-Elder, give me a wish for Christmas.
– I wish that Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary will keep you close to them like the little lamb by the manger. I think is having a good time, as are the other little animals, the ox and the donkey, who warm Christ in the manger. “I have seen the beast and the manger of the Lord,” says the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 1:3). That is, the little ox knew the Master and the little donkey the manger of the Lord. They knew what was in the manger and with their breath, they warmed it! They understood their Creator! But the donkey, what an honor to take Christ to Egypt! The princes had chariots of gold, and what Christ used! How good to be that donkey!
Christmas wish of St. Paisios the Hagiorite
Translated by Dr. Nick Stergiou
