The Nativity of the Lord
Continued from page three

Nov 16: HOLY APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST MATTHEW
It seems appropriate that the second day of the Fast commemorates the Evangelist Matthew, whose account of Christ's birth, together with Luke's gives us all the information we have about this great feast.

Dec 7: ST. AMBROSE OF MILAN
St. Ambrose, one of the first great writers of the Latin Church, was acclaimed as Bishop of Milan before he was even ordained a Deacon. He carried out his duties with great fervor, calling his people to living out their faith in action. He did not hesitate to condemn the Emperor for a massacre he spitefully caused, and forced his repentance. St. Ambrose is the author of the "Te Deum," a hymn used in our Moleben of Thanksgiving.

Dec 9: The Maternity of St. Anne
Nine months (minus one day) before the Birth of the All-Immaculate Theotokos (September 8), we celebrate her Conception. Sts. Joachim and Anne, faithful to God, found that their love had miraculously become fruitful in their old age! Our All-Immaculate Lady and Ever-Virgin Mary was Conceived in Anne's womb, and from the very first moment of her being was in perfect cooperation with God. Thus we see how the natural processes of family life and love, part of our communal history, are not at all opposed to the will of God, but fit perfectly into His work of Salvation, by the working of the Holy Spirit.

Dec 12: St. Spyridion the Wonderworker; The Appearance of the Theotokos at Tepeyac
St. Spyridon was a humble farmer and shepherd, who after his wife's death, served the Church as a Bishop on Cyprus. He continued his farming, giving most of his produce to the poor. He healed the sick, including the Emperor Constans, and attended the First Council of Nic'a in 325, where he argued persuasively for the Faith. His simple, direct appeal brought many back to Orthodoxy.

On 9 December 1531, at Tepeyac near Mexico City, the Theotokos appeared to Juan Diego, a poor man, on her Feast Day (see above). She asked for a Temple to be built on that spot for the worship of the Holy Trinity. A few days later, she appeared again, on 12 December, and gave Juan an "icon made without hands" (acheiropoietos) of herself, inexplicably imprinted on his cloak. The Icon hangs today in the great Church built on the spot.

Dec 13: Repose of Venerable Herman of Alaska
In 1837, Father Herman, a Monk of the Russian Church, fell asleep in the Lord on this date. He had lived the simple monastic life among the native peoples of Alaska, praying with them, teaching them, and defending them against the exploitation of the Russian Trading Company. A tireless wonderworker, he is the "Joyful Northstar of the Church of Christ, planted in America."

Dec 17:  Holy Prophet Daniel and the Three Youths
In our preparations for both Christmas and Pascha, Daniel and the Three Youths play an
important role. Their steadfastness of faith is admired --and rewarded-- by miraculous salvation. The ordeal of the three young men (Shadrach, Mishak and Abednego -- or in Greek: Ananias, Azarias and Misael) in the fiery furnace is an image of the Burning Bush from Exodus, which is filled with God and yet not consumed, just as the Theotokos bore God whom all the world cannot contain, but was not harmed. At Pascha, this symbol becomes the sign of the Resurrection as well.

Dec 20:  Hieromartyr Ignatios, Bishop of Antioch
The third Bishop of Antioch ("where the Disciples where called Christians for the first time" [Acts 11:26]), St. Ignatius was the second successor to St. Peter in that Apostolic See. He understood his role as a "God-Bearer" (Theophoros), bringing Christ to all through his life, preaching and work. He was taken to Martyrdom for his faith in 107, being torn apart by wild beasts, but rejoiced that he could share in the sufferings of Christ, knowing that his body, torn apart like wheat, would, through the work of the Holy Spirit, bring forth an abundant harvest.

III. The Sundays of the Fast:
Because of the interaction of the fixed calendar and the movable feasts, the Gospels of the Sundays are not always constant. In the practice, however, of the English-speaking Russian usage Churches in America, the following are usually celebrated. The themes of the Gospel of Luke: Care for the Poor, the difficulty of Riches, and the Healing of sickness, are most evident. Christ is the Physician of the world, and heals us by His Incarnation of the sickness which is "Original Sin."

The Ninth Sunday of Luke (6th before Christmas): Luke 12:16-21 tells of the Rich Man who sought to store up all his wealth in barns, and to be secure. The Lord teaches us about true riches, which consist in loving the Lord and our Neighbor.

The Tenth Sunday of Luke (5th before Christmas): Luke 13:10-17 recounts the healing of the woman who had been bent over by illness for 18 years. When the Lord cures her, He is rebuked by the Temple officials for "working" on the Sabbath. Again He scolds them by forcing them to look at Divine values and goals, which involve care for the suffering, rather than human regulations.

The Eleventh Sunday of Luke (4th before Christmas): Luke 18:18-27 is a Gospel transferred from the 30th Sunday after Pentecost. We see the loving confrontation between a Rich Man and Christ. The Lord calls him to "sell all that you have and give to the poor," if he wishes to be perfect. When the Lord remarks over the difficulty of the rich being saved, his disciples are amazed. "Nothing," however, "is impossible for God!"

The Twelfth Sunday of Luke (3rd before Christmas): Luke 17:12-19 reminds us of the spirit of thankfulness which must come with the healing we receive, as a people and as individuals, at the Incarnation. Only one Leper returns to thank The Lord for his healing, and he is a Samaritan!

Sunday of the Forefathers (2nd before Christmas):
Luke 14:16-24 is the Great
Banquet to which many well-to-do neighbors are invited, but they decline, being just too busy! The Master, furious at this indignity, brings in all the wayfarers, vagabonds, street people, disabled and downtrodden of the area, making them the inheritors of the great feast, in place of the vain and foolish rich. On this Sunday we celebrate all those who are the Forefathers of Christ in Faith.

Sunday of the Ancestors (Sunday before Christmas)
is the celebration of the Genealogy of Christ (Matthew 1:1-25). In this listing of the Ancestors of Christ according to the Flesh, we see that God really has entered into human history, with all its ups and downs. Not all of Christ's ancestors were heroes! But the Lord takes all of this upon Himself, becoming Man so that we might become God (Theosis).

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