“Standing, O saint, before Christ the Light, send down light upon me, for with love I celebrate thy light-giving and holy memory” (Matins Canon, Ode One). See how remarkable Christ’s love is: he has not only redeemed Mary, but he has made this former prostitute into an intercessor for those who struggle with sin in this world. God’s light dawns and then spreads over the horizon and eventually the whole landscape. Mary received the light through her namesake, the most pure Theotokos, when the Virgin Mother’s prayers allowed her to approach the true Cross and strengthened her in the desert. Now, through the prayers of Saint Mary of Egypt, that light comes to us, too. May we, while we have the light, walk in that light.
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