Christmas Advent Archives - Page 16 of 17

Twenty-Third Day of Christmas Advent, Meditation: Why Did He Come? (Part VI)

12/07/2015

Meditation: Why Did He Come? Charlotte Adelsperger explained what the coming of Jesus meant to her: Christmas came for me when I allowed Jesus to outgrow swaddling clothes and wrap me in God’s love. Christmas came for me when I discovered that I am part of the flock God is watching over-even at night. Christmas came for me when I rejoiced, knowing Christ’s tidings of great joy were to all people-and I’m a messenger. Christmas

Nineteenth Day of Christmas Advent, Meditation: Why Did He Come? (Part V)

12/03/2015

Meditation: Why Did He Come? Christmas means that there are two births of Christ: one into the world at Bethlehem; the other into the soul when it is spiritually reborn. Through the Holy Mysteries of Baptism and the Eucharist, Christ is born in the second Bethlehem. i.e., our hearts and minds, our souls and bodies. He that is the pre-eternal God becomes a newborn babe that we might be converted and become babes in Christ.

Seventeenth Day of Christmas Advent, Meditation: Why Did He Come? (Part IV)

12/01/2015

Meditation: Why Did He Come? Christmas means that “the Word (the Eternal God) was made flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). In an attempt to capture the monumental humiliation God endured when He took on human flesh, C.S. Lewis likens it to our becoming a worm. Yet God did that for us in order to communicate His love to us. Christmas means that Emmanuel has come: God is not

Thirteenth Day of Christmas Advent, Meditation: Why Did He Come? (Part III)

11/27/2015

Meditation: Why Did He Come? Jesus himself explains why He came: “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them, but to fulfill them” (Matt. 5: 17). “I come not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matt 9; 13). “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). “I have come as light into the world, that whoever

Twelfth Day of Christmas Advent, “O Give Thanks unto the Lord!”

11/26/2015

By Father Steven Kostoff “O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever!” (Psalm 136:1) In an article titled “A Moveable Fast,” the scholar Elyssa East summarized the history of our American Thanksgiving, and the intentions and practices of the early New England colonists toward this national feast. Initially, she writes, Thanksgiving was built around the Christian rhythm of fasting and feasting. Bearing that in mind, she also offered her

Ninth Day of Christmas Advent, Meditation: Why Did He Come? (Part II)

11/23/2015

Meditation: Why Did He Come? St. Gregory of Nazianzus wrote: Darkness is loosened, light is created. The Pillar of Fire is given to Israel. Those dark in ignorance see the great light: knowledge and wisdom. Old things are finished; all is become new, the letter retreats; the Spirit prevails; shadows disappear; the truth now enters; nature’s law is overturned for heaven needs filling… What was invisible, now is distinguishable. What was untouchable now is touchable…

Thirty-Ninth Day of Christmas Advent: Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men

12/23/2013

When the angel of the Lord brought the “glad tidings of great joy” of Christ’s birth to the shepherds in the fields, there appeared also “a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Lk 2:13-14, KJV). The songs of the Orthodox Church services, like those of the Christian West, put this doxology of the angelic choir in the mouths

Thirty-Sixth Day of Christmas Advent: God Is With Us! (Part II)

12/20/2013

Behold My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen, in whom My soul delights; I have put My Spirit upon him, he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not fail or be discouraged till he

Thirty-Fifth Day of Christmas Advent: God Is With Us! (Part I)

12/19/2013

The vigil services of Christmas and Epiphany begin with the chanting of great compline, at the heart of which is the solemn singing of the canticle from the prophet Isaiah. God is with us! Understand all nations, And submit yourselves, For God is with us! Hear this, even to the farthest bounds of the earth. Submit yourselves, O mighty ones; If you rise up again in your might, You will be again overthrown. The

Thirty-Fourth Day of Christmas Advent: Glad Tidings of Great Joy

12/18/2013

The birth of Jesus is announced to the world as a proclamation of great joy. The archangel Gabriel comes first to Zacharias the priest when he is offering incense at the altar and tells him that his wife Elizabeth will give birth to a son who will be the forerunner of the Messiah. “You will have joy and gladness,” he tells him, “and many will rejoice at his birth” (Lk 1: 14). The same messenger

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Twenty-Third Day of Christmas Advent, Meditation: Why Did He Come? (Part VI)

Nineteenth Day of Christmas Advent, Meditation: Why Did He Come? (Part V)

Seventeenth Day of Christmas Advent, Meditation: Why Did He Come? (Part IV)

Thirteenth Day of Christmas Advent, Meditation: Why Did He Come? (Part III)

Twelfth Day of Christmas Advent, “O Give Thanks unto the Lord!”

Ninth Day of Christmas Advent, Meditation: Why Did He Come? (Part II)

Thirty-Ninth Day of Christmas Advent: Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men

Thirty-Sixth Day of Christmas Advent: God Is With Us! (Part II)

Thirty-Fifth Day of Christmas Advent: God Is With Us! (Part I)

Thirty-Fourth Day of Christmas Advent: Glad Tidings of Great Joy

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