Bucharest, Nativity of the Lord 2014
„Christ is born, glorify Him,
Christ comes from heaven, come to welcome Him,
Christ is on earth, be exalted!”
(from the Katavasia of the Nativity of the Lord)
These words call all of us to the holy saving encounter with Jesus Christ Himself, the One who became human out of His endless love for the human being and for his salvation. Thus, the feast of the Nativity of Jesus Christ is the feast of the merciful love of God for humans since the Son of the eternal God came down from heaven and was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became human, in order to give forgiveness of sins and everlasting life to sinful and mortal humans. In as much as He came down to us, likewise He opened for us the way to go up to Him.
Through His saving work, designed to unite the mortal human with the eternal God, Jesus Christ heals and purifies the human nature from what is unhealthy and unnatural, namely sin and death, occurred as a result of the separation of human being from God through disobedience, lack of restraint and of repentance (Genesis 2:17 and Romans 6:23).
The mystery of the descend of the Son of God into the world and of His maximum proximity to us, humans, calls us to elevate ourselves and come close to Him, to welcome Him in our life, through faith, prayer, good deeds, offering gifts and signs of the joy of the Nativity of the Lord to the poor people, orphan children and abandoned old people, to the sick and lonely, to the mourning and saddened ones, to the hungry and homeless ones, to those who are forced to take refuge from wars and persecutions (cf. Matthew 25:31-46).
May the holy light of the Feasts of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the New Year and of the Baptism of the Lord bring you peace and good health, joy and help in the activity you unfold!
With high esteem and brotherly embrace in Christ, our Lord,
† DANIEL
Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church
