Man’s sinful nature always strives to prevail, forcing him to commit crimes against the Lord and his own soul. Most often, it is enough to simply repent, repenting before the Lord and confessing to your confessor, but the Church names several sins that are considered the most terrible and for which forgiveness must be begged.
These include abortion and human murder. Suicide is considered the most serious sin of a person, but he can no longer repent of it, so his loved ones ask for it.
But terminating a pregnancy without medical indications is considered a serious crime against the Lord, and in order to beg for forgiveness, one should not only repent of this offense, but also read the special prayer “Open the doors of mercy.” This text addresses the Virgin Mary, asking for her intercession and mercy.
The prayer “Open the doors of mercy” is read in front of the icon of the Mother of God
Interpretation of a prayer request
“The Doors of Mercy” is a beautiful prayer that combines the joy that we have a great intercessor, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and a request for mercy on us before the Lord. The person praying asks to “open” the inexhaustible mercy of the Most Pure One to him.
Unfortunately, the period of ignorance and misunderstanding among the majority of people continues. We can say that missionary work today in some way extends to people who are baptized, but who know nothing or do not want to know about their own faith. For this purpose, versions of the prayer in Russian are provided for a better understanding of the meaning of the words. But this is unacceptable - the Russian language is not capable of conveying the full depth of what was said. The Church Slavonic language cannot be replaced.
“Doors of Mercy” - a beautiful prayer in the Orthodox faith
The Orthodox prayer book contains in the evening rule part of the prayer “Door of Mercy”. In its entirety it is somewhat longer and includes a request to intercede for a person after the end of his earthly life. In general we are talking about the following:
- An appeal to the Most Holy Theotokos, trust and hope in Her, a request to deliver from troubles.
- A request to the Mother of God to intercede for a person at the Judgment, to deliver him from fiery hell.
- A request, a cry for salvation.
One thought on ““Open the doors of mercy for us” prayer”
- Arthur
November 3, 2018Reply Why are you lying about not forgiving the sin of abortion? The Gospel clearly states that any sin will be forgiven, except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. If a woman sincerely repents, then her abortion will be forgiven just like all other sins. Yes, you will have to pay penance for this sin, whatever the priest will appoint. Do not mislead people. There are even murderers among the saints, but the Lord forgave them everything and, moreover, made them His chosen ones.
Rules for reading prayer
You can and should always pray and call upon the Most Holy Theotokos. She adopted the human race from the Cross of her Son Jesus Christ. Who, if not the Mother, can beg the Lord to have mercy on a person. You can pray anytime and anywhere. The main thing is that the prayer be attentive, with repentance. It’s good if the person praying knows the words of the petition by heart, but if you read it often, it will soon be remembered.
Women who have committed the terrible sin of infanticide - abortion - often turn to the Queen of Heaven with this prayer. The murder of an unborn child is a terrible crime for which parents must repent throughout their lives. In addition to constant prayer, the guilty must reveal this sin in confession and perform the penance received. According to the rules of the Church, abortion leads to excommunication of a person from communion.
Prayer is not a quick fix for sin. This is conversation, communication, praise, a request for mercy and salvation. In addition to the feeling of repentance throughout earthly life for all sins, a person must especially repent and ask for forgiveness for some particularly serious offenses.
Women who have committed the sin of infanticide turn to the Queen of Heaven with this prayer.
The parents of a murdered child (abortion applies to both mother and father) must constantly pray and repent. You need to understand that reading the prayer book does not remove sin and responsibility for what you have done. A person must make efforts, ask for mercy and salvation, hoping for the mercy of the Lord and His Most Pure Mother.
How to read a prayer
When reading prayers to the Most Holy Lady , several rules should be followed:
- The prayer is read not only by the mother who committed the sin, but also by the father who allowed or forced the woman to take such a step;
- Before turning to the Most Holy Lady, you must go to church to confess and repent of your sins;
- You should pray for forgiveness to the Mother of God, the Lord, John the Baptist and your patron saint;
- Since murder is an unforgivable sin, the prayer is read all the time until the end of life, in the hope of mercy and forgiveness.
Text of the Prayer of Mercy
Open the doors of mercy to us, Blessed Mother of God, who hope in You, so that we may not perish, but may we be delivered from troubles by You, for You are the salvation of the Christian race. Rejoice, One Most Pure Mother of the One Creator, Lord, God and Savior of ours, Jesus Christ! Be my Intercessor on the day of the terrible trial, when I appear before the Throne of the Unfeigned Judge, so that I may be delivered from the fiery punishment of torment through Your prayers, O Blessed One. Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
The Mercy Door prayer is often recited by women who have had an abortion. It does not get rid of sin, but is a way to beg for mercy for a terrible act.
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Why is abortion a sin?
The murder of a living soul is considered the most terrible crime, since a person takes upon himself the obligations of the Lord and decides to interrupt the life path of the soul that God brought into this world. Thus, at the basis of this act are two terrible emotions: pride and the desire to become a god oneself.
In the case of the death of an adult, it is necessary to consider the circumstances; murders often occur in self-defense or in a state of passion, they are no less simple and should be constantly repented of, as well as justly punished by a court decision.
When a mother decides to kill her child, who has just been born within her, this is a terrible sin that cannot be justified by anything.
Important! The Church makes an exception only for abortions for medical reasons: the fetus has frozen and its heart has stopped beating, the mother is in mortal danger if the pregnancy continues.
No other circumstances are considered grounds for termination of pregnancy.
Science has proven that the fetus is already fully formed with its cardiovascular and nervous systems at 11 weeks. That is, abortion is the murder of an unborn child who does not even have a chance to be saved.
The Orthodox Church has a negative attitude towards abortion
Most often, they have an abortion to hide the traces of their own fornication, and also because of fears about material problems; in any case, this is an unwillingness to accept God’s will and the murder of an innocent soul. That is why abortion is considered a terrible sin, for which the man and woman who have sexual intercourse are to blame.
Read about childbirth:
- All about contraception
- Prayers to preserve pregnancy
- Is it necessary for Orthodox families to have many children?
Icon of the Mother of God “Door of Mercy”
The Icon of the Mother of God “Mercy of the Door” is one of the rare icons of the Mother of God, little known to a wide circle of believers, but in terms of meaning, the image is simply miraculous and cannot, but they evoke a response in the soul of every person.
There are more than 300 canonical (accepted by the Church) icons of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the world. Many of them, for example, Kazan, Iverskaya, Vladimirskaya, Semistrelnaya, are known to everyone, young and old, believers and non-believers, Russians and Chinese, Europeans and Latin Americans.
There are icons that are revered locally, most often these are lists of miraculous icons that remain in darkness until they are glorified by some miracles, and after glorification they become a revered image included in the Orthodox calendar with the day of their celebration. Prayers, troparions, kontakia, and akathists were compiled for them.
The list of such icons is quite extensive: the Korobeinikovskaya Kazan icon, the Krasnogorsk Vladimir icon, the Mozdok Iverskaya icon, the Pskov-Pechersk “Tenderness” icon and others. There are icons that were revealed, but are not immediately recognizable, for example, the Uryupinsk Icon of the Mother of God. The icons of the Mother of God are like stars in the sky, and only She knows their number, and only She knows when and where to show them to the world.
The title “Icon of the Mother of God “Gates of Mercy” refers to the famous prayer: “Open the gates of mercy for us, Most Holy Theotokos, hoping in You, so that we do not perish, but can get rid of our grief, you are the salvation of the Christian clan.”
The Son of God ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of God the Father and does not cease to listen to His Divine Mother, and she, taken by her Son and God to heaven, does not cease to love the Son and his great work of saving humanity.
Pure and all-encompassing love does not disappear in it, which is indicated to men as a refuge in all life’s hardships and hardships. She drank the cup of pain that pierced her heart - Can't she understand our pain when we look to it for solace and consolation?
Iconography: The icon of the Mother of God “Mercy at the Gates” cannot be classified as one of the classical types of icons of the Mother of God. This is a solitary image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, close to the Oranta type. In the center of the composition is the Most Holy Theotokos in the Kingdom of Heaven, surrounded by a host of cherubim and seraphim praising her.
The Queen of Heaven stands full-length on a cloud in white robes with a golden border, with outstretched arms, as if she takes all humanity under her care and protection and bestows mercy on her.
The whole image of the Mother of God is permeated with love, spirituality, kindness, such warmth emanates from it that you want to run to the feet of the Most Pure Mother of God and water them with tears, pour out all your problems and misfortunes, ask for forgiveness of all sins, known and unknown, committed and committed.
All the luminaries of the Earth - the sun, moon and stars only emphasize with their splendor the greatness of the glory of the Mother of God, whom God the Son blesses. Another version of the icon can be found online, also called the "Gate of Mercy".
The Catholic Church is famous for the miraculous icon of Our Lady of the Gates of Mercy, which was exhibited at the Vatican in September 2016 to mark the opening of the Extraordinary Year of Divine Mercy. This antique icon of Our Lady of Mercy at the Door belongs to the Greek Catholic Church.
it is kept in the Transfiguration Cathedral of the city of Yaroslav of the Przemysl-Warsaw Archdiocese of the UGCC in Poland. The Yaroslavl Icon of the Mother of God “Gate of Mercy” is considered miraculous and in 1996 was crowned by St. Pope John Paul II.
Prayer tradition: in front of the icon we pray for the forgiveness of grave sins, including the sin of murder and abortion. Any murder cannot be forgiven, much less interrupting the life of a child, so prayer does not remove sins, but instills hope in God’s mercy and mercy. Before the icon of the Mother of God “Doors of Mercy”, read the prayer “Open the doors for us...”
you need to go to church for confession and communion, memorize the prayer and read it with the morning rule for the rest of your life. In addition, both parents commit sin, so both must repent and both must say a prayer. We turn to the Most Holy Theotokos, because she is the intercessor for people before the Creator, and also the Mother.
Exaltation
We magnify You, Most Holy Virgin, and honor the image of Your Most Holy Image, from the unworthy merciful help that flows to all who flow to it with faith.
Nativity of the Virgin Mary
On September 21, the entire Christian world honors the Mother of God; this holiday is called the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her ancestors, Anna and Joachim, could not have children for a very long time and were almost desperate, but for a long time they tirelessly prayed for this as a miracle. Ultimately, they were sent a daughter - the Virgin Mary. On this holiday, all the prayers read by ladies who passionately desire and are unable to have babies are especially strong and effective, and at the earliest possible time.
Mention of this holiday can be found in sources dating back to the 5th century, and from the 7th-8th centuries the holiday was celebrated everywhere and very solemnly even in the Greek Church. In the 7th-9th centuries, churches were built in honor of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in almost all ancient towns of Rus'.
Festive services on this day are held in all churches, monasteries and temples. This day in Orthodoxy is also called the Little Most Pure Day or Asposov Day. How extensively the holiday would be celebrated depended, first, on the harvest. If it was not bad, then the festivities could last a whole week.
They prepared a ceremonial feast, slaughtered sheep, prepared beef dishes, jelly from the legs and heads of a bull, and baked pies. It was imperative to invite sons-in-law to the holiday - father-in-law and mother-in-law had no right to ignore them. This holiday was celebrated even more extensively where there were churches of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.
Not only are a huge number of prayers addressed to the Mother of God, a huge number of icons were painted from her, which decorate not only churches, but also the homes of ordinary Christian believers.
