Lenten Reading: Sunday after Ash Wednesday

First Fruits, The Canon of St. Andrew, Chapter 3 (11-15)

For the first time, we see that St. Andrew speaks to a Christian saint in his prayers when he says, "Holy Mother Mary, pray to God for us." Now I suspect that most of us are perhaps a tad uncomfortable with such a petition. In her Introduction (xxiv-xxvi), Frederica Matthewes-Green tells us how an Orthdox Christian understands such a prayer. It will be a good idea if all of us read that part of the Introduction, "The Scandal of the Saints," again carefully to make sure we understand the Orthodox tradition well; that is, we don't want to read too much into an Orthdox Christian's speaking to a saint, nor we want to under-value the importance of what she or he is doing when speaking to a saint. After reflecting on her explanation about Andrew's speaking to St. Mary of Egypt, how do you respond and evaluate her clarification? Do you ever speak to a saint who is living now with Christ? If so, might you tell us about such a prayer?