“The holy fathers say that the earth offered the cave in which the Savior was born, and mankind gave Him the Most Holy Mother of God. This was so that the Lord could descend among us and become man in order to save us. He took on our nature in order to transform and renew it. And all who are in the Lord Jesus Christ are a new creation, new men. Life on earth is too brief, so brief that we cannot even imagine. But much has been provided for us in this brief period of time that we are in this life. It has been given to us so that we can always turn to God from the depth of our heart.” (Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Christ is born!

I wish you nothing but the deepest joy in our Savior’s birth!

It is astonishing to think, that in spite of the grave faults and brokeness of humanity throughout the ages we, nevertheless, at one point in time, produced a pure and blameless Mother of whom the Lord would be incarnate. Humanity, weeping for ages outside of paradise, growing only more and more estranged from the Lord, and thereby from the true center of our life, offered one who would become the holy of holies. It is astonishing that behind the superficial veil of the world, behind its disturbances, tragedies, and ruthless immorality, what is good and truly beautiful prevails.

Remember this, dear brothers and sisters, that there are saints everywhere! That hidden from the eyes of the world there are those who respond humbly to the meek light of stars and are led by them to seek the living God! Remember how creation lights up in response to the coming King!

At the end of things, our only regret will be that we didn’t flee to the Lord in every instance, time, and place.

We are those who are called to manifest the Eternal God, a little Child. But how will we do such a thing; we who are so heavy and dull in our sinfulness, so insensitive, with such calloused hearts; we who only love those who love us; we who often forget to pray; we who rush to indulge in sin and at the same time see fit to condemn sinners? We will do such a thing by repentance; by going to the cave where the Lord was born; by a vision of all the glory in heaven resting in such a small place on earth; a little child having become the focal point of the cosmos and sharing the Divine Life with all who come to Him, freely.

Let us worship Him, and see how everything changes.

With love in Christ who was born of the Virgin Mary for our salvation,

Fr. Jeffrey