Despondency and despair are mortal sins, decadence, imposed by demonic offspring. If you succumb to weakness and let these feelings in you, you can lose faith and even fall into insanity. If a person lives in sin for a long time, only an appeal to the Mother of God can save him. The Blessed Virgin Mary provides intercession to all those in need through the image of "Unexpected Joy", imprinted on the icon of the same name.
When do they turn to "Unexpected Joy"?
The icon "Unexpected Joy" is famous for its miraculous history, but true believers do not perceive it as something extraordinary, since grace and humanity, supported by appropriate gifts, are common to the Mother of God. The parable underlying the plot of the image refers us to the strong prayer of the Virgin Mary, which is able to overcome the impossible, including the righteous wrath of God. In order for the request, reflected in prayer, to come true, it is necessary to repent of all sins.
The name of the icon gives the right to ask her for help in the most hopeless situations. The image prays for such things as:
- Healing from deadly ailments;
- The pacification of family enmity;
- Infertility;
- Search your second half;
- Successful matrimony.
How to start a prayer?
If there is a black stripe in life that has been delayed for a long period, you should resort to prayer as soon as possible. To get what you want, make it a habit to follow a simple rule, but do it regularly. When it is difficult to understand canons yourself, ask for advice from a spiritual mentor or another clergyman in order to gain confidence in the rightness of your undertaking. With blessing, it will be easier to do the work of prayer, you will be able to resist the demons who are trying to get a soul and drag it to the side of darkness.
The prayer "Unexpected Joy" begins with the reading of an akathist (the full text is here). Remember that simply saying the words of prayer and passing them through yourself are two different things. It is necessary to cleanse the conscience: you can not pray, not relieving the soul of sinful deeds that could anger the Most High. Before you pray, be sure to confess and partake of the sacrament. Orthodoxy teaches that the prayer pronounced apart from contact with the church does not acquire full force.
What to pray about?
Prayer is a universal way of communicating with higher powers. Turning to heaven, think: should the request really be voiced? Will this not be a temptation or an obstacle to finding a righteous life? To eliminate doubts, say the prayer book "Unexpected Joy", adding the words "If it is God's will," to each new phrase, if possible.
When you receive a blessing from a priest, order a prayer icon. In the process of praying, leave aside all the troubles and problems that torment the soul., and pay all attention to the meaning of the spoken text. His canonical version has a specific task - to direct the mind of the parishioner to the root of the essence and reveal his unrepentant sins.
In the Christian religion, Akathists join the prayer rule and read in a suitable place, the best of which, no doubt, is the church. If you decide to read an akathist in the temple, give time to it so that it does not fall into the service, otherwise you will interfere with the rest of the congregation.
Akathist to the prayer book "Unexpected Joy" in its structure contains 12 ikos and 13 kondakwhich praise the Mother of God in a poetic form and tell about a parable serving as a plot for an icon. There are no specific requests in it. The prayer itself is read in order to appeal with a petition for the bestowal of a happy marriage, childbearing, healing from infertility.
Prayer of the Mother of God "Unexpected Joy"
How to read the prayer to the image of the Mother of God? The prayer to the icon "Unexpected Joy" should be attached to the Akathist. It is allowed to read it on a separate basis: in this case, a person who utters prayer words must relate himself to the image of a sinner from a parable who lived unrighteously, but prayed to the Mother of God day and night. The text of the holy prayer volume, it includes many requests related to different areas of life. The one who reads it prays not only for himself, but for all those who suffer.
Prayer is pronounced in Church Slavonic.. It is important to observe the punctuation and stress alignment correctly. At first it seems that it is extremely difficult to understand its essence, but daily reading will help to reveal the meaning of the prayer in its entirety (the entire prayer can be downloaded here).
If you pledged to read "Unexpected Joy" every day or on Sundays for a certain period of time, you should not back down from that word.
How else can you pray "Unexpected Joy"?
You can refer to the icon both in the temple and at home. The first method is more preferable from the point of view of the church, since it implies the entry of the parishioner into the special religious mood necessary for the ritual. But if you say a prayer or akathist alone with yourself, there is nothing reprehensible about it. You can read them to yourself, being in the transport, while you are on the way - the main thing is to have the appropriate attitude. Short Akathist to Mother of God "Unexpected Joy" exists in several forms. They are quite simple, they are easy to memorize.
Akathist first expresses humility before the holy face:
"Not imams of other help, not imams of new hope, don’t You, Lady, help us! We hope on You and we praise You, Thou shalt not be ashamed of Your esma rabi."
In the second, Akathist is asking for mercy and deliverance from misfortunes:
"Mercy doors open us the blessed Mother of God, hoping for Thee not perish, but let us get rid of the troubles by You, You are the salvation of the Christians."
Saying the third akathist, give thanks to Our Lady:
"Virgin Mary, Hail, Blessed Mary, Lord with You! Blessed are You in women and blessed! The fruit of Your womb, as the Savior bore our souls."
Where to make a pilgrimage for prayer?
Making a pilgrimage to the holy image, the believer is performed with special grace, which is difficult to achieve when praying on the list. To see the icon, visit the following places:
- Orthodox parish temple in honor of Elijah the Plain - located in Moscow, in Obydensky lane. The icon kept here was brought from the falcon church of the Resurrection of Christ in 1944;
- Temple dedicated to the icon in Marina Grove (Moscow, Sheremetyevskaya St., 33);
- The temple, erected in honor of the image, in the village of Pushkarkalocated at the Diveevsky monastery;
- Transcarpathian monastery in the village of Kolochava (Ukraine).
When organizing a pilgrim trip, do not forget to clarify whether your chosen places are open for access to the visit. Show due respect to the servants of the temple and listen to their recommendations.
