The saints intercede on behalf of, pray for, and protect us. Through their own spiritual struggle and cooperation with God’s grace they have become our examples, guides, and allies in our own spiritual journey. Their victory through the grace of Jesus Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit is a shield and protection in our own struggles. The greatest of these saints is the Theotokos, the Mother of God. Her protection and prayers are ever present.
“Holy Mary, Mother of God, do not abandon me.”
This cry arises from a place of fear, powerlessness, and approaching death. It represents the struggle to hold on to life. The following video of the second movement of Gorecki’s Symphony Number 3 captures beautifully the struggle and the prayer. This second movement uses a prayer that was found scratched on a wall in cell number three in the basement of the Gestapo’s headquarters in Zakopane. Beneath that prayer was the signature, “Helena Wanda Blazusiakówna,” and the words “18 years old, imprisoned since 26 September 1944.” Her prayer seems to be directed to both her biological mother and her protector, the Mother of God.
No, Mother, do not weep,
Most chaste Queen of Heaven
Support me always.
“Zdrowas Mario.”*
*(Ave Maria—the opening of the Polish prayer to the Holy Mother.)
Interrupting the Silence 
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