Dear brothers and sisters!
With joy of heart, I extend my greetings to you on the great and bright Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ!

The coming of God into the world was quiet and humble. Foretelling the appearance of the Saviour, the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah said: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined."

The Divine Christ-Child was born at the edge of the civilisation of that time, in a poor small cave for sheltering cattle from bad weather. For the world sleeping in the blackness of ignorance, the little God-Man called Jesus, Who had been born and put into a manger, remained as unrecognised and inconspicuous as the light of the wonderful Star of Bethlehem. Only few learned wise men as well as shepherds with clean hearts were able to see the greatest miracle in this light: God did not forget us, God came into the world so as to find and save us, deceived; God was incarnate and became one of us.

"Your Nativity, O Christ our God, has shone to the world the Light of Knowledge", sings the Church in these bright days, proclaiming the mystery of the Incarnation of God. This Light of Knowledge opens for man the true awareness of his purpose, of the sense of life, and of that eternal harmony which the Lord has established in the entire edifice of the world. A mind enlightened with the grace of God receives the gift of discerning good from evil, truth from lie, life from death.

How often we lack this Light of Knowledge!

Today, the world is likewise suffering from the blindness of godlessness. Where there is no God, the blackness of ignorance reigns, and mind becomes an obedient servant of dark forces. Moral boundaries are blurred there, and mankind loses a chance to find the only right path. Where there is no God, sin turns mind into a tool which serves not good and the truth but only decay — momentary passions, gain, and pride. As a result, in all times, those who struggle against Christ plunge the world into a state of chaos and put entire peoples on the brink of survival over and over again. The extremely difficult times which it has fallen to our lot to live in are no exception.

And still, believing hearts should not fall into despair or distress! It is the Nativity of Christ that revives in us hope for good changes, for the illumination of millions of people with the light of the Divine reason. It prompts us to lift our heads and remember that man has been made for the best and the highest — for love, for virtue, for creativity, for life in unity with God and one another, for eternity. The light of the Nativity shows us the only possible path leading to happiness and to peace in one's soul and in society, for the Source of all good and truth is the Lord Himself.

Dear friends!
I sincerely believe and know that we are not forgotten by God, that He is with us today just like two thousand years ago. That He knocks at the door of every heart and is ready to enter the life of each of us so as to correct everything and change it for the better, so as to illuminate us with the light of His grace.

On this joyful Feast, I sincerely wish that long-awaited peace may triumph on our long-suffering land. That it may become safe, cosy, and warm in our homes again; that the light of the Star of Bethlehem may illuminate our hearts and fill them with goodness and love. That all enmity, malice, and hatred may melt and vanish without a trace.

Christ is born! Glorify Him!