“A spiritual father never ceases to carry his spiritual children before the Lord, and I ask only that you continue to carry me in your prayers as well.

“Behold your mother!

“But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

“You are going to the house of the Mother of God for her feast. And when you arrive there, you know how many joys, and how intense those joys are, when, after the arduous journey, you stand face to face with the icon,

“Woman, behold your son!