chanted in the recitative Adam tune. God created the whole world for the service of mankind, so that mankind in turn may praise and glorify God for His wonderful works. You, O Lord, created the first man, Adam, a leader of the whole

Table of Contents Contemplations on the Tuesday Theotokia Lobsh. Verse 1 What bodily tongue,Can describe you,O holy Virgin,And Mother of God. “…but the glory of the heavenly is one thing, and that of the earthly is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; indeed, star differs from star in glory” (1 Cor. 15:40-41). What a delight it is to reflect on the unimaginable nature of the heavenly state that we will live in, moreover the great glory that the Virgin Mary will be in amongst all the

Table of Contents Contemplations on the Wednesday Theotokia. Verse 1 All the heavenly multitudes,Declare your blessedness,For you are the Second Heaven,Upon the earth. It is hard for us to picture such a thing! How many of us can perceive with our minds hosts and hosts of archangels, angels, principalities, thrones, dominions and powers praising a human being! There is no reason for surprise, though, for the Archangel greeted her and said, “Hail” – or by other translations, “Rejoice thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” An archangel is saluting her! But how

Table of Contents Contemplations on the Wednesday Theotokia Lobsh. Ezekiel the prophet… Ezekiel the prophet,Has witnessed saying,“I saw a gate to the East,Sealed with a mysterious seal. And no one else entered it,But the Lord of Powers,He entered and went out,And the gate remained sealed.” For the gate is the Virgin,Who gave birth to our Savior,And after His birth,She remained a Virgin. Blessed are you, O Mary, who was looked upon by the Father from heaven and was chosen by Him to carry His Only-Begotten Son. You are the gate that Ezekiel saw, sealed with a mysterious seal that could