Episode 4: St. Mary, the Mother of God, the Lover of the Poor, Healer of the Sick, and Melter of Iron

Dear listeners, First, congratulations to George, Sandra Mansour, and Catherine M for winning the book giveaways from my Great Lent book list! Your books will be in the mail soon. Happy Feast of the Annunciation to all my friends who celebrated yesterday! In honor of the Feast, today’s episode is about St. Mary, the Mother of God, who loves every one of us, including the poor, who works wonders, including healing the sick, and whose prayers are so powerful they can melt iron. I mentioned a few books and resources on the show today. These include my book, Putting Joy into Practice: Seven Ways to Lift Your Spirit from the Early Church. I also quoted Elissa Bjeletich Davis’s book, The Art of Myrrh Bearing: Encountering Christ Through Serving Others. I mentioned this podcast episode with Manal Moussa of Leaving the Jar: I found the story of the woman with the broken leg in the Princeton Ethiopian, Eritrean and Egyptian Miracles of Mary Project. I drew from the Coptic Orthodox Prayers of the Unction of the Sick, which can be found here, and specifically the Supplications here, and the Seventh Prayer here. I also consulted St. Mary in the Orthodox Concept by Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty, attached below: Again, a blessed Feast of the Annunciation to all of us who have celebrated, and may God grant us an acceptable fast. Phoebe Being in Community, Phoebe Farag Mikhail's Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Being in Community, Phoebe Farag Mikhail's Newsletter at phoebefaragmikhail.substack.com/subscribe