Today, the second day of the feast of the Nativity of Christ, we keep festival in honor of the Theotokos, the gate through whom the Divine and Eternal entered the world. The only way to encounter Jesus Christ is through her; the only Jesus Christ whom we know is the Son of Mary. Therefore, if we desire to approach the newborn God-infant, laid in a manger for our salvation, we would do well to ask her prayers, today and every day. Because she loves the Son whom she bore in her womb and cradled in her arms, she desires that we all know and love him; she wishes to bring us into his presence. Because he loves the Mother who rocked him to sleep and fed him with her milk, he honors those who honor her. Saint Paisios the Athonite said that he would pray to the Theotokos that she take his heart, divide it into four parts, give three to the Holy Trinity, and keep one for herself. Saint Parthenius of the Kiev Caves would continuously pray: “Jesus and Mary, you are my joy.”
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