It's a great article but..... do you want to hear the buts?
Don't be so reticent about the way we relate to the Mother of God and the Saints. We do not only ask them to intercede for us. We pray to them directly, asking them to help and to heal. If we look at any services to the Mother of God or the Saints we see this direct prayer to them very clearly.
One example from literally hundreds, from the Akathist to the Mother of God Healer of Cancer...
"O Most-Pure Mother of God, O Queen of All! Hearken unto our much-afflicted sighing before Thy miraculous Icon, brought to Russia from the land of Athos. Look upon Thy children, suffering from unhealed ailments, who fall down before Thy holy image with faith! As a bird covers its nestlings with its wings, so do Thou now, who art ever present, cover us with Thy greatly healing mantle."
