During the three days of Christmas, the Most Rev. Bishop Ioan Casian was present among the faithful of St. George's Cathedral in Saint-Hubert, Quebec. In the three days they chatted with the hierarch of Canada Fr Daniel Sandu, Fr Constantin Lupașcu, Protos. Nectarie and the deacon Cătălin Gheorghiu.

“After failing to be obedient to God, man turns his powers, and especially those of knowledge, to the saeculum, to the outer and material things. Since that moment the whole life of man becomes a struggle to regain the authentic knowledge of God, of his own person and of the reality surrounding him, but which always escapes him. The whole tradition of the Old and New Testaments stands as a testimony.”

In continuation the hierarch showed why the incarnation of the Son of God was needed in order to fulfill the divine plan of redemption for man:

“God seeks to offer more gifts through the incarnation of His Son in order to remedy the corruption of man touched by sin: (1) the elimination of evil that had been established in human nature, and had become man’s second nature and from which he could not liberate himself by his own forces; (2) the restoration in man of the image of God that constitutes the backbone of his original identity as a creature of God; (3) He who, in the beginning (at the first creation), brought into the existence the world and man, was the only One who could restore the true life in this, the second creation. He who had risen from the dead on the third day was the only One who could do this from within the human nature; (4) He who had planted the reasons of all things, including man and, therefore, the premises of authentic knowledge of God, of the human self and of the world, He, the Son of God, was the only one who was able to reveal them to man in their authenticity and completeness.”

Further explaining the gesture of the magi who came to bring Jesus gifts of gold, incense and myrrh, the hierach explained the symbolic - spiritual and transfigurative significance of the these gifts:

“St. Gregory tells us that the three gifts - gold, incense and myrrh – are the expressions of generosity but, at the same time, they mean much more; they represent the new reality of a profound transformation that’s taking place in the restored and renewed man after the experience of meeting the Lord and after experiencing His providence and guidance toward this encounter with Him. According to St. Gregory, man is restored to the fullness of his powers in this encounter with God. The first restored power, signified by gold, is the wisdom that begins to perceive God and His work in everything as He is. Man regains the natural rationality which the Creator had placed in him and in everything at the time of creation. The second restored power, signified by the incense, is that of prayer that gives man his wings. Man knows God through prayer. Prayer lifts the man up and sets him on the path of ascent to the source of life. And finally, the third restored power, signified by the myrrh, is represented by the deed, the ascetic effort of purification, of cleansing or subduing the passions that break the unitary harmony of the whole human being. This way, the human person offers itself to God in the fullness of its inner and outer powers. First, the human wisdom begins to be flooded by the uncreated light and by the grace of the Holy Spirit. On the altar of our hearts, through prayer, we offer to God our thoughts as an offering of sacrifice and purification so that we can receive the fullness of the divine life. And in the end, we advance towards acting, that is, the ascetic effort of fighting against one's selfishness through virtues, making through them room for God.”

On the third day, on the occasion of the celebration of St. Archdeacon Stephan the hierarch remembered the concrete characteristic of the Christian faith:

„St. Archdeacon Stephen was one of those who knew the activity of Christ the Savior closely. It is important to understand that the Christian faith is not based on a set of doctrines or teachings learned or created by the human mind. It is the result of the encounter with the Son of God Jesus Christ Himself. St. Apostles, the miraculous women and many others of the contemporaries knew Him through His teachings, through miracles, through suffering, death, burial, and through His resurrection. The Christian faith is a historical one. The word of God became Man for us, assumed our history, became body and part of the concreteness of our existence, not ceasing to remain God at the same time.”

Throughout the three days the faithful could sing the traditional carols announcing the Nativity of the Lord.