Prayer of Repentance

«Lord, grant me only humility and silence. I ask nothing else from You. Humility births love for all Your creations. I know that I am the greatest sinner, and no one else in the universe has embittered You as much as I, the despicable one, have. Help me to live with this every day. Do not let the devil fool me into thinking I am something when I am nothing. Grant me only to feel how sinner I am and help me to follow Your commandments to find mercy from Your countless love. Do not let me despair because of my sins but let me rejoice every day because You have mercy on me and will save me because You are compassionate. Do not let me have evil thoughts or judge my fellow human beings. I am to blame for them, and since I am the cause of their sin, I must only judge myself. Lord, Lord, do not deprive me of the river of Your divine mercy. Amen!».

This holy icon of the Virgin Mary Milk-nursing portrays the Blessed Mother of God in a moment of maternal tenderness, holding and nursing the infant Jesus Christ. Due to this particular depiction, the Virgin Galaktotrophousa is associated with the feast of Christmas and is considered unique in the tradition of Mount Athos.

Gerontissa Gabrielia (Gavrielia) was born in Constantinople more than a hundred years ago on October 15, 1897 to Helias and Victoria Papayanni and was the fourth and last child of the family. She grew up in Constantinople until her family moved to Thessaloniki in 1923. She went to England in 1938 and stayed there throughout the Second World War. She trained as a chiropodist and physiotherapist. In England they honored her for her services during the war and after.