Ladies Committee: A Day in the Life of the Theotokos
The ladies of St Paul’s hosted a spiritual day retreat dedicated to a ‘Day in the life of the Theotokos.’ The day was attended by 55 participants who shared in a variety of experiences throughout the day dedicated to the life and themes of the Theotokos.
Father Jean gave a very inspiring talk about the Virgin Mary, about her life as celebrated throughout the Church calendar and according to the Church tradition. For every feast he extracted a virtue of the Theotokos, her purity, her humility, her obedience, her right worship and then about the challenges she faced as a human, born in troubling times, and how she faced all her trials throughout her life.
The ladies were then divided into ten groups. Each group was given an icon or feast relating to the Theotokos to research and report on. One group for example, was assigned the Icon of Bethlehem, which now resides near the cave where Jesus was born. The group discovered that Saint Paisios, in his visions of the Theotokos, reported that this icon most closely represents the Virgin. In the icon, she smiles and radiates warmth.
A wonderful lunch and deserts followed.
Finally, the ladies enjoyed decorating and oil lamp to take home and light before an icon of the Theotokos to seek her intercession as the Mother of all.
We are grateful to Fr Jean, the ladies for organising a fruitful experience.
