(Edited by Stelios Koukos) Gerontissa Gabrielia: Once in America, I was asked to speak to an audience of Protestants on any topic I wished. Then, I spoke to them about the Panagia (the Virgin Mary).
I told them: "She is a part of the Gospels that is very misunderstood by certain segments of Christianity, because they have not studied her enough. For us, however, in our own Church, we accept the Panagia as our Mother.
And because we—especially we Monastics—are her servants, we take care to study her life very closely. If you pay attention, you will see that she said, 'My soul magnifies the Lord.'
You will see that when God chose her, He sent the Archangel, and as soon as He spoke to her, she immediately said, 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord.' She offered no resistance. And because we study obedience to the Will of God very much, she is a Model for us. That is the first point.
Secondly," I told them, "the Panagia, by having a Son without a father, was terribly slandered by the whole world at that time. Therefore, wherever there is a woman today who is being slandered, the Panagia is her Mother and goes through all of that with her.
Thirdly, we have experienced many refugee experiences, and during displacement, we remember that Christ took a Baby, or the Panagia took Him, and fled to Egypt.
Fourthly, so many women in war, everywhere, lose their children who are killed in their infancy; but the greatest drama was lived by the Panagia, who saw her innocent Son on the Cross. The Panagia went through that pain as well.
Fifthly, when she was left alone and had nowhere to stay (because she had no other children...), she was taken in by a person, the Disciple, to live near him. Just as it happens with us when we grow old.
In other words, her whole life is a journey, a path, just as the life of every human being is...
But let me tell you one more thing, my friends. Do you not say, 'my brother Robert, pray for me...' or 'my sister Lila, pray for me...'? What is the harm if we say: 'Mother of Christ, pray for us'?"
And then, a vile... person from the audience jumps up and says to me: "But, she is dead!"
So I said to him: "Oh! I am sorry! We, in our Church, believe in the Resurrection!"
And all of this, my children, was in front of tape recorders!
From the book "Asceticism of Love, Gerontissa Gabrielia 1897-1992" published by Porphyra.