Thy Nativity, O Theotokos Virgin,
Has brought joy to all the inhabited earth:
For from Thee has sprung forth
the Son of Righteous, 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.
Source: http://www.pravoslavie.ru/39253.html
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