"Christmas is for you to come out of yourself..."

Orthodox Mission in Africa

Christmas is for you to come out of yourself (i.e. to overcome yourself). Christmas means giving, and if you experience Christmas in such a way, then you experience the internal fulfillment; and this is achieved every time you move within the boundaries of offering for the sake of the other person. Christmas is just around the corner, so let us do not what is given for granted but rather what is an excess, that “little extra”, that what a bit different is. And this happens by experiencing this in a personal and secret manner.

Let us help in a secret manner someone that we found out he/she is alone this year, someone who is in the hospital, someone who is grieving over the death of another person. May this person become Christmas and our “happy new year” for us. May two leading meetings take place this Christmas: one meeting with the Christ Born in the Flesh through the common holy Cup, and another meeting with every “christ” that may be found next to us. This is the true, real Christmas, that may not have many lights but rather the “true light”!

Archimandrite Iakovos Kanakis

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