Pastors are incredibly busy people, especially during this Christmas season.  Still, Fr. Ivan always finds time to be with his students at the Assumption Catholic school. Today, he  took lower grades students and their teachers  to the church and explained the story of Christ’s birth by observing the icon of Nativity. The students had a wonderful opportunity to learn more about main characters in the icon: Mary (the Theotokos), baby Christ, Joseph, the angels, the shepherds, the Magi. He pointed to the scene of Christ’s bath and explained why it is important (it shows that Christ was a real baby). He  explained why Joseph is sitting away from the Theotokos and Child (he was not Christ’s father). He also identified the devil in the icon and explained that devil  is tempting Joseph not to believe in the Incarnation of God. All students learned that through his birth, Christ has healed a wounded humanity and restored our harmony and friendship with God.