“When someone is empty of Christ then a thousand and one other things come to fill his/her soul: jealousies, hatreds, boredom, melancholy, negativity, a worldly frame of mind and worldly pleasures.  Try to fill your soul with Christ so as to not have it empty.”

- St Porphyrios Wounded by Love pg 177. 

Reflection: 

There are many reasons why we end up feeling negatively, but at the root of it is a yearning for Christ, the need to fill our soul with love for God. Sometimes we try to pacify the negativity with temporary distractions, but that relief does not last and is sometimes unhealthy. 

When we recognize these things within ourselves, we need to turn to Christ even more than we already do. Strive to increase our love for our Savior. 

Turning to Christ in these moments is not distracting us from the problems at hand, it is addressing it head-on by inviting the One who created our entire being to help address the issue. We take a car to the manufacturer who created it to get a tune-up or repair, why wouldn’t we do the same and more for our heart and soul?   

If we want temporary solutions and joys in our life, the world has many options. Professional help is effective and necessary at times, helping us grow. In addition, we naturally yearn for a lasting inner peace, joy, and comfort while in the midst of the challenges in life  -  and the deepest and truest way to get to the core of it all is to fill our soul with Christ.(1)

When we address what we are feeling or experiencing, let us not forget to invite Christ into those moments by prayer, silence, reading, and the sacraments.  Our soul - our entire being - is healthiest and strongest when we are filled with Christ. We will live with a deep sense of purpose, wholeness, and peace since we are rooted in our relationship with God Himself who created us and loves us.

Resources:

1) Matthew 11:28-30

“To become fully human is to become like God, to become like God is to “become as little children” (Matt 18:3)

- Vassilios Papavassiliou, Meditations for the 12 Great Feasts, pg 38

Reflection: 

Becoming like God is to become as “little children” by regaining the pure authentic humanity that Christ shows us on Christmas day. But how do we do that?   We live as children of God.

To become as “little children” is to regain our trusting simplicity we had as a child.  “A child has faith in his father; he walks hand in hand with Him; he knows that his father will lead him where he needs to go, he knows that his father will protect him, feed and shelter him. When he speaks to his father he does not try to use any complicated formula, he says quite simply and affectionately what he wants to say.”(1) This is our relationship with Our Father, Who art in heaven.

God comes to us in complete humility, in secret, and poor. And in so doing He shows us that all that is truly good in humanity is also humble. If we think about the true nature of God, we will find ourselves moving from the initial surprise that God came to us as a baby -  to the conclusion that there could be no other way.

Only in a baby could the Image of God be revealed to the world, inducing not fear and terror, but love and tenderness, revealing to us both the humility of God and the goodness and purity of God’s creation. 

When we become as “little children”, we strive to remain humble, giving, loving, simple, kind, all of the things that are natural to our newborns; natural to humanity.(2) These fruits of the Spirit(3) come by living a life in Christ’s Church, as a child of God. 

Let us build our relationship with God in such a way that we regain the trusting simplicity a child has for his/her parent - for our Creator and Savior.  This way, we may open our hearts for Him to guide us and help us with every step we take. 

Resources:

1) Fr Lev Gillet, The Year of Grace of the Lord, pg 70.

2) Vassilios Papavassiliou Meditations for the 12 Great Feasts, pg 38

3) Galatians 5:22-23

“Glory to God in the highest, peace, good will among all.” - Luke 2:14 (The Nativity of Christ)

Reflection: If the whole world was at peace, would our inner selves be at peace too?  Even if the world was at peace, we would feel unrest because human beings by nature need inner peace: peace of the soul and of the heart.  Inner peace(1) is only from God.  God gives us this peace on Christmas day, restored from what we had lost in the Fall from Paradise. 

But this peace is not given to us for one day only, we are able to experience the peace of Christmas every day. Every time that we: go to the Sacrament of Confession, repent for our sins, pray, are humble, love others , forgive, partake of Holy Communion, worship God, or say the “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me a sinner” from our heartfelt love - we will feel and experience inner peace, the peace of God.(2)  

The world heals one heart at a time. When we encounter God this way, in His Peace, we are grounded and have a sense of serenity about us. Other people will come to know His Peace through our way of life. Other people will feel that sense of ‘coming home’, coming into contact with Christ.

Let us enter into the peace, consolation, joy, and rest of our Lord this Christmas, and in so doing become beacons of His Peace into the world.

References:

1) New Testament References to Peace
2) Archimandrite George, Monastery of Gregoriou Mt Athos, Ομιλίες σε Ακίνητες Δεσποτικές και Θεομητορικές Εορτές (των ετών 1981-1991) Α' (Άδετο), pg 55-56

“Do not fight to expel the darkness from the chamber of your soul. Open a tiny opening for light to enter, and the darkness will disappear.

Let all your strength be turned to love for God, worship and adhesion to God.”

- St Porphyrios (20th Cent), Wounded by Love, pg 136

Reflection: 

When we fight to change ourselves on our own, how much success do we have? 

The key is loving Christ with “...all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’'...and your neighbor as yourself.’(1) As St Porphyrios reminds us, we must aim all of our efforts into loving God in order to succeed at anything in life.  

If we make even the slightest ‘opening’ for the Christ’s Light to enter our hearts, we will find that the darkness will disappear, transformation occurs, we become a new and refreshed person in Christ. 

We make that ‘opening’ by loving and worshipping God at the core of every task we do: our work, schooling, and even in the mundane chores and duties.  We keep that opening open by praying throughout our day, and participating in the sacramental life of the Church.

In this way our focus is always on loving Christ, and our weaknesses melt away due to God’s help.  We stay focused on our positive action of loving God - instead of the trap of the anxiety of worrying about our weaknesses.  

Let us make that small 'opening' for Christ’s Light to enter our hearts and keep it open each day through living our Faith, the Orthodox Christian way of life. 

Resources:

1) Matthew 22:37-40

“Heroic deeds are done by the brave; the bighearted - not the big-framed - who are determined to sacrifice themselves.” - St Paisios, Spiritual Awakening, pg 241. 

Reflection: 

Do we wonder if we make a difference in the lives of others? Who do you consider to be brave?  

As St Paisios reminds us, one can be as strong and “powerful” as humanly possible, but if this person has not love, he/she is nothing.(1)   

“God will help us in our difficulties.  But for God to provide divine power, man must offer whatever little he has and can give.”(2)  We must do our part with the intelligence and abilities that God has given us, and He will fill in whatever is lacking.   

In order to become “bighearted”, let us completely trust in the Lord as we assist and sacrifice for those around us.  God will reveal our purpose along the way, and we will do heroic deeds while humbly unaware of their magnitude. 

We will become the light of the world.(3)

Resources:

1) St Paul 1 Corinthians 13

2) St Paisios, Spiritual Awakening, pg 256. 

3)  Matthew 5:13-15

“A person learns to love and forgive others only when he/she has learned to love and forgive oneself - in silence.”  - Mother Raphaela, Living in Christ pg 18

Reflection:

Do we find it difficult or uncomfortable to sit with ourselves in silence? We may find it like looking in a mirror and realizing that we need some exercise. When we sit in silence, we face our inner selves.  

With more and more relying on technology while restricted from gathering in person, it is difficult to remember to take time to simply be silent.   

Self-knowledge is necessary in order for us to truly grow and be our best selves with God and others.  God Himself is the only one who can truly and fully reveal us to ourselves.  

A portion of our daily personal prayer ought to include silence.  After starting with our usual prayers inviting God into that moment, add 2 minutes of silence. [Repeat the Jesus prayer in your head, and no other distracting thoughts] Maybe even set a timer if it helps.  Those minutes will feel like the longest minutes at first. Including that time with God, silent time with God, will open our hearts for Him to reveal things to us. To listen for His small still voice.(2) Christ will help us to feel grounded and see everything much more clearly and peacefully throughout our day.  

“He will let silence be the way in which I learn to listen and He is able to speak. He will allow books [Scripture] to come my way with passages that suddenly cause things to make sense - where before there was only confusion. People I have known for years may suddenly say or do some very familiar thing, and I will be given the grace to hear or see the meaning for the first time.”(3)

Let us choose to have silent time with God, so that our lives may speak volumes of His love.

Resources:

1) "Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me the sinner."

2) 1 Kings 19:11-13 "the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice." 3)  Mother Raphaela, Living in Christ pg 26.

 “A humble heart O God, You will not despise.” Psalm 50:17. 

  

Reflection: 

What does Christ want for Christmas?  The Magi are bringing their gifts, but what are we bringing to Christ on Christmas day? 

A humble heart is the best gift we can give Christ, it is the best invitation for Christ to enter our lives. Christ shows us what it means to be humble from the cave all the way through the Cross.  

We follow Christ’s example of Godly humility by offering Him the gift of our humility: both with our love in our kindness and in our repentance of our shortcomings.  We offer both our good and our bad to Christ on Christmas day since He is the only one who can heal it all. 

Christ desires that relationship with us, that we bring Him everything in our lives.  

When we give the gift of a humble heart, we cannot help but recognize that we depend on God, and He will help us grow in our humility. We will engage in a relationship with our Creator and ask Him to, “Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 50:10)

Let us strive to offer Christ our humble heart and all that it involves, presenting Him with the best possible gift we can offer Him on Christmas day.  Our lives and the lives of those around us will be transformed forever.

Resources:

1) Matthew 11:28-30

“Rather than thinking in terms of putting Christ into our Christmas, think in terms of putting ourselves, our Christmas, into Christ.  Jesus Christ is at the center of the universe, and we need to find ourselves in our relation to Him, not the other way around.”

-Mother Raphaela, Growing in Christ, pg 35. 

Reflection: 

Non-stop holiday parties, hectic shopping, Christmas cookies and twinkling lights - while Christmases past were full of merriment and fun, how often were our holidays centered on Christ? Mother Raphaela challenges us to reframe our Christmas season, to make Christ the focus, the starting point of all that we do especially during our Christmas celebrations.  Currently we find ourselves with the rare opportunity to refocus, since festivities as they used to be are not possible this year. 

This year, we have the opportunity to put ourselves and our Christmas into Christ with all the time we have to spend with our family, to reflect, pray, attend Church services, give to the poor, and check in on the isolated. 

Our Christmas celebrations will honor all the ways in which Christ gives us life, gives us everything we have, and brings us together.  We celebrate the love of our Heavenly Father, our Salvation. We decorate in order to welcome God into our homes on Christmas day. 

In years past we made ourselves too busy to put our Christmas into Who Christ is.  Now that we have the time, let us not miss this opportunity to fully refocus ourselves and reshape our celebrations on Christ.

“It is necessary for us to love not as a duty, but just in the way that it is necessary for us to eat.” -St Porphyrios (20th Cent) (1) Reflection: 

Think of the times you have freely shown love, appreciation, and sacrifice - do we not feel more alive in those moments? 

There is an excitement, a deep inner joy, a lightness in our feet when we express our love to one another.  From a small act of kindness to sacrificing our time and energy for someone, we feel the difference it naturally makes in our lives to love God and neighbor. We are created with this need, not just to be loved, but to love.(2)

We realize the necessity to genuinely love, for it nourishes the soul.  When we love we feel like we are made whole, and we realize our purpose. 

When we feel hunger we know it is time to find food to eat.  Whether we feel happy, thankful, or even lonely, depressed, anxious, stressed, frustrated, or sad, we know it is time for us to seek out opportunities to give love to God and neighbor.(3)

For when we love, we open our hearts to God and Christ enters. He fills what is lacking and heals what is wounded.(4)  Christ will walk with us as we traverse life if we invite Him into our hearts in this way.  

If we are having a good day, our soul needs to love others. If we are having a bad day, our soul needs to love others.  We need to love in order for Christ to be with us.  

Let us unite ourselves with Christ our God by recognizing and acting on the necessity to love in order to live a full, healthy, and authentic life in Christ.

Resources:

1) Saint Porphyrios, Wounded by Love, pg 114. 

2) St Paul's Definition of Love in 1 Corinthians 13

3) Mark 12:30-31 "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

4) Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

“When we thank God for the blessings in life and the Saints, especially thanking Him for His Mother the Panagia, it is like celebrating our own liturgy before God, similar to the Divine Liturgy”

-Archimandrite Zacharias, The Engraving of Christ in Man’s Heart, Pg 293

Reflection:

When we give thanks and glory (doxology) to God, we offer a kind of ‘liturgy’ to Him.

Holy Communion is referred to also as the Eucharist, and we are reminded that the Saints sometimes refer to the Divine Liturgy as “Η Θεἰα Ευχαριστἰα” (Theia Eucharistia) The Divine ‘Thanksgiving’.  The common root word here referring to giving thanks.  

In the Divine Liturgy, God’s creation (Wheat, wine, water) we transform with our hands into bread, and offer it back to Him.  As we kneel during the consecration of the Gifts, we chant: “We hymn you, we bless You, We give thanks to You (σοὶ εὐχαριστοῦµεν Soi eucharistoumen - same root word), and we pray to you, our God.”  

God then blesses and sanctifies our offering through His Holy Spirit to transform it into His Body and Blood for our sanctification and union with Him, while remaining also bread, wine, and water.  

We have a similar opportunity to live liturgically each day, when we choose to give thanks. Our thoughts, words, and actions can be like small 'liturgies', taking what God gives us, transforming it to our best ability, and offering it back to Him so He may bless it further.

God gives us His creation: our skills, possessions, time, and opportunities, and we transform these things into something more(1) - offer it back to Him in gratitude - and then He blesses these things offering us even more beauty in life than we could ever imagine.   Human beings are liturgical by nature. Our daily lives take after the Divine Liturgy; we live the ‘liturgy after the Divine Liturgy’. When we make the effort to constantly multiply and transform our God-given abilities and possessions to their fullest potential, thanking God for them, to the glory of God and love of neighbor, we will see that He will bless our lives and those around us with His peace and joy.

Resources:

1) Parable of the Talents

“Having gratitude and giving thanks heals us from the passion of pride, and strengthens us against the temptation to despair.”

- Archimandrite Zacharias, The Engraving of Christ in Man’s Heart, Pg 29.

Reflection:

Do we want to unite ourselves to Christ daily? One way we can ensure that we live with Christ in our hearts is by giving thanks.  The foundation of authentic gratitude is humility. 

Christ dwells in the hearts of those who are humble. A person cannot truly give thanks if he/she is prideful.  Giving thanks acknowledges the assistance and value of the other person, that we did not do something on our own.  

When we give thanks, we acknowledge that the things we own, the talents we have, and the success we’ve attained in life are all gifts from God.  In actuality, we own none of it.(1)  We are caretakers of all the gifts given to us; we are called to utilize time, talent, and treasure to the fullest potential(2) in order to love God and neighbor.  

We are strengthened against despair and loneliness by giving thanks since in order to give thanks, we must first recognize all that we have. We recognize all that God has given us: the talents, the people in our lives, the successes we have, and the lessons we have learned. When we give thanks for all things, we are given peace and hope in our Lord.  

During this holiday season let us prepare ourselves for the Nativity of our Lord by giving thanks to God and neighbor each day, thereby inviting Christ into our hearts and He will fill our lives with His peace and hope. 

Let us strive to give others reasons to thank God, and opportunities to strengthen them in hope in their lives.

Resources: 1) 1 Corinthians 12

2) Parable of the Talents

“The Savior's most pure and immaculate temple, the very precious bridal chamber and Virgin, who is the sacred treasure of the glory of God, on this day is introduced into the House of the Lord, and with herself she brings the grace in the Divine Spirit. She is extolled by the Angels of God. A heavenly tabernacle is she.”(1)

- Kondakion of the Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple(2)

Reflection:

The Theotokos enters the temple to prepare herself to bear Christ our God within her. To become a living temple, the “heavenly tabernacle”. 

Saint Paul writes, “For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them.’”(3) Worship is offered not only from within a temple, but also from within each person. 

During this Nativity season, we are preparing ourselves to become more fitting temples of God. In addition to the Church, our body is a temple. Our heart is the altar from which we offer praise, prayer, and worship to God. 

Let us be diligent during this season of the Nativity Fast, and work on our inner self to clean up our hearts through prayer, reading of Scripture, Holy Confession, and strengthened dedication to Christ. 

Let us prepare our heart as a manger for Christ to reside on Christmas day - and every day thereafter. 

Resources:  1) The Liturgy Text for the Feast-Day Page 8.

2) The Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple

3) 2 Cor 6:16

 “At that time, as Jesus passed on, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him.” Matthew 9:9-10

Reflection: 

Saint Matthew(1) immediately left his work and followed Christ.  Would we drop everything if God called us? God asks us to follow Him, each and every day in different ways. 

We are called by Christ to lead our ministries and youth programs, to become priests, missionaries, and participate in the life of the Church. We are also called by Christ in the ways we respond to others in our everyday life.(2)

We respond like Saint Matthew when we immediately and joyfully put aside our plans in order to answer His call and offer help for our relative, friend, or even stranger in need. 

Others may try to discourage us, they may say that "we do too much" or we will "wear ourselves out", but even Christ was ridiculed for sitting with tax collectors and sinners.  When asked why do we offer our help so easily, that is an invitation to introduce Christ.  This is one way we show the light of Christ in the world. 

People are naturally transformed by witnessing selflessness. Let us imitate Saint Matthew and love Christ and one another by choosing Christ and immediately offering our assistance whenever there comes an opportunity.

Resources: 
1) Saint Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist
2) Matthew 25