It is with great joy that for the third time this year we commemorate the Feast day of Our Lady Pisidiotissa in Her Church in Alanya. We came here today in order to thank the Mother of God for Her love, support and protection She provides as a loving Mother to each one of us who invoke Her with faith and reverence. Her help and assistance is revealed by Her new miracles she has performed this year, not only here in Antalya, but also in the distant country of Korea. In our Monastery of the Holy Transfiguration of our Lord, located in the outskirts of Seoul, we have placed, since last year, in a prominent position the sacred Icon of Our Lady of Pisidiotissa, which was painted by the Sisters. We often chant before her Holy Icon the special Canon of the Paraclesis (Consolation) dedicated to Our Lady of Pisidiotissa.
Orthodox believers come to the Monastery and invoke the help of the Theotokos for a variety of problems they face in their lives. There are many cases where people come back in order to thank the Mother of God for accepting their prayers and granting their petitions. I will not burden you with details. I will only relate to you about one incident: A lady who lives in Seoul and was married some years ago, did not have any children. She reached the age of 43. Doctors, despite all their efforts, were unable to help her. They told her to accept the fact that she would never become a mother. However, when she heard about the miracles the Lady Pisidiotissa performs, she came to the Monastery, she fell on her knees in front of Her Sacred Icon and with tears she begged the Mother of God to deem her worthy to become a mother. She left the Monastery with a paper copy of the Icon of Pisidiotissa and prayed continuously. And the miracle happened. Recently, she gave birth to a son, was baptized and given the name of Nicholas and together with her husband they brought the baby to the Monastery to thank the all Holy Theotokos who brought him to life. Another similar event happened last May, but I do not want to bother you with details.
All these and so many other miracles the Mother of God performs bring to mind the words of the celebrated preacher Elias Meniatis: "Ah! If we could only understand how much joy and assistance we receive from such a Holy Mother!
Indeed, do we realize how much we miss out, how much wrong we do to ourselves when we struggle to deal with life’s problems all by ourselves, forgetting that beside us always stands our Great Mother, always ready to listen and support us? That is why, again, the same fiery Preacher we mentioned above, urges: “The Lady Theotokos is the Mother who accompanies you in the foreign land you live in; She nourishes you in your poverty; gives you cure to passions and comforts you in sorrows; She provides freedom in slavery, and restoration when you fall. O, you, Men and women, invoke the name of our Lady Theotokos for all your physical and mental needs, so that you may have Her as a Protector in this life. Let the name of Jesus and Mary be the first words you utter at dawn, and the last ones at the end of the day. Seal your eyes with these two names when you get ready to sleep. Make sure that you begin and finish all your endeavors by invoking the names of Jesus and Mary. Thus, you will always have Jesus on one side, and the Virgin Mary on the other and together with Jesus and Our Lady Theotokos you will be eternally glorified!”
Let us now finish with a well-known hymn, which we chant in the Canon of the Paraclesis to the All Holy Theotokos. This hymn encompasses the experience of all the faithful of all ages, relating the wonderful help our Holy Mother offers to every Christian who invokes Her with reverence and faith: "O Pure Mother of God, none of those who run to You are left without reward: they seek a favor, and they obtain a priceless gift that satisfies their need.”
I wish to all of you the All Holy Pisidiotissa to protect you from any danger, illness, temptation and need and to enable you to come here every year, for many years, to celebrate Her memory and thank Her for the benefits that you enjoy.