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In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit! Amen!
My congratulations, dear brothers and sisters!
Today we have a great holiday; this is one of the feasts, dedicated to Our Most Holy Lady, Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple. Why do people celebrate this holiday as the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple?
Joachim and Anna were parents of Our Most Holy Lady. And they had no children for a long time. They were old (maybe, 60, 70, or even 90 years) and they did not have children. And Hebrew people thought at that time: if God did not bless birth of the souls in this family, this family was desecrated in the past and these souls were so bad, that God did not want to entrust to them not a single soul, that they did not spoil it. Do you understand? And that is why, when Joachim brought gifts to the temple (and he usually brought even two times more, than it was stated, not 10 percents, but 20 percents of his earnings), a priest did not accept his gift. Because such spirit went down during prayer on a priest, God made it so, that he did not accept those gifts from Joachim and said: "Do not bring gifts anymore and go away, because your gift is unpleasant to God. Anna and you live together and have no children; it is the sign that you are not accepted by God. Maybe, I do not know your secret sins, but I can see from your deeds - you do not have children".
Joachim got very angry. He was low-spirited and alarmed. And he went quite far, in the desert, and there began to pray, to repent, and in general he lost courage. He said that would eat nothing and die, if he was so sinful, if he did not have children. What should he live for? And his wife Anna got wise to it. She felt badly. And she went out in a garden to have a rest. And she saw a pigeon that took care of its birdlings and had a great desire to have a baby. And she began to pray to God in such a way: "God bless a child to me! If it is a boy - I will give him as a victim to You - he will be a priest. If it is a girl - I will give her in a victim to You, too - she will be brought up as a future Mother of the Savior". It was a tradition of Hebrew people that many could give the girls, already of three years old, to the synagogue; where they were taught to write, to read, to understand the Holy Scripture, to embroider, to understand the traditions of people, understand the essence of religion. They were prepared as future Mothers of the Savior for Hebrew people. Do you understand?
And when Anna did such sincere prayer, the Lord heard her. Lord brought her to this prayer. Lord, maybe, touched the heart of that priest that grew angry with Joachim and did not accept his gift. Do you understand? It happened for some reason. Everything happens for a reason. You will understand it, if you try to think a bit about these events. Because the anger of priest made Joachim to go to the desert, to keep a fast. Anna`s heart was in pain too, and she did eventually correct prayer to God.
And when she did this correct prayer (she promised, if a child is born: girl or boy, she will give him or her as a victim to God), then the Archangel Gabriel appeared to her - the God`s blessed messenger. He said to her: "Your prayer was heard, you will give birth to a girl that will be named Mary, she will be Mother of the Savior", - so he said to her.
It is clear that this was the appearance of God`s Angel. It is clear that she could tell this secret nobody, but sent quickly for a husband. He came, glad of such information, and they conceived a girl that was soon born, and gave her name Mary.
They rejoiced for the first year, the second one and the third - and then came the time to fulfill that was promised to God. And maybe, again an Angel appeared to Anna in a dream, to remind her, that it is necessary to keep the promise, and you should not forget, if you promised something to God. We do not know about it, but we know that she decided to keep the promise. And they called all the relatives. And relatives came, to take Mary to the temple. And this was a great event for the whole family, when someone gave the child to serve God. They dressed up small girls of 3-6 years in ribbons, gave them candles. And these babies went ahead, and the whole procession followed them. And Mary went too, dressed as a Lord`s bride. They brought her to the temple in that she had to be given, to study all the Divine wisdoms, because from her the Savior of Hebrew people had to be born. There were many steps near the temple, maybe 12 steps. And it was very difficult for such a small girl to rise. But, as they say in the Church, when parents let Mary go, she was caught up by Angels, and she simply flew these steps. Maybe, she just passed them, but she overcame these steps easily. And then a priest, taking her by a hand, led in a temple, in the holy of holies - they write so.
I do not know if it was so, but in the holy of holies could come only a priest once in a year. And they say in the Church, that he did it unconsciously, not understanding what he does. She has to be taken to the temple, and he led her in the holy of holies, the place for a priest. "And everybody was glad justly because of it", - in other words Angels were glad, understanding what has happened.
Maybe, it was so, maybe, - not. It does not matter. Whether he led her there, or not, or all these events were exaggerated, breaking the traditions of Hebrew people - it does not mean a thing. The thing is that parents gave her to serve the God. And she began to grow there, to learn what was necessary to know for her, to grow in spiritual delight, and Angels attended her there. There are also apocrypha about it with the evidences of priests.
Today there is such holiday - The Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple. This holiday is, maybe, not only for you to hear, about the preparation of Maria to the mission of future Mother of Rescuer. But, maybe, in order that all mothers and fathers think about the future of their children. Are you ready to give the children as a victim to God? Or let the devil take them, corrupt them, and then trample and take to hell. What are you ready to do for your children, or for your grandchildren, if could not do for children? Because we had such system in soviet times, now you can come freely, to pray. Nobody kill you, no security services arrest you and so one. Is it right?
Are you ready today to give your children to serve God? Are you ready to give them to the lessons of religion, to give boys to the church for them to become subdeacons? At the same time to give yourselves fully to God - "all life to Christ, to God will give, and devote". Are you ready to devote the life to God? Or you begin simply to pretend, to imitate the Christians? Will you be the same dead, Christ talked about? Will you sincerely serve to God and try to make up that was stolen from you by this system? And from you there were the stolen knowledge about life and knowledge about truth - how to inherit the eternal life. If you try to make up it step by step, then you will grow.
Then are you ready to begin to think about it, that to devote the life now to our Heavenly Father, who needs the servants here in Ukraine, for the truthful Church? That near you there were Angels, that you felt them, although they will be given not at once. They are gradually given to the person, according to one`s spiritual growth. In other words, are we ready, as the parents of Maria, Joachim and Anna, to give the most expensive things, that we have, and to give ourselves serve the God?
Today`s holiday gives us an example that we must be devoted to God. If we promise Him something - then we must serve Him. Because He loves us, He never breaks the promise. As he said to Abraham: "I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore" (Genesis XXII: 17). His offsping are really multipled, though he gave birth, ïîò³ì äðóã at first one son and the second one from Sarah. God wanted to take the second, favorite, son away, because He tested him. But nevertheless God multiplied his offspring as the stars of heaven. So we do not know, in whom really flows blood of Abraham, because it almost in each of us.
And today, dear brothers and sisters congratulate you on the holiday of Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple. Ask Mother of God: "Pray to God for us. Guard us with your saint protection. Help us also to educate our children, our grandchildren, as parents educated you, as educated you our Heavenly Father. Guard us, lead us, bless us and help us."
Glory to Jesus Christ!
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