Thy Nativity, O Theotokos Virgin,
Has brought joy to all the inhabited
earth:
For from Thee has sprung forth
the Sun of Righteousness, Christ our
God.
We solemnly celebrate, dear brothers
and sisters, the Nativity of the Most Holy Virgin Mary from her barren parents,
pious Joachim and Anna. The Holy Church established this feast during the first
centuries of the Christian Faith. The event that we celebrate—the birth of the
God-Chosen maiden—brought joy to all the world, for the God-man, Jesus Christ,
Who shone forth from Her, destroyed God’s curse which weighed heavily upon the
transgressing and accursed human race, and brought God’s blessing upon it;
having trampled down inherent death, He gave people eternal life. Thus the Holy
Church explains the cause of the present joy.
The parents of the Ever-Virgin
sorrowed long over their barrenness; they prayed long and fervently to the Lord
that He loose this barrenness, which was considered a punishment from God for
sins. They gave much alms in order to incline the mercy of the All-Merciful,
endured the reproach of their countrymen, and through this sorrow and ceaseless
prayer and good works, they gradually purified their spirits, and burned ever
greater with love and dedication to God, thus being prepared by God’s
Providence to give blessed birth to the Most Blessed Daughter, chosen out of
all people to be the Mother of the Incarnate Word.
The Lord leads His chosen ones to
glory by a narrow and sorrowful path; for even She, the Mother of God according
to the flesh, received the prophecy of Simeon that a sword shall pierce Her
soul, and She will experience heavy sorrows in her soul during Her Son’s
suffering life, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed (Lk. 2:34–35).
The path of all God’s chosen is thus sorrowful and narrow, for the world and
the prince of this world—that is, the enemy of God and people, extremely presses
the people of God. The Lord Himself allows them to go by the narrow way,
inasmuch as He enables them to strive for God and put all their hope in Him.
But let us turn our gaze from the
sorrow to the joy. What joy does the Nativity of the Mother of God bring us?
Let us explain in more detail the Church hymn which explains the meaning of
this feast’s joy. Through the birth of the Ever-Virgin, through Her
only-begotten Son and God, cursed and outcast mankind makes peace with God Who
is immeasurably offended by man’s sins, for Christ became the mediator of this
peace (cf. Rom. 5:10-11). Man is freed from the curse and eternal death, made
worthy of the blessing of the Heavenly Father; he is united and co-mingled with
the Divine nature; he is raised to his first inheritance by this co-mingling,
according to the Church hymn. Mankind, once an outcast, has been made worthy of
sonship to the Heavenly Father, received the promise of the glorious
resurrection and eternal life in the heavens together with the angels.
This has all been and is being
wrought by the Son of God incarnate from the Most Pure Virgin from the Holy
Spirit, and by the intercession of His Most Pure Mother. How honored and
magnified is mankind through the Holy Virgin Mother of God, for it has been made
worthy of renewal and sonship by God; She Herself was made worthy by Her
immeasurable humility and exceedingly great purity and holiness to be the
Mother of the God-man! She is ever the most powerful Intercessor for the
Christian race before Her Son and God! She is our Hope unashamed; She turns
away from us the dark cloud of God’s righteous wrath, opens to us the ancient
paradise by Her powerful intercessions; She upholds the thrones of kings, and
preserves them unshakeable to the ages. She has saved Russia thousands of times
and continues to save her; She has made her strong, glorified her, established
her, and continues to do so; She is the Surety of Sinners for salvation. To Her
do Christians direct their numberless prayers, requests, and praises, doxologies
and thanksgiving; She has worked and continues to work miracles without number
in the Church, to the ends of the world.
Let us brightly celebrate the feast
of the Nativity of the Most Pure Virgin Mary, adorning ourselves with all the
Christian virtues.
St. John of Kronstadt
Translated by
Pravoslavie.ru/OrthoChristian.com
9/21/2012
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