The Greatness of the Virgin Mary
The lecture offers a spiritual meditation on the person and the faith-greatness of our Lady Saint Virgin Mary, and presents the reasons for the Church’s veneration of her and her unique status as the first believer and the one chosen to bear the Son of God.
The truth of virginal conception and the relation with the Holy Spirit
The speaker affirms that the divine birth in the Virgin was a divine work of both the divine and human natures, and that the Holy Spirit descended upon her in an ontological (personed) manner, granting her a special gift that made her child without sin.
Her status and queenship
The lecture explains how the Virgin is greater than all women and even greater than the angels, and displays the symbols of crowning and liturgical icons that place her at the right hand of the King with a crown over her head.
Her active presence and giving of the Holy Spirit
The sermon shows that the Virgin’s presence granted others the fullness of the Holy Spirit — for example her greeting to Elizabeth which caused the unborn one to be filled with the Holy Spirit — highlighting her spiritual activity and intercessory influence.
Old Testament symbols and prophetic references
The speaker clarifies that the Old Testament contained many symbols referring to the Virgin (like the burning bush, the golden censer, and the Ark of the Covenant) and that she is connected to the prophecies of the coming of the Savior.
Her feasts, apparitions, and Egypt’s particularity
The lecture describes the many feasts dedicated to the Virgin and her apparitions in various Egyptian sites, and emphasizes Egypt’s importance especially because of her stay there during the flight, which gave her a special place among Egyptians.
The Virgin’s virtues as a Christian model
Pope Shenouda focuses on the Virgin’s virtues: humility, loving service, endurance in poverty and glory without pride, and perpetual virginity. He presents practical examples of her humility and service to Elizabeth and her patience with orphanhood and early responsibilities.
A call to imitation
The conclusion of the lecture is a practical call for believers to acquire the Virgin’s virtues, especially humility and love of service, and not to seek glory but to bear responsibility with love and faith.
