Memorial Day of the Blessed Matrona of Moscow

In 1881 (according to other sources, 1885) in the village of Sebino (Tula region, Russia), Saint Matrona was born into the family of Dmitry and Natalia Nikonov In a poor family, the girl was the fourth child When her mother was pregnant, she had a dream about a beautiful white bird, but with closed eyelids This is exactly how Matrona was born - a small miracle, deprived of vision due to the absence of eyeballs At first, the parents of the blind child wanted to give her up and send her to an orphanage, but changed their minds As a child, the neighborhood children did not want to play with Matrona and teased her The girl chose the icons located in her parents’ corner as her friends, played with them and was imbued with deep faith in the Lord From infancy, a pectoral cross protruded from her chest, which testified to her being chosen by God From the age of eight, Matrona received from the Almighty the gift of foresight and miracles Notified of approaching troubles, predicted the future She could heal seriously ill people through prayer Then believers flocked to her house, asking for help in healing For her good deeds, they left her food and other gifts in gratitude So the child, who was a burden to the family, became its breadwinner By the age of eighteen, the girl lost the ability to move - her legs refused to walk When Matrona met Lydia Yankova, the daughter of a noble landowner, she began traveling with her to holy places In 1925, she moved with Lydia to live in Moscow There the women lived and changed places of residence, as the authorities began an atheistic policy and tried in every possible way to arrest the blind woman Until the end of their days, people came to Matrona for healing; there were up to forty parishioners a day The healer did not complain about her illnesses, did not ask people for anything, only one thing - to believe in the Lord, because it is not she who heals the sick, but God himself at her request The saint also instructed parishioners on the righteous path in order to avoid sinful deeds and vices Her life was held up as an example of a great feat of patience, dedication, faith, love and mercy towards others Three days before her death, Matrona notified those around her about this event and called the saint to confession On May 2, 1952, the saint gave her soul to the Lord She was buried at the Moscow Danilovsky cemetery, where the saint’s relics were visited by thousands of pilgrims On March 8, 1998, the relics of Matrona were discovered Their final transfer took place in the same year on May 1 to the women's Holy Intercession Monastery in Moscow Today, the relics of the saint continue to exude healing for various ailments