Holy parents
It is quite logical that believers pray for their parents to holy spouses whose children have achieved holiness.
Joachim and Anna
In Christianity, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary are especially revered - Saints Joachim and Anna. They lived a long life together without children, trusting in everything in the will of God. When Joachim and Anna were old, Mary was born to them. They brought their only daughter at the age of three to the Jerusalem Temple. This was the fulfillment of a vow to dedicate one’s child to the Lord.
Vasily and Emilia
In 1999, the Greek Orthodox Church established the celebration of the memory of the family of St. Basil the Great (on the first Sunday after the Epiphany). The members of this amazing family zealously professed the Christian faith and achieved holiness. The Church ranked them among the holy saints of God.
Among them is the saint's father - Saint Basil the Elder, presbyter (4th century). Mother - Venerable Emilia of Caesarea (305-375), whose five out of ten children are numbered among the saints.
“She gave the world such lamps, sons and daughters, married and celibate; she is happy and fertile like no one else. Three glorious priests, one participant in the mysteries of the priesthood, the others - the face of the celestials. I’m amazed at how rich this family is!” - St. Gregory the Theologian wrote in delight (329-389).
Saint Basil the Great himself, Archbishop of Caesarea of Cappadocia (330-379). His brothers Saint Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa (335-395), Saint Peter, Bishop of Sebastia (after 331-392) and Righteous Naucratius (331-358), his sisters Saint Macrina (324-380) and Blessed Theosevia (Theozva) deaconess ( died in 385). Also revered as saints are the parents of Vasily the Elder - father (name not given) and mother Macrina the Elder, who survived difficult trials during persecution under Emperor Maximian Galerius.
Kirill and Maria
About Saints Cyril and Mary (13-14th century), parents of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, Blessed Epiphanius said:
“The Lord, who deigned the great lamp to shine in the Russian land, did not allow it to be born from unrighteous parents, for such a child, which, according to God’s dispensation, was later to serve the spiritual benefit and salvation of many, it was fitting to have saintly parents, so that good would come from good and the best was added to the best, so that the praise of both the begotten and those who gave birth would mutually increase for the glory of God.”
Kirill and Maria were kind and merciful people, they always provided shelter to strangers. Their two sons, Stefan and Bartholomew (the future Sergius of Radonezh), were glorified as saints. A prayer addressed to them for the mother’s health will be natural and logical.
Support them
We show respect when we support our parents. And I'm not just talking about financial assistance, but also about other forms of love and care. I remember the story of David at a very difficult moment in his life, when his friends turned away from him and his enemies attacked. In this situation, he cried out to God: “Do not reject me in my old age; when my strength fails…” (Ps. 70:9). David was afraid of a situation where old age and isolation combined, he was afraid of being old and alone. Our parents are afraid of this too.
When we are young, we have strength, we crave independence. Our parents raise us to be strong and free. But there is a catch, a price, so to speak, for all this: while giving us independence, they themselves are losing it every year (Eccl. 12:1-8). We honor our parents when we promise them not to leave them alone in old age. Just as they took care of us, we will take care of them. This is our duty and it should be our joy.
At a time when millions of elderly people live alone, placed in nursing homes or hospitalized, surrounded by professionals rather than family, Christians have an opportunity to show the world a special respect for parents. Kent Hughes says that even when parents don't need money, "Christians still have a responsibility to show their personal concern for them." You can hire caregivers, but this is not enough. Caring cannot be outsourced. It is impossible to refuse parents emotional support and communication, because even non-believers do not do this.
Say kind words about them
Another way to show respect to your parents is to speak about them with respect. We live in a time when airing our grievances is considered “healing,” when airing our “dirty laundry” in public is appropriate for “therapeutic purposes.” Without hesitation, we are happy to tell the world what we think about governments, bosses, and parents. But the Bible warns us that we must respect and honor any authority God has placed in our lives (Rom. 13:7). The Bible warns that our words have the power to honor and dishonor. We cannot carelessly forget about the punishments that are due in the Old Testament to those who curse or attack their parents (Ex. 21:15-17, Lev. 20:9), because the root of sin is always the same. Cursing or beating your parents is a crime against the fifth commandment and also the sixth.
We should speak kind words about our parents. Kind words when they are alive, and kind words even when they are dead. Kind words when we talk to our brothers and sisters, to our spouses, to our children. We should speak kindly of them when we talk about parents in church and society, setting an example of the universal honor and respect that applies in every culture and which seems lost in so many contexts these days. Christians, speak kind words about your parents, do not speak bad about them.
Prayer to the Lord for the sick
Master, Almighty, Holy King, punish and do not kill, strengthen those who fall and raise up those who have been cast down, correct people’s bodily afflictions, we pray to Thee, our God, to visit Thy servant (name) without mercy by Thy mercy, forgive him every sin, voluntary and involuntary.
Hey, Lord, send down Your healing power from heaven, touch the body, extinguish the fire, tame passion and all lurking infirmities, be the physician of Your servant (name), raise him from the sick bed and from the bed of bitterness, whole and all-perfect, grant him to Your Church, pleasing and doing Your will. It is Yours to have mercy and save us, our God, and we send glory to You. To the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Ask them for advice
We honor our parents when we ask them for advice in various life situations. The Bible quite often associates age with wisdom and youth with folly (Prov. 20:29, Job 12:12) and tells us that those who live longer gain more wisdom. Therefore, there is no shame in relying on the advice and wisdom of your elders when you need to make important decisions in life. In some cultures this is normal, in others it is shunned. But in any case, when we turn to our parents for help, we show respect for them, even if we subsequently cannot take advantage of their advice.
The importance of prayer for loved ones
In Orthodoxy, prayer is understood as a conversation between a person and the Lord, the Most Holy Theotokos, the holy saints of God, and the heavenly powers. This is a conversation where the believer can ask, thank and praise.
“Prayer is the path of ascension to God and its degrees are the degrees of the approach of our spirit to God” (Reverend Simeon the New Theologian, 949-1022).
According to the teaching of the Church, asking for help in prayer is possible and necessary. But not only for yourself, but also for others.
“Prayer for oneself, taken separately from prayer for others, as the fruit of spiritual self-interest, cannot constitute pure Christian virtue” (St. Philaret of Moscow, 1782-1867).
By praying for others, the believer thereby fulfills the commandment to love others. After all, prayer for others will only come from the heart of the person praying when it is full of love and compassion for others. And this is real prayer, including prayer for mom’s health.
“When a person prays from the heart for others, the Guardian Angels of these people pray for him. Your prayer, like reflected light, strengthened by the prayers of the Angels, returns to you” (Archimandrite Rafail Karelin).
Who to contact for parental healing
The Holy Fathers advise turning to the Most Holy Theotokos for help in healing sick parents.
Children's prayer for their sick mother in front of the “Healer” icon should not be done formally. But with deep faith and hope in the intercession of the Mother of God before the Savior.
“When a cloud of sorrows surrounds you, so that there seems to be no way out of this situation, then remember that you have a Mother in heaven, the Queen of Heaven, who sees you, hears and knows all your spiritual movements. Call upon Her with faith, and She will immediately come to you and deliver you from troubles and misfortunes” (Schiarchimandrite Kirill Pavlov).
Prayer for mom's health
Prayer for the health of mom and dad is an important part of the spiritual life of children. By turning to the Lord in prayer, you can also ask for the well-being of your parents and reconciliation with them (in case of conflict situations). This manifestation of care for parents helps to unite the family.
But don’t forget about help in everyday matters. All this together is the fulfillment of God’s commandment to honor parents.
“All virtues contribute to the mind in love for God, but pure prayer contributes to this most of all. For thanks to her he soars to God, becoming beyond the existing” (Reverend Maximus the Confessor, 7th century).
Prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos in front of the “Healer” icon
Most Holy Lady Queen Theotokos, highest of all heavenly powers and holiest of all saints! We fall down and worship You before Your all-honorable and wholesome image, remembering Your wondrous appearance to the sick clergyman Vincent, and earnestly pray to You, the all-powerful intercessor and helper of our family: just as in ancient times you gave healing to that cleric, so now heal our souls and bodies, sick with the wounds of sins and many different passions, deliver us from all misfortunes, troubles, sorrows and eternal condemnation, save us from soul-destroying teachings and unbelief, from the flattering and arrogant attacks of invisible enemies, grant us a Christian death, painless, peaceful, shameless, to partake of the Holy Mysteries and grant us worthy to the impartial judgment of Christ stands at the right hand of the All-Righteous Judge and hear His blessed voice: “Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Amen.
