Giovanni Guaita
YouTube
"The Church Is God's Family": A Sermon for the Nativity of the Mother of God
3:49
What the video says
Filmed in St Petersburg in front of the Kazan Cathedral, the video features Fr Dmitry Sizonenko reflecting on the Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God. He offers three aspects of the feast: it as a feast of the family (the Church as God's family), the Mother of God as an image of the soul uniting with God, and the feast as a beginning of new hopes and renewal, like the start of the school year in September.
Key moments
- The feast is first considered a feast of the family: the Church is the family of God, and the Mother's birthday reminds believers they are a united family with a past, a beginning, and a common future.
- A second, more complex meaning: for generations of Christians the Mother of God has been an image of one's own soul — the feminine principle in human nature that unites with Divinity, as at the Annunciation God becomes an embryo in Mary's womb, just as God becomes part of the praying soul.
- The Nativity of the Mother of God is thus a symbol and metaphor for what happens to the soul of every person who unites with God.
- A third aspect: since September begins the new school year, the feast marks a beginning of new hopes, promises, and expectations — for the Church it is the beginning of a new humanity and a renewal each of us needs, an opportunity to rekindle joy and enthusiasm for something new.
- The host thanks Fr Dmitry, notes the building behind them is the Kazan Cathedral in St Petersburg (not St Peter's Basilica in Rome), and bids viewers farewell.
This post shares a sermon titled "The Church Is God's Family," delivered by Hieromonk John (Guaita) together with Priest Dimitry Sizonenko on September 21, 2024, for the Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God. Filmed in front of the Kazan Cathedral in St Petersburg, the talk reflects on the meaning of the feast in three movements. First, it is a feast of the family: the birth of the Mother of God reminds believers that the Church is the family of God, a community with a beginning, a shared past, and a common future. Second, and more profoundly, the Mother of God has long been an image of the human soul itself — the feminine principle in human nature that receives and unites with Divinity. Just as at the Annunciation God took flesh within Mary, so He becomes part of the soul that prays; the Nativity of the Mother of God thus becomes a metaphor for what happens in every person who unites with God. Third, since September marks the start of the school year, the feast signifies new beginnings: hopes, promises, and renewal — for the Church the beginning of a new humanity, and for each person a chance to rekindle joy and enthusiasm. The post includes the day's Gospel reading (Luke 10:38–42; 11:27–28), the story of Martha and Mary, in which Christ says: "Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it" — a fitting echo of the theme of receiving the word within oneself. Links are provided to the full text of the sermon in Russian, English, Italian, French, and Spanish, as well as to a video version and ways to support the channel.
Main points
- Sermon on the Nativity of the Mother of God by Hieromonk John (Guaita) and Priest Dimitry Sizonenko, filmed near the Kazan Cathedral in St Petersburg.
- The feast is a feast of the family: the Church is God's family, united with a beginning and a common future.
- The Mother of God is an image of the soul uniting with God, as God becomes part of the praying soul.
- Falling in September, the feast marks new hopes and renewal — the beginning of a new humanity.
- The post pairs the sermon with the Gospel reading on Martha and Mary and offers texts in five languages.