As a witness to the eternal reality that "wondrous is God in His Saints", we received news of a remarkable testimonial sent to Fr. Alexandru Lungu, an Orthodox priest in Fălticeni, Romania, regarding a recent miracle wrought by St. Parascheva the New. The team at Orthodox Ethos has just returned from a pilgrimage to Romania and are blessed to be able to share a part of the deep piety of the Romanian nation.
St. Parascheva, who fled from the world to the desert upon hearing the words of the Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples that "if any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me", still works innumerable miracles in the lives of Orthodox Christians today and has a special veneration in Romania. Thousands of faithful gather at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Iași each year to venerate her wonderworking relics in celebration of her feast. This year, a mother in Constanța was among the pilgrims who traveled hundreds of miles hoping for the intercession of St. Parascheva. She had recently happened upon the many miraculous accounts shared by Fr. Alexandru on his social media, and despite infrequently attending the Divine Liturgy and never before making such a pilgrimage, she packed her things and prepared to attend the Feast.
Her hope was in the healing of her son. He was seven years old and unable to speak, had frequent seizures and severe bouts of night terrors and agitation. A multitude of specialists were unable to treat the condition, leading her to finally seek consolation at the relics of the saint. She described waiting amongst the throngs of pilgrims for four hours with her child in her arms, who upon arriving to the Cathedral was still and calm for the first time, as if sedated. As they waited in the cold, she prayed: "God, if you love this child and can give me a chance, help me!" She approached the holy relics for veneration, touched her palm to the saint's garments and rested her head upon her son. The mother related to Fr. Alexandru that they then quickly set out to return to Constanța for the long journey home and the boy fell asleep. But after some time had passed, and before they arrived, her son awoke and spoke for the first time the words "Saint Parascheva, thank you!" His first words were not "mama" or "papa", but this full sentence expressing gratitude toward the saint. The following day, the boy continued to say "Saint Parascheva, thank you!" and also "I love you, mother!", speaking more words in 24 hours than he had in the entirety of his life.
In her message, the grateful mother concluded: "I testify that my life changed in a second. I have not been a Believer, a faithful servant of God, but I know that God loves us so much that He is patient and works in a way that nothing is impossible with Him."
To read the full testimony, visit the Romanian news article here.
HYMN OF PRAISE
by St. Nikolai Velimirovich
The Venerable Parascheva
``The Lord desires a pure heart'':
Thus says the Gospel.
A pure virgin you remained,
And you gave your pure heart to God-
O most wonderful saint,
Saint Parascheva, our ideal!
The Lord seeks a most pure mind,
Without fancy and without falsehood;
And you presented Him your most pure mind,
Like that of an angel, of the same kind.
O most wonderful saint,
O Saint Parascheva, hearken to our petitions!
The Lord seeks a pure soul,
As a heavenly shrine;
You perfected such a soul,
And now shine in heaven.
O most wonderful saint,
Parascheva, help us!
By your prayers, help us
In the misfortunes of life.
Through the clouds of earthly sorrow
Bring us light, like a rainbow-
O chaste virgin, most wonderful,
Holy Mother Parascheva!