What is my point? Because the Mother of God is traditionally seen as an image ‘par excellence’ of the Mother-Church, her ‘paradoxical’ and liberating vocation is something we all share, insofar as we are members of the Mother-Church. Our own vocations are necessarily both paradoxical and liberating, insofar as we do not fear the paradoxes and the freedom, into which our crucified-and-risen Lord is leading us, by our obedience to Him. The connection between baptism and freedom is why the Exodus from bondage in Egypt, through the waters of the Red Sea, is seen as an image of Baptism.

Thank you, Mother of Life, Most Holy Theotokos, for having the courage and obedience to follow your vocation. “You passed into life as the Mother of Life, and by your prayers, you deliver our souls from death.”

Happy Dormition or Assumption, to those of you who celebrate it today! SV

Meditation by Sr. Vassa