The Mother of God and the Saints: Our Helpers – Fr. Pimen Vlad

Listen to Father Pimen Vlad as he warmly recounts the wonderful help of various saints in our lives, giving us hope to keep moving forward. The recording was made at the “Saint Demetrius” church in Giroc.

Enjoy!

I thank the good Lord and the Mother of God for arranging it in such a way that I am here today, even though I didn’t think about it beforehand – as the father said – I didn’t plan to do anything specific. In fact, I should have left Timișoara a long time ago, but what did the Mother of God say? “Stay a little longer, because you still have work to do.” And that’s how I ended up here.

Since I spent a beautiful evening here, in the church that the father shepherds, I rejoiced greatly when he asked me if I could also come on Sunday; I didn’t know if I would still be around. And then, as the reverend father said, if the Mother of God wants me to be here, I will be; if not, then not! And it seems that the Mother of God wanted me to be here. Last night, I started to get a bit hoarse because of the air conditioning in the car, and I was thinking that perhaps the Mother of God wanted me not to come. But maybe seeing that you gathered here in such large numbers, what did she say? “Come on, poor fellow, go there and tell them a few words because people have come with faith and piety.” And I wish the church was always this full, not just when someone comes.

You must come for God, for the Mother of God, to talk to Heaven – as we say, because at the Divine Liturgy in the church, all of Heaven descends: God, the Mother of God, the Saints, and all the Archangels and Angels. And so, when we come to church, we are under the mantle of grace and receive a lot of help. We do not realize how much help we receive by coming to church, how much benefit, both physical and spiritual, and afterwards we are helped all week long, we are under the blessing of the Liturgy we participated in. That’s why try not to miss any Liturgy, especially on Sundays and holidays, because they are all just for your benefit!

Often, we think, or some say, “What’s the point of going to church? I have God in my heart.” But do you really have God in your heart? Do you even know what you’re saying when you say, “I have God in my heart?” This means you have never tasted God, because if you truly had Him in your heart, you would almost not be able to stand. Your bones would melt from joy, from love, you would not harm anyone, you would embrace everyone. That is what it means to have God in your heart! But in this way, we only find an escape through these words.

Prayer at home is also good, if possible even in common, with the family, one reads aloud and the others kneel and listen. But communal prayer is very beneficial, and moreover, the Divine Liturgy is only celebrated in the church. And we come here to be nourished, and we also receive Christ here; those who have confessed come and receive Christ. There is nothing better, more beneficial let’s say, for the health of the soul and body than Holy Communion. And you should know one more thing, Holy Communion never makes anyone sick! Even if you have sometimes heard, in recent years, that you get sick if you partake from the same chalice with the same spoon… Never!! Christ is there, Who gives us life; we are nourished from there…

There were Fathers in ancient times, when there were great illnesses that could not be healed, contagious diseases, and they would go with the Holy Chalice and give Communion to the sick, and afterwards they would consume all that remained in the Holy Chalice and they would not get sick. Do you see what a good and loving God we have, who always takes care that we don’t lack anything? And let us not forget one thing: that we have the Mother of God as an intercessor. She is always at the right hand of the Savior and intercedes and prays for us. Therefore, let there not be an hour of the day or moment when we do not cry out to the Mother of God!

In any situation, no matter how difficult it may be, let us cry out to the Mother of God, but let us also thank her. When we are well, let us thank her because if we only ask, then we would be ungrateful. Not that Mother of God, or God, need our thanks, no! But the more we thank, the more help we will receive.

I remember what the Venerable Paisios of Mount Athos used to say, that once he had not eaten anything and had not drunk water for three days, and while being under obedience, he was sent to a monastery to bring something from there, perhaps the prosphora for the Divine Liturgy. And as Father went, the road being long, when he arrived there, he felt dizzy, that he could no longer bear it due to fatigue and not eating. He sat down on some logs that were there and said, “Mother of God, help me, for I can’t go on! Arrange it somehow so that I find something, taste something if needed, to gain strength!” And at that moment he thought, “How can I bother Mother of God with such trivial things when so many people need her and call out to her?” Then he asked for forgiveness, “Mother of God, forgive me for daring to ask you for such trivial things!” At that very moment, he saw a monk beside him who gave him a warm loaf of bread and a bunch of grapes. He took them, thanked the monk, and when he looked up, the monk had disappeared. Then he realized and began to cry, saying, “Mother of God, how quickly you remembered me!” So you see how the Mother of God always takes care of us, in any situation? But we must call out to Her with all our heart.

You see, we Christians have the two strongest weapons that others do not have, the Holy Cross and the Mother of God! Therefore, there should be no Christian who does not wear the Holy Cross around their neck! Or when we leave home, we should make the sign of the Holy Cross and ask for God’s help! And the second most powerful weapon is the Mother of God! She is an intercessor and her requests are never refused by Christ the Savior. First of all, there is the respect that He grants His Mother, whose requests He never denies. You see how rich we are because we have these powerful weapons that are never too far from us. It is enough to call out to the Mother of God, it’s enough to make the sign of the Holy Cross, and we gain courage and strength.

I even remember a little story from ancient times: it said that a Jewish merchant was traveling. And when night caught him on the road, he would hide in fear of animals. Once, he saw an idol temple, like there were in ancient times, and he went in to spend the night there. There, as God arranged, he saw a group of devils who were consulting on how to defeat Christians, how to torment them. And he, out of fear, seeing them, realized that he had nothing with him to protect him. And hearing the devils say what power the Cross has among Christians and that they could not approach it, then, out of fear, he also began to cross himself. And then, at some point, the devils saw him and asked each other, “Who is this defiled vessel sealed with a holy seal?” He, not being a Christian, was called a “defiled vessel,” but he was sealed with a holy seal. They could not approach him because he had marked himself with the sign of the Cross. Do you see how much power the Holy Cross has?

What else can I tell you? Let us never be absent from church, but also at home try one thing: everyone must have the Bible, the Holy Scripture. And whenever you can, read a chapter from it. You see that all the services of the Church direct us to the Holy Scripture. We have the Apostolos, which is in the Holy Scripture; we have the Gospel, which is also from there. Plus, at Matins, we have the Psalms, we have many prayers, which are taken from the Holy Scripture. And it is good to know the Bible, especially the New Testament. Because often, we know almost nothing. But through reading, our minds are opened and we begin to understand the mysteries of our salvation. But while reading it, let us never interpret it according to our own understanding. Interpretations are always found at church. The priests of the church always try to interpret, to explain the Gospel to the people.

In this way, if you do not miss church, you will learn many things. And I am glad to see many little children here. Because I had heard a saying before about Banat, and it went like this: “Why do people from Banat have only one child?” and the answer was “Because they can’t have half.” In other words, it seemed to them that even one was quite a lot. You don’t realize what it means, what a blessing a child is in his parents’ home! If we go to the Old Testament, it says there that a family without children was considered cursed by God, and their gifts were not accepted at the altar.

You saw, two days ago, the Nativity of the Theotokos was celebrated. And you see there that Saints Joachim and Anna had no children, and they desired one very much, even though their time to have children had passed. It is said that they were quite old. This means that when the Mother of God left the Temple at the age of 15, they were no longer alive. This means that St. Anna was over 60 years old, and think about the fact that she did not lose her faith. She was always asking God to give her a blessing, to give her a child. And she and her husband, St. Joachim, prayed so much until God listened to their prayers. And He did not give them just any child; He gave them the Mother of God! For their faith and hope! It did not matter what age they were; they did not lose hope that God could give them a child. And you see, He gave them the Theotokos, who is our mother, and she always helps us, truly like a mother. And take care, those of you who have children, to raise them with love, and to make time for them. You should know that a child needs more than just material things; being away for months or years and only sending them money is not enough.

Children need the presence of their parents, their encouragement, their love, for them to be by their side when they need it. Because if you went abroad and you only send them money, I don’t know what fruits you will reap… So, the child, especially at a young age (…) Why has this saying remained in our culture: “the 7 years at home” (having a good upbringing at home)? A child needs their parents to answer their questions, to play with them, and to be by their side.

It doesn’t matter if they have less [things]. Those of you who are older, remember how hard it was in the years before ’89, but all the children grew up well, grew up healthy, even if they didn’t have toys, even if they didn’t have all the things that children have now; but they had their parents close. In this way, they grew up healthy and responsible. Every child, from an early age, should have a responsibility at home, not to be put, as they say, in a glass globe, and always kept and protected there. Let them do something at home regularly, let them be encouraged. Let them run barefoot outside to strengthen their immunity. And always bring them to church from an early age to receive the Holy Communion.

Do not delay Baptism! As soon as you can, baptize them after birth so that you can bring them to Holy Communion. You do not realize how much it helps them as children, both physically and spiritually, to grow properly. That’s why I said I’m glad to see many children here, and I hope that every year there will be even more, so that the saying from Banat about a single child will change. There should be at least three in each family. Because when God gave the commandment to Adam and Eve, He said unto them: “Be fruitful and multiply!” Do you know what that means? If two are born and two die, the commandment is not fulfilled; it is only fulfilled from three onwards. “Be fruitful and multiply!” Therefore, if God gives you children, do not kill them. Keep them and raise them with care and love, as I said. And then you will see God’s blessing! Because it is said that at the birth of each child, God turns on a tap in heaven so that they have what [they need] to live on. But with each killing of a child in the mother’s womb, God turns a tap off, therefore we are the ones to blame, for what we do.

Therefore, as I have said before, let us remain close to God, let us have love among ourselves, so that the word spoken by one of the ancient Fathers does not come true, that “When there will no longer be a path from one neighbor to another, when there will no longer be love among people, then the end will come.” So, may you have love for one another and help each other, be kind to each other, lenient, and in this way, we attract God’s mercy and goodness upon us.

May the good Lord and the Mother of God help us and watch over us always! Amen!

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