Veiled in Strength
The Theotokos, Our Model of Womanhood
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In the heart of our Orthodox Christian faith stands a woman who is unlike any other. She is the Mother of God, the Theotokos. Her name alone carries so much beauty, reverence, and awe that no other woman in history—not even the greatest female saints—can be compared to her. And yet, this holy woman is not far from us. She is near. She is our mother too. She is the example of what it means to be a woman: humble, strong, obedient to God, and full of grace.
Her story begins not with her Annunciation, but with her parents, Joachim and Anna—faithful, older, and barren. God opened Anna's womb and gave her the child who would become the living Ark of the Covenant. From her very conception, Mary was set apart, chosen for the most sacred of tasks. She was brought to the Temple at the age of three and raised in purity and devotion, preparing unknowingly to become the vessel through which God would enter the world.
And when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to her, announcing something that had never been spoken to a human being before, she responded with the words that have changed the world forever: "Let it be to me according to your word."(Luke 1:38)
These words are not passive. They are the most courageous acceptance in history. Mary’s humility was not weakness—it was strength veiled in obedience. She was not forced; she received His will with humble boldness. She did not doubt; she trusted. She was afraid, and yet, she said yes. In that moment, Mary became the first Christian. The first to say yes to Christ.
Her life did not become easier after that. She delt with harsh judgement from her people. She gave birth in a cave meant for animals. She fled with Joseph and the Christ Child to Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod. She lived a hidden life of prayer, watched her Son perform miracles, and then stood at the foot of the Cross as He gave up His spirit. Through it all, she kept all these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:19). Her silence is not emptiness—it is the fullness of contemplation and union with God.
In our modern world, womanhood is either diminished or distorted. But when we look to the Theotokos, we see something true and whole. She is not "empowered" by the standards of the world, but by the strength that comes through self-offering and surrender. She is not loud, but she is not voiceless. She is veiled, but not hidden. She is humble, and yet the highest of all creation.
Next to Pascha, one of my favorite Great Feasts is The Annunciation. It is the beginning of our salvation. The day Heaven touched Earth. The day Mary said yes, not knowing the full path ahead, but trusting God completely. Every year I embrace womanhood more deeply, and every year her reply moves me more: "Let it be to me according to your word." To be feminine is to be truly humble, and humility is the highest virtue of all.
Mary, Our Lady, is a living beacon of strength and humility. By her prayers, may we all have hope and come to see the beauty of our womanhood not as something to suppress, change, or rewrite—but as something to behold, embrace, and live out joyfully. May we come to see gender roles not as oppressive, but as divine gifts from the Creator who made us male and female in His image.
So let us begin here, with Her. The first in our series of Veiled in Strength Saturday posts. Let the Theotokos lead the way in showing us what it truly means to be woman—fully surrendered, fully loved, and fully alive in Christ.
Holy Theotokos, pray for us.
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