About 500 years after the Resurrection of our Lord, a holy monk
		by the name of Zosimas lived in a monastery by the Jordan River.
		He had lived as a monk since childhood and when he was about 50
		years old he began to think that he had surpassed all the other
		monks in virtue and that no one could teach him anything he 
		didn't already know. To prevent such a prideful thought from 
		taking root, God taught him a lesson.
		
		It was the custom in the monastery that at the beginning of each
		Great Lent, after Liturgy on Forgiveness Sunday, the monks 
		would cross the Jordan and scatter throughout the desert where 
		they would stay until Palm Sunday. Bach monk would spend this 
		time alone before God, in fasting and prayer, without anyone 
		around to praise him for his struggles. 
		
		Fr. Zosimas went far into the desert. On the 20th day, as he 
		stopped for prayer, he saw a human shape.. At first he thought 
		the devil was playing tricks with his eyes. But when he 
		protected himself with the sign of the Cross, he saw it clearly:
		thin and naked, skin baked dark and hair bleached white by the 
		sun, it seemed to glide over the sandy hill. Overjoyed at the 
		thought of seeing a holy man, Zosimas hurried to follow and 
		shouted: "Slave of the True God, do not run from me an old 
		sinner!" 
		
		"Forgive me," a voice returned, "but I cannot face you, Father 
		Zosimas, for I am a shameful, naked woman.  Please throw me 
		your cloak sq that I may cover myself and ask your Messing." 
		
		Terror seized the monk as she called him by name; how did she 
		know it? Turning aside, he threw his ragged cloak her way. In 
		deep humility both Saints fell prostrate before one another in 
		the sand, asking each other's blessing.  Finally the woman said,
		"Father Zosimas, you must give the blessing, having been in the
		Holy Altar so many years as a priest.
		Struck with awe by her divine gift of knowledge, Zosimas pleaded
		with tears, "Please give me your blessing, Mother. Grace is not
		given only to priests, but even more to those who have died to 
		the world and live with God. For God's sake, bless me, for I 
		need your holy prayers." In obedience the woman declared, 
		"Blessed is God Who cares for the salvation of our souls." 
		
		"Amen," answered Father Zosimas. 
		
		Then the woman wanted to know why he had come and how Christians
		lived in the world. He said that by her holy prayers Christ bad
		granted them peace, and asked her to continue to pray. 
		Reminding him that he, too, must always pray1 she turned toward
		the East. Father Zosimas heard only whispers and looked at the 
		ground in meek confusion. When he began to think her prayer was
		very long, he looked up to see her standing in the air about 
		three feet above the ground. Bowing down with tears and begging
		God's mercy, he begged her to tell him of her life, so that the
		wisdom and treasure of God might not be hid.. 
		
		o'My story," said the woman, "will make you run as from a snake.
		You must forgive me for what you will hear, for I lived a 
		shameful life and felt no shame. At only 12 years old I ran 
		away from my parents, threw away my purity, and then trampled 
		upon it with every sinful person I could find. I loved to drink
		 wine and feel pleasure and lead others into sin; and for 17 
		 years I never tired of any kind of sinning. 
		 
		"One day I saw a crowd going to Jerusalem. Since I had no money,
		I promised some men that I would help them pass the journey in 
		merrymaking if they would take me with them. With crude jokes 
		they agreed. I am amazed, Abba, that hell did not open beneath 
		us and swallow us alive. But God desires the repentance of even
		the worst sinner. 
		
		"Within a few days of our arrival, I saw a large crowd hurrying
		to church, I was told, for the Feast of the Exaltation of the 
		Cross. Out of curiosity I joined them. But when my foot touched
		the doorstep, my body was held back by an invisible barrier. I 
		could not enter, though I tried hard several times. Becoming 
		tired, I let people push me aside and stood in a corner of the 
		porch. Above me I saw an icon of the Pure Mother of God, and I 
		began to understand that my sinful life was keeping me from 
		entering. I turned to the icon in tears and begged the Holy 
		Virgin to help me get inside to see the life-giving Cross, 
		promising to give up everything and go where she would lead me 
		after that. 
		
		"Joining the crowd again, I easily entered the Church and saw 
		the precious Cross and the Holy Mysteries; there I saw how the 
		Lord accepts repentance.. Filled with hope, I returned to the 
		icon where I heard a voice from on high, 'If you cross the 
		Jordan you will find glorious rest. 
		
		'Oh Lady, never leave me! I cried, and was on my way. Someone 
		gave me coins and I bought three loaves of bread. By the grace 
		of God they fed me for several years; for the rest of these 47 
		years I have been fed by the Word of God and plants I find. 
		
		"But Oh, Father, how sinful memories attacked my mind and soul 
		like wild beasts: 
		dirty songs, desire for wine and rich foods and bad companions;
		my clothesw6reoutand I suffered from my nakedness. I was tempted
		to return to my old life. But in my thoughts I always turned to
		the Mother of Go4, and she has always kept me safe, chasing 
		away wicked thoughts and restoring peace to my soul." With this
		she finished her story, begging the Abba to pray for her soul 
		and not tell anyone about her until she died. 
		
		The next year, on the day of the Last Supper, Zosimas brought 
		her the Holy Mysteries, and she walked across the Jordan as on 
		dry land to receive Them. Seeing such a miracle, Zosimas 
		explained, "Glory to Thee Christ Our God, Who has shown me 
		through this Thy slave how far away I stand from perfection." 
		He promised to come again the following year. 
		
		Again leaving the Monastery for Great Lent, Zosimas found her 
		at the appointed place, wrapped in his mantle, her face toward 
		the East, lying in eternal repose. In the sand she had written 
		her name, instructions for her burial, and a note that she had 
		died the day he brought her Holy Communion. 
		
		Weak and without tools, Father Zosimas despaired of a way to 
		bury the saint. But God sent an affectionate lion who dug a 
		deep hole in the sand. Covering St. Mary's feet with tears and 
		kisses, the holy elder committed her to the earth with prayers. 
		The lion went off into his desert and the elder returned to his
		 monastery where he told the story which has been kept to this 
		 day, bringing glory to God and hope to sinners. 
		 
		May the merciful God give to us all St. Mary's willingness to 
		repent, and the protection of the Holy Virgin to help us. Amen.