Inside 4th Century Church of the Nativity, built over the Grotto where Jesus was born.
And so, the Nativity Hymns remind those praying how, during this memorable night, each creature hastened to bring its gift to the Saviour King: heaven – a star, the earth – a cave, the wilderness – a manger, the angels singing, the shepherds – worship, the Magi – gifts. Therefore, we too should not come to Him “empty-handed”, but should bring to Him what is more valuable than anything else – our pure, believing hearts. For the high God has appeared on earth, in order to raise us up to Heaven! ~ Bishop Alexander Mileant
Eve of Nativity Service at Compline & Matins Jan. 6/25 (Dec. 24/24)
This Nativity night [Christ] bestowed peace on the whole world; So let no one threaten; This is the night of the Most Gentle One – Let no one be cruel; This is the night of the Humble One – Let no one be proud. Now is the day of joy – Let us not revenge; Now is the day of Good Will – Let us not be mean. In this Day of Peace – Let us not be conquered by anger. Today the Bountiful One impoverished Himself for our sake; So, rich one, invite the poor to your table. Today we receive a Gift for which we did not ask; So let us give alms to those who implore and beg us. This Day opens the heavenly doors to our prayers; Let us open our door to those who ask our forgiveness. Today the Divine One took upon Himself the seal of our humanity, In order for humanity to be adorned by the Seal of Divinity. ~ by St. Isaac the Syrian, 7th century
Parish Youth Choir sang this short Nativity piece (virtually), back in 2020. Their merry voices rang out like silver trumpets, with the lyrics from St. Isaac the Syrian’s poem above, and put to my music.
Below, our Parish Choir (recorded in 2014) sings the ancient Nativity Kontakion (a short hymn of a feast or a saint) composed by 6th century St. Romanos the Melodist:
…Wishing you a blessed Nativity Feast tomorrow, and a joyous Twelve Days of Christmas!
What birthday gift would we ourselves most wish for?
Is there a gift that surpasses the abundant blessings already bestowed by the Holy Child born in Bethlehem… Who loosed the bonds of our sins with His swaddling bands?
Like the wise men, who followed the Star, what shall we bring to Him? What is more precious to Christ, than gold, frankincense or myrrh?
Our heart.
But how does one gift wrap sincere intention?
By bowing the knees and neck of our heart. By kneeling before His manger with determined resolve, to share loving kindness with each other and our neighbour… By doing our own small part with good will… for the sake of peace on earth… Even when external circumstances aren’t easy or peaceful.
God’s greatest gift of all is eternal life. Let us, despite heartaches, run joyfully to the Holy Child, with the simple faith of a child, for such is the kingdom of heaven.
Today, we receive, a gift we did not ask for, let us bestow alms to those who cry out to us in need! ~ St. Isaac the Syrian
I have been amazed that some are utterly in doubt as to whether or not the Holy Virgin is able to be called the Mother of God. For if our Lord Jesus Christ is God, how should the Holy Virgin who bore him not be the Mother of God? ~ St. Cyril of Alexandria
And since the holy Virgin hath borne after the Flesh God united personally to the Flesh, therefore we do say that she is also Mother of God, not as though the Nature of the Word had the beginning of Its existence from flesh, for It was in the beginning and the Word was God, and the Word was with God (John 1:1), and is Himself the Maker of the ages, Co-eternal with the Father and Creator of all things. ~ St. Cyril of Alexandria
The Most Holy Mother of God prays for us ceaselessly. She is always visiting us. Whenever we turn to her in our heart, she is there. After the Lord, she is the greatest protection for mankind. How many churches there are in the world that are dedicated to the Most Holy Mother of God! How many healing springs where people are cured of their ailments have sprung up in places where the Most Holy Theotokos appeared and blessed those springs to heal both the sick and the healthy! She is constantly, by our side, and all too often we forget her. ~ Elder Thaddeus
Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing Life! ~Paschal Tropar
What is dying? Just what it is to put off a garment. For the body is about the soul as a garment; and after laying this aside for a short time by means of death, we shall resume it again with more splendour. ~ St. John Chrysostom
Congratulations on entering the Nativity Fast! Although we’re in a different “liturgical season” than the Great Lent which precedes Pascha (Easter)… We are nonetheless, on day #3 into the40 day Nativity Lenten period. Advent helps us properly prepare for the upcoming Great Feast of the Nativity of Christ.
The birth and death of Christ are very connected. Sometimes Nativity (Christmas) is even called the Winter Pascha.
Today is also a friend’s funeral… and the Mystery ofPascha is very much on my mind.
The Nativity Icon deliberately connects events… the manger resembles a stone coffin, the swaddling clothes resemble a burial shroud, and the cave itself prefigures Christ’s tomb. Theox and ass portrayed, are from the prophesy of Isaiah.
Jesus came to us in order to die, and this was known by Him even from the very beginning.He took away death, by conquering death, through His Glorious Resurrection!
Sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, the first created man and woman, and now we all sin. There are big sins and little sins, but everyone sins, and any sin separates us from God.
Because of God’s great love for each one of us, He did something incredibly special. Jesus Christ the Son of God, willingly took all the sins of everyone ever born, that means you, me, the whole world, and put them all upon Himself.When Jesus died and was buried, all our sins died and were buried too. We also remember this at our baptism, and are now forgiven because of what Jesus did for us on the cross!
He is the Son of God – and arose victorious, from the dead!
This is why we no longer fear death.
Death is a new beginning.
Those who have gone on before us, are alive in Christ… For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. ~St. Luke 20:38
I’ve been singing and humming the Paschal Tropar a lot today. It helps softens sadness, and bestows hope and joy.
Paschal Tropar – Appalachian melody, English
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. ~ Revelation 21:4
With the saints give rest, O Christ our God to the soul of Thy servant, Nicholas. Memory Eternal.
Published in Home For the Holidaysissuu magazine November 25, 2022 (page 16)
Treasures of Christmases Past
Opening boxes of Christmas ornaments is like greeting old friends again. They’re all special, inspiring, and priceless.
Included in our treasure troves are two tattered cardboard circles, with glittery bits of Christmas cards glued to the greasy back of a pizza box. In my mind’s eye I see our toddlers deep in concentration, their puckered little mouths moving rhythmically to each opening and closing of the blunt scissors… a testament to earlier times when sparse finances and homemade adornments were inspired through necessity.
A Queen’s Guard Soldier lies cupped in the palm of my hand. Although his paint is faded, he stands ever at attention as a wooden clothes peg. Our daughter made him in kindergarten, and the threaded loop through his skewed black pom pom hat disintegrated ages ago. He will be stationed on a tree branch, propped up beside the inevitable paper plate sprinkled with dried macaroni, and spray painted gold.
My mom’s embroidered blue bird roosts next to the dainty satin butterfly from my mother-in-law.
Meanwhile, the Three Wise Men bauble our 7 year old hand-sewed himself, is whimsically suspended near a flock of his origami pterodactyls.
At the top of the tree, reposing beneath a chipped Christmas Star is the large, red, paper angel-card my husband made for me the first year we dated. Although the angel wings have long since curled up at the edges, the sparkly Merry Christmas card greeting remains divinely intact.
Of course we own a few store bought decorations. One of which was a gift, a little Christmas Crèche. Although it wasn’t something we’d have bought for ourselves, this sweet little manger scene with animals quickly joined the cherished seasonal entourage.
In keeping with the situation, the Crèche is reverently displayed on top of our piano… despite the fact that one of the sheep’s plastic legs was completely gnawed off by our teething son (who, coincidentally, later became vegan).
Decades later, the precious little lamb continues to defy the law of physics and nobly stands guarding the manger crib, along with the pristine ox, and donkey.
To me, he’s much more than a simple 3-legged plastic lamb.
He’s an unsung model of hope and perseverance in adversity.
