Archbishop Atanasie: Mother of God stands at the threshold between the two liturgical years

Archbishop Atanasie of Great Britain and Northern Ireland issued a message at the beginning of the new Church Year, emphasising that “at the threshold between two liturgical years, the Church places before us the same person: the Most Holy Mother of God”.

His Eminence noted that we are accustomed to measuring time by what begins and what ends.

“God, however, sees time differently. He does not count the years, but the fruit of grace in the human heart. Therefore, the beginning of the Church Year is marked not by an event dazzling in the eyes of the world, but by the birth of an immaculate child in the humble home of the Holy and Righteous Ancestors of God Joachim and Anna.”

“In the birth of the Most Holy Virgin, God quietly begins a new history — God quietly begins the renewal of creation. The eyes of the world see a child born to righteous parents in their old age; the eyes of faith glimpse the preparation of the living dwelling place of the Word,” the Archbishop of Great Britain and Northern Ireland added.

The hidden work of our Saviour Jesus Christ Archbishop Atanasie said that the entire history of salvation reveals a mysterious principle in the way God works: He…