A Prayer to the Mother of God

"Pure one, fill my heart with rejoicing unto plenitude, and grant thine undefiled felicity, since thou didst give birth unto Him Who is the cause of joy.
Come deliver us out of dangers, pure Mother of God, since thou art mother of deliverance, and of the peace which doth surpass all human reasoning.
Dissipate the gloom of my trespasses, O Bride of God, with the clear brightness of thy radiance, for thou didst bear the Light divine which was before all time.
Heal me, O pure one, of the sickness which the passions bring, and make me worthy of thy guardiancy, and by thy prayers and intercessions grant thou health to me."

--Ode 5 of the Paraklesis (Small Supplicatory Canon) to the Mother of God

This beautiful prayer brought comfort and hope to me during my husband's hospitalization 11 years ago, in the two weeks after our wedding. The Mother of God also brought me surprising peace through her icon (pictured below) which I just so happened to have with me in a backpack when we were admitted to the hospital. May the Most Holy Theotokos protect, shelter, and defend the whole world and speedily destroy COVID-19 by her mighty intercessions!