The Romanian Metropolitan of the Americas said that the feast Annunciation reveals motherhood as the mystery of the fulfillment of the commandment to love our neighbor. The Metropolitan added that by venerating the Mother of God, we honor all Christian women.
“A Church Father says that in this mystery of the birth of the Son of God from the Virgin Mary, in this mystery of motherhood, we can truly understand what that commandment is to love our neighbor. How exactly? By the fact that the mother loves her child and can understand what it means to love the one next to her,” Metropolitan Nicolae noted in his sermon on March 25.
“The fact that the mother loves the child sets an example of what Christian love means. The Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, not only gave birth to the Baby Jesus but later raised Him as any child, and then she partook in His Passion, crucifixion, and Resurrection; through all this participation, the Virgin Mary, whom we call the Mother of God, embraces us all in her love, in her maternal love and offers us an example of love for children, but also for our neighbors.”
“The Virgin Mary who offered us the Savior is truly our mother to all because she understands maternal love, since she was a mother, and understands our filial suffering as one who experienced the Passion together with the Saviour,” Metropolitan Nicolae continued.
“That is why we call her the Mother of God, and that is why we entreat her so often in prayer.”
“On this day when we honor the Mother of God, we should honor all Christian mothers, all mothers who gave birth to their children and then took care to educate them in the Christian way,” the Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan of the Americas added.
“The child is brought into the world through the love of his or her parents, but then the child must receive the proper education to become a good Christian and a son or daughter of the Church. The responsibility of a mother is not only fulfilled by giving birth but also by educating her children. In the future, our educated children will also become parents, and if they receive a Christian education, they will pass it on.”
“If the faith is not passed on after us, if our grandchildren and great-grandchildren do not receive the Christian education, someday the Christian faith will stop,” the Metropolitan cautioned.
“Therefore, if we honor the Mother of God, we can honor all mothers who care for the education of their children. This education also refers to the example we set in our families because it is not enough for a child to come to see and hear in church about fasting and prayer and not see these things in his family.”
“I urge all of you to honor the Theotokos, pray to her, ask for her help, and take care of your children so that they do not go astray in this world.”
Metropolitan Nicolae’s sermon concluded with a congratulatory message to all mothers: “We congratulate all mothers. We can say that today is also Mother’s Day. We ask the Good Lord to bless you and give you the good thoughts to raise and educate your children.”
Source: basilica.ro
