A Prayer to the Most Holy Mother of God

Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II

A Prayer to the Most Holy Mother of God
___________________________________________________________________________________

O Mother of God, Look down on us and save us!

O Most Holy Mother of God, Patroness of Iberia, the Shining Morning Star, the Sun of the Earth, transcendent of the Angels, the Helper of all sick and needy, chosen by the Lord as the Mother of God and Protector of both worlds, look down on the entrusted to You appanage –Georgia and beseech the Most Holy Trinity the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit to forgive us countless sins of ours. Restore us with Your mercy, feed with bread those who hunger, clothe the naked, release prisoners and help them find the way of the truth; heal the infirms, comfort those who weep, encourage the young and little and grant them spiritual maturity, enhance the wisdom of the old and let their offspring rejoice in well-being.

O Merciful Mother, give us steadfastness of the true faith, hope, awe to God and true love of the Church and neighbour, devotion to the country and the Georgian language, grant us a clean heart and steadfast spirit, an acute and profound mind; grant us a healthy body and keep it out of harm’s way. Strengthen the families of the Georgians and bless them with many children. Fill our granaries with bread and our vineyards with grape, enhance the harvest of our land and multiply the cattle.

O Mother of God, bring the prodigal sons and daughters of Iberia unto the way of the truth, let the Georgians living in other countries come home safely; turn harmless to us and send to their countries the people of other nations who have come to Georgia to contend against us with enmity and give us, the dwellers of Georgia, strength for mutual encouragement, that we could weep with those who are in grief and help them, and rejoice with those who rejoice.

O Mother Mary, join in spiritual unity and establish as an inseparable flock of God the nation of Georgians, state authorities, warriors and Church within the borders of the restored motherland. Make Georgia Your Temple and vanquish forever Her corporeal and incorporeal enemies with a spear of sweet-smelling aroma of fragrant violets.

Also, I supplicate, help with Your prayers our relatives and ancestors passed away in the Orthodox faith and grant their souls abodes among the righteous.

Boundless is Your loving-kindness on us, O Most Holy Mother of God, we offer glory and gratitude to You, O Our Helper, we lay our hearts for the footstool under Your feet and light up our prayers as an unquenchable lamp before Your Icon; from as remote as the heavenly Kingdom down to the land of Georgia we shall carpet our love to You and cover it with the flowers of the whole land.

I bow my knee before You and ask You, do not forsake us even in the day of Your Son’s Second Coming, but establish Georgia at the right hand of Our Lord Jesus Christ, that we might rejoice and glorify Our Creator – the Everlasting Love abundant in loving-kindness to all – the father, the Son and the Holy Spirit unto ages of ages, Amen.

The lowly servant of God and obedient dweller under Your Veil Ilia II.
Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II.
April 9, 2001

___________________________________________________________________________________

Source [399]. The Patriarchate of Georgia (Official website). Illustration: RuiconsCom