In his Christmas pastoral letter, Metropolitan Nicolae of the Americas has urged the faithful not to fear crises, disturbances, and wars but to lift their hearts and place all their hope in God’s help.
According to the Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan of the Americas, the joy of the announcement of the miracle in Bethlehem, of the Savior descending among men, carries the profound meaning of humanity’s liberation from the tangles of darkness. Sin came into the world through the disobedience and pride of the first humans at Eve’s instigation, but the Most Pure Virgin Mary overcame all this through obedience and humility.
“The disobedience of Adam, at Eve’s urging, brought man’s estrangement from God and death. This is the original sin in which every person born of woman, from Adam to Christ, has found themselves. But God found a way to bring about redemption through a woman, through the Virgin Mary.”
“Through a woman came sin, and through a woman came salvation, for the Virgin Mary reverses Adam and Eve’s disobedience and pride into obedience and humility with the words ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word,'” conveyed Metropolitan Nicolae.
Metropolitan Nicolae recalled the words of the holy confessor priest Dumitru Stăniloae, a professor and great Orthodox theologian, who, in his writings, describes the abnormal state of man poor in Christ, of the man who opposes God and, by extension, his fellow human beings. Breaking communion with Him throws the human soul into the mind’s darkness, weak will, and tormenting loneliness.
“We find in this presentation of man fallen into sin, that is, separated from God and isolated in selfish self-love, the image of fallen Adam multiplied in each person, from Adam to Christ, and after Christ, in each person who falls, through sin, from the redemption brought by the Son of God incarnate in the womb of the Virgin Mary,” added Metropolitan Nicolae.
Restoring Communion with God
Metropolitan Nicolae explains the restoration of communion with God, which involves strengthening the will and liberation from selfishness. The enlightenment of consciousness cannot be achieved without Christ. His Incarnation began communion with humans, through which love was perfected.
He also evokes a passage from the writings of Saint Leo the Great, Bishop of Rome, speaking of God’s humble love for man.
“The revelation of this humble love of God for man is the occasion for the joy of the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord, sung by angels and announced to all people: let us rejoice in the Lord, beloved, and be glad, spiritually delighting because the new day of salvation has dawned for us, a day-long prepared, a day of eternal happiness,” stated Metropolitan Nicolae.
Do Not Fear!
“My exhortation on this glorious feast is to have our hearts lifted, not to fear rumours of crises, disturbances, and wars, to place all our hope in God’s care and help. He has sent us a Savior. He guides our steps in this complicated and troubled world,” added Metropolitan Nicolae.
The role of Christians in the world has been emphasized through the peace they convey to others.
“The Christian is the one who can inspire hope in fellow human beings that our world will find peace. The Christian is the one who, with a heart at peace and full of the joy of the Lord’s Nativity, can bring balance to a society divided over political, social, cultural, and religious reasons,” concluded Metropolitan Nicolae.
Photo: Basilica.ro Files
