Sofia, October 24, 2022
Photo: cloudfront.net
For several years now, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church has dedicated October 24, the feast of the Joy of All Who Sorrow Icon of the Mother of God, as a day of prayer for disabled children and their loved ones.
His Holiness Patriarch Neofit of Bulgaria issued a statement for the day of prayer, extolling Christ and the Mother of God as the hope and consolation of children who suffer, deprived of the usual joys of childhood.
On the 24th day of October, our Orthodox Church celebrates one of the brightest feasts of the Theotokos: The Most Holy Theotokos—the Joy of All Who Sorrow. According to the decision of the Holy Synod, for several years this feast has also been celebrated in our country as a day of prayer for disabled children and their families. The Church of Christ prays for all of them, as well as for all those who suffer and grieve, not only today, but also on every day of the year. Choosing this feast as a day of special prayer for them, the Church calls in its constant prayer to include all and recalls that even in the worst suffering we are never alone, because we have God’s love and the special power of the prayerful intercession of the Holy Theotokos.
On this day, let all of us pray for these children, for their parents and relatives, and for all those who suffer with them and take care of them, because the power of common prayer is enormous and is a testimony to our not only Christian, but also purely human attitude towards children who suffer and who can’t enjoy the usual joys of childhood. Joy for them, as well as for all those who suffer, is our Most Holy Lady and Heavenly Queen of All, who never ceases to prayerfully intercede before her Son and our God, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who during the days of His earthly ministry paid special attention to children.
Prayer, which is the strongest weapon of both the Christian and every person with a good heart and good will, is even stronger when it comes from the one who is not only the Mother of God, but also the mother of the entire Christian race. To her, who is the true joy of all those who mourn, today we earnestly pray and seek her maternal intercession before God, Who is the sender of all good things—to comfort and give light and joy to all who are in one way or another deprived of them, to bestow peace in the world and favor among men.
Through the prayers and Heavenly intercession of our Heavenly Queen of All—the Ever-Virgin Theotokos, may the Lord God have mercy and save us all!
Follow OrthoChristian on Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!
