By H.H. Pope Tawadros II
I congratulate you on the New Year and on the Feast of Nativity. May God grant a joyous year to all. And unto our God is due glory and honor now and forever. Amen. H.H. Pope Tawadros II | Pope Message Today For 2021 Feast Of Nativity [Official Papal Message in English]
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. One God. Amen.
I greet you, my beloved, on the New Year and The Glorious Feast of Nativity. I greet all the fathers the Metropolitans, the Bishops, the hegumens, and the Priests. And, the deacons, the archons (lay leaders0, and every household and every family. Also, the youth and all the young children. I greet all of you and wish for you a joyous year and a glorious feast.
According to the church tradition, we conclude the year with fasting and praises, and begin the new year with the birth of Christ. This new beginning is a beginning of happiness. So, we can say that the Nativity is a feast of entry of happiness into the world. The world, before the birth of Christ, was without happiness. There was daily worship and repeated sacrifice. And there was great longing from the righteous, but Paradise was closed.
Christ came in His birth and incarnation and the Word came and dwelt in us and we saw His glory. A new era began that we call the era of happiness. In truth, happiness is the life of the person and the happiness of the person. Man was created to be happy and joyous. Therefore, we find the word “Alleluia” repeated often in our church. To the extent that man himself can become joy and praise.
I would like to recount some instances of happiness in the story and the events of the nativity. Our mother St. Mary gave us the first witness when she met St. Elizabeth after the angel announced to her the good news. She traveled to the elderly Elizabeth who was pregnant, and the baby leaped in her womb, welcoming the mother of God, Virgin Saint Mary.
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my savior.” H.H. Pope Tawadros II recounts
St. Mary stood, praying this praise, which begin with her famous words “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my savior.” It was as if Saint Mary was offering us a witness of rejoicing in receiving salvation.
Our mother Saint Mary, who like all of humanity, needed the salvation of Jesus Christ on the cross. She announced very clearly that “my spirit rejoices in God my savior.” This happiness is the happiness of salvation that was offered for the sake of humanity.
We pray in the 6th hour of the Agpeya and say “We give thanks to You, for You have filled all with joy, O Savior, when You came to help the world. Lord, glory to You.” This is the first witness.
Whoever fulfills his responsibility is filled with joy and will succeed because of his honor and loyalty. H.H. Pope Tawadros II | 2021 Feast Of Nativity Message.
The second witness is found in Saint Joseph the carpenter. This elderly, dignified gentleman who was entrusted with the care of the Virgin Mary, the young girl and virgin. He took her under his care and became a guardian for the mystery of the divine incarnation. At the time God wanted him to be a trusted and loyal guardian and taught us the joy of responsibility.
When Saint Joseph is mentioned in the Bible, we see instances of obedience and of fulfilling the law with all joy. Whether in the annunciation of the angel to Saint Mary, or her giving birth in Bethlehem, or even in escaping to the land of Egypt and later returning to Palestine, this is the joy of responsibility.
Whoever fulfills his responsibility is filled with joy and will succeed because of his honor and loyalty.
“Glory to God in the highest; Peace on earth and good will toward men.” H.H. Pope Tawadros II | 2021 Feast Of Nativity Message.
The third witness is the witness of the angels. The heavenly angels rejoiced and offered us a lesson in joy. This is the joy of praise. The angels stood to proclaim and say, “Glory to God in the highest; Peace on earth and good will toward men.” This phrase summarizes and offers a picture of joy that fills man.
You cannot experience joy unless you Glorify God. You cannot experience joy unless you make peace with others. And you cannot experience joy unless you share it and offer it to everyone – “Good will toward men.”
This is the joy of praise and the joy of worship. This is, as I said before, how we end the year with the month of praising, the month of Kiahk, in which we praise and glorify Saint Mary and place her as the perfect ideal before us as the pride of humanity.
I congratulate you on the Feast of Nativity and send my greetings to all those in attendance, to all the fathers and brethren. I greet you from the land of Egypt, from the Coptic Orthodox Church. I know we are amid this spreading pandemic, but we have the hope that God will lift this pandemic from all the world. May this pandemic be a message of repentance to every one of us. May God always grant us purity of heart and in our lives and in our ways.
Again, I congratulate you on the New Year and on the Feast of Nativity. May God grant a joyous year to all. And unto our God is due glory and honor now and forever. Amen.
H.H. Pope Tawadros II | Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
[Pope Message For 2021 Feast Of Nativity in English – Pope Message For 2021 New Year in English]
Delivered to you by COPTICNN™ | Coptic News Network on 2021-01-07 from Cairo, Egypt
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