In Arabic - In French - In Dutch
____________________________
"Our Saviour hath visited us from on high...
And we who were plunged in darkness and shadows
Have found the truth,
For the Lord hath been born of the Virgin".
[Christmas Matins, Protagogion]
In these holy days, we wish all our brethren in the Archdiosese of Westren and Central Europe a happy Nativity season , a blessed New Year and a Holy Theophany.
We ask for God ‘s blessings and his loving kindness on all of us especially during this season and we sing along with the chanter and say:-
"What shall we present unto Thee, O Christ,
For Thy coming to earth for us men?
Each of Thy creatures brings Thee a thank-offering:
The angels -- singing; the heavens -- a star;
The Wise Men -- treasures; the shepherds devotion;
The earth -- a cave; the desert -- a manger;
But we offer Thee the Virgin-Mother. O Eternal God, have mercy upon us".
[Stichera by Patriarch Anatolios on "O Lord, I have cried unto Thee]
Glory to Him; He came to us in the flesh and did not want Man to perish and die in his sin. And how do we respond to Him for His love?!
Man in with his alienation from God lost his beauty; those beautiful characteristics that give man his humanity: love, simplicity, serving, humility and purity. Therefore, the coming of the Redeemer granted unto us the grace to return to that Godly beauty.
Let us give meaning to the coming of our Redeemer and make this forthcoming year a truly new beginning in our lives, laying aside our ugliness and putting on the virtues of Him who came to us.
May God bless you and keep you.
Happy Nativity!
“Glory to God in the highest and peace be towards all men.”
† Metropolitan John,
Metropolitan of Western and Central Europe