Prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos for Every Day of the Week

By Schema-hieromonk Nilus of St Nilus Skete (+187O)

Sunday

All-merciful Virgin Theotokos, Mother of compassions and love for mankind, my

most beloved hope and aspiration! O Mother of the most sweet and most desired
Savior, Who exceedeth every love, Jesus Christ, the Lover of mankind and my God,
the Light of my darkened soul! I, the exceeding sinful and hopeless one, fall down
before thee, to thee I make my prayer, O well-spring of compassion, Virgin Mary,
who didst bear the Abyss of compassion and Depth of mercies and love for mankind:
Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, I painfully cry to thee; have mercy on me who
am all in wounds, who have fallen among brutish thieves and who am, alas!, stripped
naked of the garment in which the Father clothed me. Wherefore I lie stripped of
every good deed, my wounds stinking and festering before my madness. My Mistress,
Theotokos, look down on me, I humbly pray thee, with thy merciful eye and despise
me not, who am all in darkness, all in filth, all immersed in the mire of passions,
terribly fallen and unable to stand. Do thou take pity on me and grant me a helping
hand, lift me up out of sinful depths, O my Joy! Deliver me from them that surround
me; make thy face to shine upon thy servant; save the perishing, cleanse the filthy,
raise up the terrible fallen: for thou canst do all things, as thou art the Mother of God
Almighty. Pour forth on me the oil of thy compassion and grant me to overflow the
wine of compunction, for I have acquired thee as truly the only hope in my life; turn
thou not away from me who flee to thee, but behold my grief, O Virgin, and the
longing of my soul and accept this prayer and save me, O thou the Mediatress of my
salvation. Amen.

Monday

From polluted lips accept thou a prayer, O unblemished, pure and most- pure Virgin
Theotokos, and despise not my words, O my Joy, but look down on me and have
pity, O Mother of my Maker. During my lifetime do thou not abandon me, for thou
knowest, O Mistress, that I place all my hope on thee and all mine aspiring is after
thee. Wherefore, at the time also of my death, stand thou before me, O my helper,
and be not then ashamed of me. For I know, O Virgin, that I am guilty of many sins,
and I, the wretched one, tremble, contemplating that hour. But thou, my Joy, reveal
unto me then thy presence, work thy mercy marvelously upon me, O Mediatress of
my salvation. Rescue me, O Mistress, from the cruelty of the demons, and from the
fearsome and terrible trial of the spirits of the air, and deliver me from their malice,
and transform all that grief and sorrow into 1
joy by thine enlightenment and grant me
to pass unharmed through the principalities and powers of darkness and to attain to
worship at the throne of glory before Christ our God Who sitteth there with His
Unoriginate Father and All-Holy Spirit. Amen.

Tuesday

O my most holy Mistress, the Theotokos, who art far more honorable than the angels
and archangels, cherubim and seraphim, and far more holy than all the saints, O
Virgin Mother of God! Save me, thy humble and sinful servant, for thou knowest, all-
merciful Lady, that, after God, I place all my hope in thee, and that I have no other
refuge of salvation but thee, O all-good one. Thou art my strength, O Mistress, thou
art my power, thou my rejoicing in sorrows, thou my haven in temptations, thou my
correction in falls, thou also mine all-hoped for salvation, O Mother of my Lord and
Maker! Help me, who sail upon the depths of this life, terribly beset and endangered
by drowning in sin. Grant me a helping hand, my helper, and deliver me from the
mire of the deep, that I not sink down into the abyss of despair: for the storm of sins
and passions hath risen against me and the waves of transgressions overwhelm me.
But do thou, O compassionate Mother, thou haven of passionlessness, direct and save
me, O hope of the hopeless and mediatress of my salvation. Amen.

Wednesday

O Theotokos, thou art my hope, thou art a wall and haven of good hope and a refuge
of salvation for me who am exhausted by the presence of passions! Save me from all
mine enemies that persecute my soul and hunt for it with various temptations; for on
the way wherein I walk they have hidden many snares for me, many scandals, many
hardships, many deceptions, and many afflictions of soul and body snare me into
sinful falls and I, the wretched one, have already fallen into the traps of the enemy and
am bound and held by them; and what shall I do, I the despairing one? I know not!
For if I seek to repent, I am held by lack of feelings and hardness of heart and a single
tear! Alas for my cursed state! Alas for my deprivation! Alas for my poverty! To whom
then, can I turn, I the guilty one? Only to thee, the compassionate Mother of our
Lord and Savior, the hope of the hopeless, the wall and protection of them that flee
unto thee! Turn not away from me who am filthy: I have thee as the only consolation
in my life, O Virgin Mary Theotokos, and to thee alone in every need do I flee with
boldness; do not abandon me, then, in this life and at the hour of my death come
thou to mine aid, O my helper, that all mine enemies may behold thee and be put to
shame, being conquered by thee, O Mistress, Mediatress of my salvation. Amen.

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 Thursday

Who can worthily bless thee, All-holy Virgin; what lips are capable of hymning thy
majesty which surpasseth all conceiving? Most glorious are all the mysteries fulfilled in
thee, O Theotokos, loftier than thought and word. At the beauty of thy virginity and
thy most radiant purity the cherubim did marvel and the seraphim were struck with
awe; for the miracle of the Childbirth without corruption neither human nor angelic
tongue can tell. For from thee the Ageless and Only-begotten Son of God, God the
Word, ineffably took flesh, was born and lived among men; and thee, as His Mother,
hath He greatly magnified, revealing thee as the Queen of all creation and for us the
signal refuge of salvation. Wherefore, all that flee under thy protection, being assailed
by various sorrows and afflictions, receive from thee consolation and healing in
abundance and by thee are saved from dangers. For thou art truly the Mother of all
that sorrow and are heavy laden, the joy of the grieving, the healer of the sick, the
preserver of youths, the staff of old age, the glory of the righteous, the sinners’ hope
of salvation and guide to repentance; for thou dost ever help all with thy protection
and dost intercede for all that flee to thee with faith and love, O thou all-good one.
Do thou also help me who am in despair over my deeds, O fervent Mediatress for the
Christian race: Intercede thou for me, that I not perish until the end in sins; for I have
no other refuge and protection, but thee, the Mistress of my life: Abandon me not,
despise me not, but by thy judgments that thou thyself dost know, do thou save me,
for blessed art thou unto ages of ages. Amen.

Friday

To thee do I entrust my life for protection and, on thee, after God, do I place all hope
of my salvation, O Mistress and Virgin Theotokos. I, thy servant, pray thee, despise
not me who have many sins, but behold my sorrow and my perplexity over them and
grant me relief and consolation, that I not perish to the end. Stretch forth thy right
hand, O pure one, lift me from the mire of my deeds and place me in the pure pasture
of the commandments of Christ, my King and God, that I may ever act strengthened
by Thee. Deliver me, O Lady, from my terrible sins and by thy motherly intercession
before thy Son and God send me repentance unto salvation. Thou who didst show
forth the ineffable Light, enlighten my spiritual darkness and the sinfulness which
lieth there. O my Joy, deliver me from the invisible enemies that surround me; for my
sins are many and they are heavy, my enemies are very fierce, death is near, my
conscience doth accuse me, the fiery Gehenna doth terrify me, the unsleeping worm,
the gnashing of teeth, the outer darkness of Tartarus do bring me to trembling, for
they seek to take me in because of my evil deeds. Woe is me! What shall I do then,
and to whom shall I flee, that my soul be saved? To thee alone, O sweet Theotokos
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Mary, who doth sweeten the bitterness of death for them that hope in thee and who
doth deliver them that cry unto thee from terrible Gehenna. Do thou also help me, O
all-good one, for then I shall have no other help but thee, all hymned one. Save me
then from the terrors of the hour of death and the ferocity of the demons; save me
from the power of the malicious spirits at the trials of the air after death: Reveal, I
pray thee, reveal to me then thy most radiant presence, O Mistress, and do thou not
abandon me the helpless one. O compassionate Mother! Stoop down to mercy
towards me who am deprived of mercy by my deeds and do thou beseech Him
Whom thou didst bear in the flesh, even Christ our God and Savior, Who did pour
forth His most pure blood on the cross, that I also may receive forgiveness of sins
and eternal salvation and glorify thine unspeakable compassion, O Theotokos, and thy
merciful intercession, throughout endless ages. Amen.

Saturday

Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos, thou haven and protection of mine impoverished soul,
my sweet hope of salvation! Rejoice, thou who from the angel didst receive the joy of
the good tidings that God the Word was to take flesh of thee! Rejoice, thou who didst
bear the Creator of all within thy womb! Rejoice, thou who didst give birth to God in
the flesh, the Savior of the world! Rejoice, thou who didst preserve virginity
uncorrupted in childbirth! Rejoice, thou who didst receive gifts from the magi and
didst behold their worship of Him Who wast born of thee and didst hear the
shepherds’ most glorious words concerning Him and didst lay all these things up in
thy heart! Rejoice, thou who didst joyfully find the child Jesus, thy Son and God, in
the temple among the teachers of the Law! Rejoice, thou who didst bear the terrible
pain of anguish at the cross, crucifixion and death of thy Son and God! Rejoice, thou
who after such trials was radiantly gladdened by the resurrection of sweetest Jesus on
the third day! Rejoice, thou who didst behold the ascension of thy Son and God in
heavenly glory! Rejoice, thou who together with the disciples of the Lord didst receive
from Him the Holy Spirit, Which was sent down on the upper room in the form of
fiery tongues! Rejoice, thou that didst live like an angel on earth! Rejoice, thou that
didst surpass in purity and holiness all the angelic orders and all the choirs of saints!
Rejoice, thou that art magnified with glory by the coming to thee of thy Son and God!
Rejoice, thou that didst entrust thy soul into His holy hands! Rejoice, thou that
gloriously wast taken up bodily into heaven! Rejoice, thou that didst appear to the
God-beholding apostles on the third day after thy repose! Rejoice, thou that art
crowned in the heavens by the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit with the
diadem of the eternal kingdom! Rejoice, thou that hast been enthroned in glory near
the throne of the All-holy Trinity! Rejoice, thou through whom God is reconciled
with man! Rejoice, Queen ruling over things heavenly and earthly! Rejoice, for
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nothing is impossible for thine intercession! Rejoice, for all that flee to thee with faith
are saved! Rejoice, for by thee the grieving find consolation, the ailing healing, the
afflicted timely help! I then pray thee, O Mistress full of grace, extinguish in me sinful
sorrow and grant me the joy of salvation, consoling tears, constant compunction, true
repentance and perfect correction. Despise me not, O Mistress, but mercifully receive
these joyful cries offered to thee by me the poor one, and come thou to mine aid at
the time of my helplessness, in that terrible hour when my soul will be parted from
my cursed body; come, then, I pray, to mine aid and deliver me, who am guilty in sin,
from the eternal punishment, that I appear not a joy to demons and food for the fiery
Gehenna. Yea, my Mistress, permit not my soul to see the terrible and fearsome threat
and torment of the demons prepared for sinners, but do thou go before me and save
me thy servant in that terrible hour, that I may glorify thee unto the ages, mine only
hope and the Mediatress of my salvation. Amen.

Translated by Hieromonk Ioannikios from: Izbrannyia Molitvy Bozhiej Materi, Jordanville, 1971.