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words: "Loving Master, do you command that we give the healing to this man also?" And they, having prostrated themselves to the ground many times and having sent forth the words of supplication, when the Master Christ did not assent, ceasing to intercede, dejected and disheartened, they come to me, he says, who was standing not very far from the icon. And coming near: "Do you see," they say, "how the Master does not wish to give you the healing? But do not be discouraged at all; for in every way he is kind to you as to all." And rising up after about a short half-hour and going away again they prayed. And again unsuccessful, he says, they return dejected and disheartened, as before, since the Master Christ had not commanded it. And coming again they told me these things. And going a third time: "Take courage," they say, "for now we will certainly receive the grace; but you also, just as you see us beseeching, come with us and beseech the Master." And coming to the icon for the third time, they used the same methods and words as before. And when they had prayed for a long time and lying on the ground only cried out, "Do you command, Master?", then Christ, being moved with compassion as the merciful one consented; and "give it to him" was spoken from the icon. And rising from the ground the martyrs first gave thanks to Christ our God for having heard their prayer. From Saint Anastasius of the holy Mount Sinai on New Sunday and on the Apostle Thomas: Those who saw Christ in the flesh regarded him as a prophet; we who have not seen him, from our tenderest years, children and youths, at once confess him to be God, ruler and almighty and maker of the ages and effulgence of the Father-for as if seeing that very Christ speaking, so we listen to his gospels with faith-, and receiving the undefiled pearl of his body, we believe that we bear that very Christ, even if we only see his divine likeness depicted, we believe that he is gazing upon us from heaven, we venerate, we prostrate ourselves. Great now is the faith of Christ. From the life of Abba Daniel concerning Eulogius the stonecutter: Then being disheartened he went away and throwing himself before the icon of the Theotokos he said with weeping: "Lord, release me from the pledge of this man." From the life of Mary of Egypt: Weeping, therefore, I see above the place where I was standing, the icon of the holy Theotokos standing, and I say to it: "Virgin Theotokos, Lady, who gave birth to God the Word in the flesh, I know, I know, that it is not proper or reasonable for one so defiled, so utterly dissolute, to look upon your icon, of the ever-virgin, but it is just for me to be hated and abhorred by your purity. Nevertheless, since the God born of you became man for this reason, to call sinners to repentance, help me, who am alone and have no help. Command that I too may be allowed entrance. Do not deprive me of seeing the wood on which God the Word, whom you bore, was nailed in the flesh, who gave his own blood as a ransom for me. Command, O Lady, that the door for the divine veneration of the cross be opened for me too. And I give you to the God born of you as a trustworthy guarantor, that I will no longer defile this flesh with any shameful union. But when I have gazed upon the wood of the cross of your Son, I will at once renounce the world and all that is in the world and will immediately go out, wherever you yourself as guarantor may suggest and lead me."

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ῥήματα· «∆έσποτα φιλάνθρωπε, κελεύεις δῶμεν καὶ τούτῳ τὴν ἴασιν;» Οἱ δὲ πολλάκις εἰς γῆν προσκυνήσαντες καὶ τοὺς τῆς ἱκεσίας λόγους ἐκπέμψαντες, ὡς ὁ δεσπότης Χριστὸς οὐκ ἐπένευσε, τοῦ πρεσβεύειν παυσάμενοι, κατηφεῖς καὶ ὀλίγωροι πρὸς ἐμέ, φησί, παραγίνονται οὐ μακρὰν πολὺ τῆς εἰκόνος ἱστάμενον. Καὶ πλησίον γενόμενοι· «Ὁρᾷς», φασί, «πῶς ὁ δεσπότης οὐ βούλεταί σοι δοῦναι τὴν ἴασιν; Ἀλλὰ μηδὲν ἀθυμήσῃς· πάντως γὰρ καὶ πρὸς σὲ ὡς πρὸς πάντας χρηστεύεται.» Καὶ διαναστάντες ὡσεὶ μικρὸν ἡμιώριον καὶ πάλιν ἀπελθόντες ἐδέοντο. Καὶ πάλιν ἄπρακτοι, φησίν, ἀνακάμπτουσι κατηφεῖς καὶ ὀλίγωροι, ὡς καὶ τὸ πρότερον τοῦ δεσπότου Χριστοῦ μὴ κελεύσαντος. Καὶ ταῦτά μοι πάλιν ἐλθόντες εἰρήκασιν. Τὸ τρίτον δὲ πορευόμενοι· «Θάρρει», λέγουσιν, «νῦν γὰρ τὴν χάριν πάντως λαμβάνομεν· ἀλλὰ καὶ σύ, ὥσπερ ἡμᾶς ὁρᾷς ἱκετεύοντας, σὺν ἡμῖν ἐλθὼν τὸν δεσπότην ἱκέτευε.» Καὶ πρὸς τὴν εἰκόνα τὸ τρίτον γενόμενοι τοῖς προλαβοῦσι τρόποις ἐχρῶντο καὶ ῥήμασι. Καὶ ὡς ὥραν πολλὴν ἐδεήθησαν καὶ κάτω κείμενοι τὸ «κελεύεις, δέσποτα;» μόνον ἀνέκραζον, τότε ὁ Χριστὸς σπλαγχνισθεὶς ὡς οἰκτίρμων <ἐπένευσε>· καὶ «δότε αὐτῷ» πρὸς τῆς εἰκόνος ἀπεφθέγξατο. Καὶ χαμόθεν ἀναστάντες οἱ μάρτυρες πρῶτον μὲν ηὐχαρίστουν Χριστῷ τῷ θεῷ ἡμῶν ὡς τῆς δεήσεως αὐτῶν ἐπακούσαντι. Τοῦ ἁγίου Ἀναστασίου τοῦ ἁγίου ὄρους Σινᾶ εἰς τὴν καινὴν κυριακὴν καὶ εἰς τὸν ἀπόστολον Θωμᾶν· Οἱ ἑωρακότες Χριστὸν ἐν σαρκὶ ὡς προφήτην αὐτὸν εἶχον· οἱ μὴ ἑωρακότες ἡμεῖς εὐθέως ἐξ ἁπαλῶν ὀνύχων, παῖδες καὶ νεανίσκοι, θεὸν αὐτόν, ἐξουσιαστὴν καὶ παντοκράτορα καὶ τῶν αἰώνων ποιητὴν καὶ ἀπαύγασμα τοῦ πατρὸς ὁμολογοῦμεν-ὡς γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνον βλέποντες Χριστὸν λαλοῦντα, οὕτως τῶν αὐτοῦ εὐαγγελίων μετὰ πίστεως ἀκούομεν-, καὶ τὸν ἄχραντον μαργαρίτην τοῦ αὐτοῦ σώματος δεχόμενοι αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνον βαστάζειν τὸν Χριστὸν νομίζομεν, κἂν μόνον αὐτοῦ θεῖον χαρακτῆρα ἐξεικονισμένον ἴδωμεν, ὡς ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἡμῖν ἀτενίζοντα νομίζομεν, προσκυνοῦμεν, προσπίπτομεν. Μεγάλη νῦν ἡ πίστις τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ἐκ τοῦ βίου τοῦ ἀββᾶ ∆ανιὴλ περὶ Εὐλογίου τοῦ λατόμου· Τότε ὀλιγωρήσας ἀπῆλθε καὶ ῥίψας ἑαυτὸν ἔμπροσθεν τῆς εἰκόνος τῆς θεοτόκου μετὰ κλαυθμοῦ ἔλεγε· «Κύριε, λῦσον τὴν ἐγγύην τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τούτου ἀπ' ἐμοῦ.» Ἐκ τοῦ βίου Μαρίας τῆς Αἰγυπτίας· Κλαίουσα τοίνυν ὁρῶ ἐπάνω τοῦ τόπου, ἐν ᾧ ἱστάμην, τὴν εἰκόνα τῆς ἁγίας θεοτόκου ἑστῶσαν καί φημι πρὸς αὐτήν· «Παρθένε, θεοτόκε, δέσποινα, ἡ τὸν θεὸν λόγον κατὰ σάρκα γεννήσασα, οἶδα μέν, οἶδα, ὡς οὐκ ἔστιν εὐπρεπὲς οὐδὲ εὔλογον τὴν οὕτω ῥυπαράν, τὴν οὕτω πανάσωτον, τὴν εἰκόνα καθορᾶν σου τῆς ἀειπαρθένου, ἀλλὰ δίκαιόν ἐστιν ἐμὲ ὑπὸ τῆς σῆς καθαρότητος μισεῖσθαι τε καὶ βδελύττεσθαι. Πλὴν ἐπείπερ διὰ τοῦτο γέγονεν ὁ ἐκ σοῦ τεχθεὶς θεὸς ἄνθρωπος, ὅπως καλέσῃ τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς εἰς μετάνοιαν, βοήθησόν μοι τῇ μόνῃ μὴ ἐχούσῃ τινὰ βοήθειαν. Ἐπίταξον κἀμοὶ συγχωρηθῆναι τὴν εἴσοδον. Μὴ στερήσῃς με τὸ ξύλον ἰδεῖν, ἐν ᾧ κατὰ σάρκα προσεπάγη ὁ θεὸς λόγος, ὃν ἐγέννησας, ὃς τὸ αἷμα τὸ ἴδιον ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ ἔδωκεν ἀντίλυτρον. Ἐπίταξον, ὦ δέσποινα, κἀμοὶ τὴν θύραν ἀνοιχθῆναι τῆς θείας τοῦ σταυροῦ προσκυνήσεως. Καί σε δίδωμι τῷ ἐκ σοῦ τεχθέντι θεῷ ἐγγυητὴν ἀξιόχρεων, ὡς οὐκέτι τὴν σάρκα ταύτην ἐξυβρίσω δι' αἰσχρᾶς οἱασδήποτε μίξεως. Ἀλλ' ἡνίκα τὸ ξύλον τοῦ σταυροῦ τοῦ υἱοῦ σου θεάσωμαι, κόσμῳ καὶ τοῖς ἐν κόσμῳ πᾶσιν εὐθέως ἀποτάσσομαι καὶ αὐτίκα ἐξέρχομαι, ὅπου ἂν αὐτὴ ὡς ἐγγυητὴς ὑπόθῃ καὶ ὁδηγήσῃς με.»