Sermon on the Annunciation of the Most Holy Mother of God

The mystery accomplished on this present day brings to astonishment not only human minds but every lofty angelic mind as well. Even they are at a loss: how did God, without beginning, immeasurable, unapproachable, descend to the form of a servant and become man, without ceasing to be God and without in the least diminishing His divine glory? How could a Virgin contain within her most pure womb the unbearable fire of the Godhead and remain unharmed, and remain forever the Mother of God incarnate? So great, so wondrous, so filled with divine wisdom is this mystery of the annunciation to the Most Holy Virgin by the Archangel, and of the incarnation of the Son of God from her! Rejoice, all born of earth—rejoice especially, faithful Christian souls—but rejoice with trembling before the greatness of the mystery, as those clothed in the defilement of sin; rejoice, but without delay, through sincere, living, deep repentance, cleanse yourselves by the grace of God from the defilement of sin. Magnify with pure hearts and lips the Mother of God, magnified and exalted above every creature, angels and men alike, magnified by God Himself, the Creator of every creature, and remember that the mystery of the incarnation and the becoming man of the Son of God was accomplished for our salvation from sin, from the curse justly pronounced upon us in the beginning by God for our sins, and from death both temporal and eternal. With fear and with joy receive the Lord who comes to us to establish upon the earth, in our hearts and souls, the kingdom of heaven, a kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom 4:17)—and come to hate God-hated sin, malice, impurity, intemperance, pride, hardness of heart, mercilessness, self-love, indulgence of the flesh, every kind of unrighteousness. Christ came down to earth for this very reason, that He might lead us up to heaven1. And so let us, who have fastened ourselves to the earth through worldly attachments, lift up our heads and raise the eyes of our hearts on high, to heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ desires to lead us all. Lift up your hearts! Enough of our crawling in thoughts and hearts along the ground, like worms. True, we are worthless worms because of our sins, though our souls were created in the image of God—an image we have disfigured by our sins, and which we must without fail restore through true repentance while we still live; it is necessary that this image of God shine within us like the sun, as it did in the beginning, when Adam and Eve had only just been created. For this life was given to us; for this its course still continues; for this we have been numbered among the Church of God and take part in her services, her Mysteries, and her fasts. See how the image of the Ever-Virgin Mother of God shines! With what wondrous virtues and perfections! And yet she too is a human being… What raised her to such incomparable height, made her so glorious and great, higher than the Cherubim and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim? Three greatest virtues: humility, purity, and a burning love for God, a stranger to every earthly, material love. She herself confesses that the Lord has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden (Lk 1:48). Love, then, and plant deeply in your heart, you also, O Christian, this God-pleasing humility; strive with all the labor of your whole life to acquire purity of heart—through fasting, prayer, contemplation of God, tears, and above all through frequent and worthy communion of Christ’s Holy Mysteries; love also, with your whole heart, God, your Creator and Savior, and prefer nothing in the world to His holy love; think always of Him and of His wondrous works; live by Him and breathe by Him; nourish your soul with Him; clothe yourself in Him; be cleansed, enlightened, sanctified, strengthened, and adorned by Him, boast in Him, find comfort in Him; overcome by Him the temptations and snares of enemies visible and invisible; whatever you do, do all with thought of Him and for His sake; wherever you are, be there with Him always, just as He is always with us, everywhere present and filling all things2. If in this way you love the Lord, then the Lord will be magnified in you as well, and the Lord will magnify you, as the holy Church says in His own voice: those who glorify Me I will glorify3. Hate sin, O Christian, humble it within yourself, root out every sin, and the Lord of glory will be magnified in you, and you will be great before God and men; love humility, and the Lord will lift you up. Amen.