Loving and Reassuring (Homily)

Today we remember that third day after the death of the Theotokos when St. Thomas the Apostle arrived and asked to have one last look at her in the tomb. When it was opened, the Apostles discovered that she had been assumed body, soul, and spirit into the heavenly kingdom.

Soon after, the Theotokos appeared to St. Thomas and gave him her belt (cincture). This deeply loving, reassuring, and mystical gesture has echoed through the ages and not merely by the fact that this precious relic still exists.

This feast is a celebration of the love, compassion, and presence of God, the Theotokos, and all the saints in our lives. As a compassionate mother, Mary comforts us and walks with us along the path of physical, emotional, intellectual, relational, and spiritual healing.

"Thy precious sash, O Theotokos, which encompassed thy God-receiving womb, is an invincible force for thy flock, and an unfailing treasury of every good, O only Ever-virgin Mother" (Kontakion of Venerable Sash of the Theotokos).