The night of Christmas

The night of Christmas 

BY FR ELPIDIOS VAGIANAKIS

It was slowly getting dark and the sun was disappearing behind the mountains of Bethlehem. The cold and frost made the inhabitants of this small village, as well as all those who came from distant places to be registered at the place of their birth, go inside their homes early. Soon the streets were deserted and no one was walking about outside.

To tell the truth not everyone, because just outside the village a pious man, leading a donkey with a young girl on its back, who looked like she was pregnant, was anxious to arrive at a house in time before it got too late.

Every now and then, he was trying to give her courage, because he saw that the time to give birth had come and the young girl was extremely tired from the trip which had taken several days.

Some hours ago he had given her his cloak and everything else he had to cover her and keep her warm, while in the twilight he was looking for the path leading to the village.

THE NATIVITY ICON IN BYZANTINE ART

 

THE NATIVITY ICON IN BYZANTINE ART

Orthodox Christians do not celebrate the birth of baby Jesus, we celebrate the Incarnation. What?, you say. What is the Incarnation? This is an important word as it means God becomes Man. This is what we celebrate. The birth of Jesus was that moment in history when God sent His only begotten Son to become like us, taking on human flesh for our healing. This miracle of miracles took place though the ascent of Mary whom we call the Theotokos, Birth-giver of God. God with His divine will became man, taking on a human will in human flesh so Man could unite his human will with God’s divine will. From the time of Adam and Eve, man was separated from God ,unable to follow God’s law. The Incarnation is the beginning of the transformation of mankind so we can be reunited with God.

Nativity Icon

Above you can see the icon of the Nativity. Let’s look at each element of this icon to learn what it communicates to us.

Saint Ignatius, the God-Bearer +Dec 20

 Saint Ignatius, the God-Bearer 

   COMMEMORATED ON DECEMBER  20th  

Saint Ignatius unceasingly repeated the name of “Jesus Christ”.
When they asked him why he was doing this, Saint Ignatius answered that this name was written in his heart!

The Holy Great Martyr Ignatius was named the ‘God-Bearer’ because he always carried the name of the living God in his heart and on his lips. Also, traditionally, he was thus named because he was held in the arms of Christ, the incarnate Son of God.

 
In the Gospel of Matthew (18:2-5), there is a passage that reads:
“And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said: ‘Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.’”
The child whom Jesus selected to illustrate his parable, and upon whom He endowed a spark of divinity with the touch of his hand, was a child named Ignatius, who thereafter grew up in the sacred company of the Apostles of the Lord and went on to become one of the most venerated of all our saints.

St Anthony The Great and The Shoe Maker

 

St Anthony The Great and The Shoe Maker

At some time, St. Anthony the Great thought to himself “I wonder with whose spiritual achievements my spiritual life can be compared with”. God, however, in order to humble this thought revealed to him in a dream that superior to him was a shoe-maker who had a store in the back streets of Alexandria.

Once it was daybreak, the saint took his staff and headed off to the city. He wanted to meet in person this famed shoe-maker and see his virtues. With great difficulty he discovered his store, sat down at the counter and began asking about his life.

Two Men in a Hospital

Two Men in a Hospital

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room’s only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation.

A CHRISTMAS GIFT TO JESUS

A CHRISTMAS GIFT TO JESUS

It is told that a Christmas Eve in Bethlehem, about four centuries after the birth of Christ, saint Jerome had the holy desire to worship the place where our Savior was born.

So, he came into the holy cave but there, while he was praying and meditating on the first Christmas, he had a wondrous vision.

Jesus Christ appeared to him as a child in the midst of a brilliant and dazzling light and asked him with His sweet heavenly voice: 

“Jerome, what gift will you give Me for my birthday today?”

Talking with a barber about God...

Talking with a barber about God...

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation and talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: “I don’t believe that God exists.”

“Why do you say that?” asked the customer.

The Great Miracle in Syria of Panagia "Saidnaya" to a Saudi Arabian man

 

The Great Miracle in Syria 

of Panagia "Saidnaya" to a Saudi Arabian man

 

  The following account of this truly amazing miracle has been told in numerous places, but I thought to include it here also in case you haven't heard it yet. It should be a testament to the fact that our Faith is truly alive, and that the great miracles of the scriptures and the traditions of the Church are not fabrications, and that wonders that equal or exceed them continue to occur. For as Christ said, "Lo I am with you always, until the close of the age."

 

"In December 2004 a Saudi Arabian man, a Moslem, appeared before several new agencies to relate the following incredible event he experienced and which changed his life (this story appeared on TV, the Internet, radio, and was circulated in newspapers, magazines, and pamphlets throughout Saudi Arbia, Syria, Palestine, and evidently in all neighboring countries.

Some years ago, this man married a very rich Moslem woman but sterile. As the years passed, and despite all their efforts and significant medical expenses with many doctors, they remained childless. The man's parents suggested to him that he marry a second woman, while upholding his initial marriage (as the local laws permits up to four concurrent marriages).

How an Atheist Cancer Patient Believed in God

How an Atheist Cancer Patient Believed in God

One morning, after the Divine Liturgy, I went to the Church Office. A 50yr old gentleman came to see me there. I didn’t know him nor had I seen him at Church before. He spoke to me about a 42yr old man who was admitted in the Hospital of Piraeus. He had cancer. It had spread and had gone to his brain. The doctors had confirmed that nothing could be done to save him. He was taking large quantities of medication but they did not help.
The man in my office told me that he was a close relative of the patient. He asked me to go and give him Holy Communion.

Great Miracle of St. Marina

Great Miracle of St. Marina

 

“A few years ago [in 2000], a family from Lemessos, Cyprus, named Vassiliou received the following miracle. In Greece they are well known from the televised requests they made in order to find a donor for their young boy Andrea, who suffered from leukemia. The donor was indeed found and the parents began preparing for their trip to Texas, U.S.A where the bone marrow transplant was going to be performed. Meanwhile, they also prayed and begged Jesus Christ to save their boy. Before they left for the U.S.A the parents heard of St. Marina’s miracles and they called the monastery of St. Marina located on the island of Andros in Greece to ask for her blessing. 

 

A person can become a saint anywhere. – St Porphyrios

“It is a great art to succeed in having your soul sanctified. A person can become a saint anywhere. He can become a saint in Omonia Square, if he wants. At your work, whatever it may be, you can become a saint through meekness, patience, and love. Make a new start every day, with new resolution, with enthusiasm and love, prayer and silence — not with anxiety so that you get a pain in the chest.” 

– St Porphyrios