Author: ramez

19 Covid-19 Blessings

19 Covid-19 Blessings

By Fr Antonios Kaldas

Originally seen on Fr Antonios Kaldas blog site, 24 March 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has hit, and our lives have changed dramatically; possibly in some ways, permanently. The dark side of the pandemic no doubt fills your screens and devices for large chunks of the day, so here, I want to highlight the brighter side. “Every cloud has a silver lining” is a hackneyed cliché, yet no less true for that. And of course, the Christian lives according to the foundational principle that good is always ultimately stronger than evil. We find this principle all over the Bible—here is a small sample:

 Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy,
for though I have fallen, yet will I arise,
because even if I should sit in darkness,
the Lord will be a light to me (Micah 7:8).

And we know that all things work together
for good to those who love God (Romans 8:28).

Not that I speak in regard to need,
for I have learned in whatever state I am,
to be content:
I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound.
Everywhere and in all things I have learned
both to be full and to be hungry,
both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:11–13).

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

 What matters in life is not that bad things happen to us. What really matters is what we make of the things that happen to us, good or bad. It was bad that Christ was crucified, but He turned it into the most stunning act of self-sacrificial love by humbly accepting it and even praying for the ones who put Him to death, and then defeating death by His resurrection. Merely complaining about our troubles diminishes us as human beings and makes us passive victims. Accepting the situation and using it to transform ourselves for the better makes us victors, just like Christ.

So, in that spirit, here are 19 blessings we might derive from the curse of the Covid-19 pandemic.

  1. Practical Love.
    The suspension of many of your normal activities is actually an opportunity to show self-sacrificial love for the vulnerable, the weak, the sick, and the elderly in a very practical way. Do you have elderly neighbours? Please take every precaution around them, but see if they need anything. Share supplies with them, or at least share a smile and the knowledge that someone cares. Ring someone who is lonely and help them feel a little less alone. Who else around you could do with a little love?
  2. Learn to live again.
    The Roman politician and philosopher Seneca once wrote, “While we’re waiting to live, life passes us by”(Letters to Lucilius, I.1). Don’t wait to live anymore. Actually live, now, in the present. Go for walks in a park. Ride your bike around. Look at sunrises and sunsets. Work in the garden. Rediscover the beauty of nature.
  3. Reconnect.
    Especially with those at home. Lately, even if they’re in the same room, families are often in very different electronic worlds. Rediscover the comfort of conversation. Share ideas and experiences, hopes and fears. Feel again that you are not alone. And if you live alone, connect with others by phone or internet. Listen to their voices and see their facial expressions. When we look upon another’s face, we look upon the face of Christ.

  4. Exercise, cook, eat well.
    If you have more time on your hands, use some of it to look after the gift of the body that God gave you. Take the time to prepare a healthy meal instead of junk food. Share the cooking experience with the loving God who created the food you are preparing and gave you the senses with which to appreciate and enjoy it. You don’t need a gym to do push ups and sit ups. Who needs weights when you can lift your pet dog (always obtain the dog’s permission first).
  5. Catch up.
    Instead of sitting around binge-watching, get up and look around the house. Get all those jobs done that you’ve been putting off forever. The great desert fathers all understood the emotional, physical, and spiritual value of manual labour. Work up a sweat, and enjoy the satisfaction of achieving something, however small. And what about all those books you’ve been to get around to reading one day. That day has finally come!
  6. Learn something.
    Use this time to enrich your life and become a more interesting, well-rounded person. Take an online course in water painting or playing the guitar or quantum physics. Read some Plato. Carve a wren out of a bar of soap. Write a poem. Be creative. The world is an interesting place.
  7. See life differently.
    We pause our usual lives against the background of a potentially fatal disease. This is a time to appreciate how fleeting life is and all the things in it we normally think so permanent. Gain a more eternal perspective.
  8. Gratitude.
    The suspension of public liturgies and access to Holy Communion starkly makes you realise just what a huge blessing unrestricted access is. When we read of Churches being closed in centuries past it seems so far away, but now we know ourselves just what that feels like. And if you happen to still be alive and mostly healthy, appreciate just how fragile that gift of health is and thankful for it every moment. Having personally once experienced two weeks of unremitting agonising pain from a kidney stone and its consequences, I can never again do something as simple as go to the bathroom without profound gratitude. Every day, God showers a thousand times more good things upon us than the few bad things He allows, but you often don’t appreciate what you have until you lose it.
  9. A More Sacramental Life.
    Being deprived of liturgy is forcing us all to understand the nature of the sacraments—and the Eucharist in particular—much better. In brief, the Eucharistic Liturgy doesn’t finish when the priest says, “Go in peace…” In fact, he adds, “The Lord be with you.” There’s a reason. You’re not leaving the building alone—you are carrying Christ out into the world. You are now the Body of Christ—His hands and His lips, doing His work and speaking His words. No suspension of prayers at Church stops us from continuing this very important part of the liturgy.
  10. Quiet Time.
    Remember how often you thought, I wish I had more time to pray and read my Bible? Guess what … Now you have time to really I mean, real focus and relationship without distraction, without hurry. Savour the presence of God.
  11. (Re)Discover Your Bible.
    As the man Jesus is the Word of God in human flesh, the Bible is the Word of God in human language. Nothing can stop you from opening your heart and becoming one with Him through this written Word. And if you find it hard to benefit from reading, dig out (or purchase) that cool book you heard about that will help you engage with your Bible more fully (my suggestion: “Scripture in Tradition” by John Breck).
  12. Reflection and re-evaluation of our direction in life.
    Do I have to do all the things I’ve been doing / own all the things I own / go to all the places I go to / say all the words I say? What really matters?

  13. Serenity.
    We all needed desperately to slow down. Now you have to. Make the most of it. Spend some time in the garden looking at the flowers and the little birdies. Warm yourself in the sunlight. Lie on your back at night and watch the stars twinkle at you across the vastness of empty space. Remember that you are part of big, beautiful universe suffused with the love of its Creator. Oh, and make sure you leave your smart phone behind when you do this.
  14. Being and Doing.
    While all these activities are useful, we all need some time where we stop doing stuff. Learn the value of being rather than always being invested in doing. Spend some time simply being part of the beautiful natural world all around us, or better still, simply being in the presence of the God in whom “we live and move and have our being”. As the St John Saba said, “Silence the lips that the heart may speak. Silence the heart that the Spirit may speak”.
  15. The world is recovering.
    Studies are showing that pollution has fallen dramatically across the world (maybe we should always live like this?) People have been forced to realise that we can all live quite happily with less. Governments have miraculously found huge amounts of money to make people’s lives better. Now isn’t that interesting…
  16. Unity.
    So many trends across the world recently have tended to divide people from each other and turn them into enemies to some degree. Now, even the most selfish of people is making sacrifices to save others (and themselves of course). Disease does not recognise national borders, nor does it discriminate according to race. We are slowly realising that we are all in this together, that whatever hurts one of us hurts us all, and that we need each other.
  17. Bringing out the good in people.
    Sure, there have been some awful cases of selfish behaviour, but there has also been some startlingly noble behaviour too. It is said that a crisis does not mould your character, it reveals it. But I think that our choices now do also mould that character which has been revealed. We are all works in progress. Now is the time to seek what is best and most noble in you and nurture and express it, and consciously make it your character.
  18. Truth matters again.
    A kind of unreality was growing among us in recent years. Fewer and fewer people cared about reality, preferring instead to live in their own little bubble world of convenience. But now reality is biting, and biting hard. You cannot dismiss this pandemic as a conspiracy or a beat up. You cannot invent reasons why you don’t have to follow the rules that are keeping people safe. This is a crash course in the dire consequences of not seeking truth.
  19. Humour.
    Difficult times often bring out the creativity and humour in people that was buried under humdrum responsibilities and busyness. Humour reminds us that God created us to be happy, and creates bonds between us as human beings. My final plea from the heart: please laugh at your dad’s dad jokes. It’s in the 10 Commandments. Look it up.

No doubt, there are many other blessings to be found, if we care to look for them. This horrible pandemic has the potential to churn out many blessings. And to a large extent, that is going to depend on how each one of us deals with it.

Original blog available at- http://www.frantonios.org.au/2020/03/24/19-covid-19-blessings/#more-913

Repentance and Confession

Repentance and Confession

Prayer

O’ Holy Father, who awaits the return of sinners, You promised that You are always ready to accept a repent heart. Look now upon my humble and miserable soul that was lost in the valleys of disobedience. I have tasted the bitterness of misery for too long when I strayed from You.

Now I come back to You to be purified, accept and do not reject me, for when You look at me with mercy and compassion, I will be cleansed and saved. If you turn away, I shall perish. Grant me O Lord, Your blessing to strengthen my will to come closer to You in faith and hope, to confess my sins and detest returning to them.

May Your Holy Spirit remind me not to stray. May You enlighten my heart so I can see the graveness of my sins and negligence and have the will to obey Your commandments and live for the Glory of Your Holy Name. Amen.

Repentance and Confession

Repentance and Confession

Quote

“Is our repentance driven from fear, Or out of sadness that we broke the heart of One who love us?”

Bishop Kallistos Ware

“Are you sad because you sinned, or because you saddened God’s heart? Is all you think about how to be rid of the punishment of sin, or do you desire to restore the love and relationship between you and God?”

Pope Shenouda III

Repentance and Confession

Repentance and Confessions readings

New Testament Passage

1 John 1:5-10

“This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

Discussion Questions

  1. The Lord is faithful in his promises. He wants to bless us and is waiting for us to come to Him so he may purify and bless us. How can we then show him that we are willing to be purified?
  2. When we go to our father of Confession. Do we go because we truly want purification or is it because we think we are obliged to as Orthodox Christians?
  3. How often do we prepare for confession, making sure all our sins are poured our before our father of Confession and our Father in Heaven?  

Old Testament Passage

Joel 2:12-27

““Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him— A grain offering and a drink offering For the LORD your God? Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room. Let the priests, who minister to the LORD, Weep between the porch and the altar; Let them say, “Spare Your people, O LORD, And do not give Your heritage to reproach, That the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ ” Then the LORD will be zealous for His land, And pity His people. The LORD will answer and say to His people, “Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations. “But I will remove far from you the northern army, And will drive him away into a barren and desolate land, With his face toward the eastern sea And his back toward the western sea; His stench will come up, And his foul odor will rise, Because he has done monstrous things.” Fear not, O land; Be glad and rejoice, For the LORD has done marvelous things! Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field; For the open pastures are springing up, And the tree bears its fruit; The fig tree and the vine yield their strength. Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the LORD your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you— The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month. The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame. Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the LORD your God And there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame.”

Discussion Questions

  1. Should my repentance mainly be an outward or an inward endeavour? Is it primarily, a matter of changing ones actions or of quiet reflection and prayer with the Lord?
  2. Joel tells us to “rend our heart” first, thus do we repent with our hearts before our actions? How can I make the repentance of my heart the first step, allowing it to be a platform for a more outward repentance?
  3. Is it wrong to do the outward actions (fasting, prostrations, and even confession) if I don’t feel that my heart truly desires to repent?

Carrying the Cross

Carrying the Cross

adapted from a sermon by Fr Mark Basily

The feast of the Cross is an ancient feast that the church has held for seventeen years.

After Emperor Constantine accepted the Christian faith in the 4th century, his mum, Queen Helena, wanted to protect the Holy sites in Jerusalem. Her method of protecting the Holy sites was to build churches over them.

She went to Jerusalem and identified the place of Christ’s crucifixion and His burial and she built a Cathedral over these holy lands. She invited the Patriarchs of the churches to consecrate the church of the Holy Sepulchre (the church of the Resurrection) and they brought the Cross of Christ.

Amongst them was St Athanasius of Alexandria. This celebrate began of the consecration of the church and the laying of the Cross of Christ was in this church. This marked the feast date of the Cross.

The Cross was once a symbol of torture and the means of execution of the worst criminals in the Roman empire, now it has been adopted as the identity of Christians.

When people see the cassock of Orthodox priests, it can appear off-putting – a very Arab garment. It is only on closer inspection and when the Cross becomes visible, that people are comforted.

As I was walking in the shopping centre, there was a lady coming toward me that appeared afraid but as soon as she saw the Cross, she was reassured. Another lady came and sat next to me and said, “you know I wasn’t going to sit next to you.”

I asked why and she replied, “Only when I saw the Cross did I feel safe enough to sit next to you.”

What is it about the Cross that makes people feel safe and comfortable?

An interaction between Christ and His disciples begins when He asks them the question- “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” (Matthew 16:13).

Who do people say that I am? What do others think of me?

The disciples respond with a range of names including John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.  

Christ pushes them asking, “But who do you say that I am?”

Peter responds, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Christ being impressed with this answer says, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

The Catholic and Orthodox churches interpret this response very differently. The Catholic church read that Christ was building the church on Peter; on the person, Peter. Thus, the successor of Peter will always be the head of the church.

The Orthodox church believes that it wasn’t the person of Peter that Christ built the church on but the faith within him. The church is built on the proclamation of faith given by Peter. Faith in Christ, as the Son of the living God, that is the cornerstone of the church.

If you go down a little bit further and the dialogue continues, Christ declares to the disciples that He must suffer and be killed and finally raised. Peter responds, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” A natural response to the upcoming ill-events of a loved one.

Christ responds, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

This is a sharp contract to the praise He gave him just before, calling him the rock on which His church shall be built. Within minutes, He refers to him as Satan.

How did we go from the rock of faith to Satan? The reason we have this shocking response was because Peter did not understand the Cross. Christ was telling them about the Cross to come. Peter could not fathom the Cross and so was, rebuked as Satan. The faith he uttered without understanding or living the Cross was meaningless.

The Cross was central to Christ’s mission, ministry, life and expression of love to the world, and if this cannot be understood, then faith is nothing. Everything was about the Cross.

“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24). The Cross was not only a part of Christ’s life and ministry, but a requirement for Peter and the disciples understanding. Furthermore, it serves as a constant reminder for us to carry our Cross with Christ. Without the Cross, there is no Christianity, there is no life. This is what makes a Christian- the Cross. Living a life of carrying our Cross with Christ.

Part of our calling as Christians is to carry the Cross, happily, joyfully, faithfully, with Christ. Not only do we carry our Cross but we help others carry their Crosses. The Cross becomes a model of sacrifice, selflessness and love that we bestow upon those around us.

Who is my neighbor?

St Luke’s transcribed sermon by Fr Daniel Fanous

The gospel today is a well-known gospel that ends with a passage. A passage where a lawyer comes to question our Lord. He comes to the Lord standing up- all details we should pay attention to- and asking, “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

So, our Lord sensing and knowing that the lawyer has come to deceive Him doesn’t answer but instead asks the lawyer a question;

“What is your reading of the law?

The lawyer responds saying ‘You shall love God with all your mind and all your strength, and you should love your neighbour as yourself’. These two that he mentions are known as the 2 tables of the law; the vertical table and horizontal able. The vertical being the love of God and the horizontal being the love for neighbours. So, Christ hearing this says, “do this and you shall live”. A direct response to his question, but it continues further, and we miss what immediately follows this. The lawyer then asks another question wanting to justify himself; “who is my neighbour?”

In 1st century Palestine, as it is in the middle east today, a teacher would actually sit while the students would stand, opposite to what we have now. So, the lawyer is standing is faking humility, pretending to be a student ready to listen when in fact he isn’t.

So, who is this neighbour he asks? As a response, Christ gives the story of the Good Samaritan.

The beaten man in the story is assumed to be a Jew because he is travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho. And as he is being beaten, he is left beaten and stripped and a priest passes him by. Most priests at the time would have lived in Jericho, so he would have gone to Jerusalem to pray and go back home. Due to the number of priests, the priests most likely prayed once or twice in the holy of holies throughout their lifetime. So, the priest passes by, most likely not even walking because due to the priests being quite wealthy at the time. Christ is very specific in saying that “when the priest had seen the man, he passed by the other side.” There was no ignorance, he saw him and then chose to walk on the other side; he saw a man that was beaten, disfigured and stripped. So, looking at him all he knew is that he wasn’t a Jew; he could have been a pagan, Samaritan, Greek, he could have been anything. The priest couldn’t distinguish whether he was a Jew because he was stripped, and blood covered the majority of the man. The priest also couldn’t tell if he was dead or not. Back in those days if someone was dead and you touch them, especially a priest, they would become defiled. Consequently, there would be a 1-week ceremony to cleanse them. During that week there were a lot of restrictions on what he could and couldn’t do. To the priest, all of this was not worth the risk, so the priest walked past, considering the man not to be his neighbour.

Next up was a Levite, who were generally known to be assistants to the priests. The Levite replicating the actions of the priest.

And then Christ continues;

“But a certain Samaritan as he journeyed came where he was and when he saw him (notice the words that he used, they’re very specific, translating to ‘he had compassion’), so he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on them oil and wine. And he set him on his own animal, brought him to the inn and took care of him. On the next day when he departed, he took out 2 denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said to him, ‘take care of him, and whatever more you spend on him when I come again I will repay you.’”

The Samaritans were a very unique sort of people. In the old testament, the Assyrian kingdom conquered the northern tribes of Israel, the 10 northern tribes. What they did was very interesting. Their system to break a culture was with the aim to prevent any revolt from happening later on so they would deport Israelites all around and would also bring people from all around the world to settle them in Israel. So, they couldn’t band together for a revolution. There was a hybrid of people living there together in the northern part of Israel. God because their practices and evil it is said in scripture that he sent lions there to kill them. So, they thought that the gods must be against us, and banded together to make a new temple. They formed a new hybrid religion; a mix of Judaism and a mix of Assyrian religion. And so, the people of Israel hated the Samaritans as they are a mixed-race and as far as the Israelites are concerned, they defile the temple.

This means that when Christ mentions a Samaritan everyone would have been shocked and confused. It is the Samaritan that saw the man and had compassion. The priest, Levite and Samaritan all saw the same man, they all had eyes. The Samaritan would have also been unsure if the dying man was his neighbour, and in fact, it is more likely that the man was a Jew, his enemy. Meanwhile, the others would have been more convinced it was their kinsman. And yet the Samaritan saw him, he had compassion upon him. The Samaritan was moved deeply within to help, this isn’t someone who has decided for the first time in his life to do a good deed. But rather this is somebody who has a spirit of goodness, that chooses to give himself to people because he sees himself as their neighbour. He was moved deeply within for someone who may or may not has been his neighbour. Everyone expects Christ to say that a priest passed him by, then a Levite and after that a certain Jew or farmer comes and helps and maybe that the person that was dying on the ground was a Samaritan who would have been their enemy. So, they expected this to be a parable about how good some Jews can be, and yet Christ does the exact opposite. He’s beautifully subversive. Instead of that, He talks about one of their enemies having mercy on them.

A Samaritan helped a man who was passed by a Priest Levite who both were so concerned about who their neighbour is. Just as the lawyer was asking who is my neighbour?

The Samaritan then uses all that he has to help the man;

  • He uses his bandages, wine and oil for the wounds
  • Puts the man on his own animal
  • Risks his life by going into a Jewish town

Imagine the look of a Samaritan walking into a Jewish town with a near-dead Jewish man on his donkey. There was a cost to loving his neighbour.

So, Christ then asks;

“So, which of these three was neighbour to the one who fell among the thieves?”

The lawyer replied, “He who showed mercy on him”, he couldn’t even say the Samaritan. Notice how Christ worded it from the perspective of the hurt man saying, “who was a neighbour to him.” And so, the question isn’t who is my neighbour but who am I a neighbour to?

Christ defines the neighbour is one who has mercy. In fact, it is Christ who is our neighbour, the one who loves and has mercy on us. In Patristic thought, they always understand that it is Christ Himself who is the Samaritan in this case.  He is the one who sees us all, no matter where I’m from or who I am, He sees us. He moves deeply within, He binds our wounds, He heals us with the wine and oil that is his, and then He carries us who are beaten on His own animal. As Origen says;

“Christ carries us to Church, that Inn is the church. And he promises to the Innkeeper that He will return and care for us again.”

Christ showed us that he was the man’s neighbour not that the man was His neighbour. It is possible for us to imitate Christ and care for those who are among thieves. Only if we are like Christ and serve all and become a neighbour to all, only then will we hear the words of Christ;

“Do this and you shall inherit eternal life.”

To conclude, St Anthony once said, “Our life and our death is with our neighbour.” How you treat the person next to you is either your life or your death.

Glory be to God forevermore, Amen.

The Transformational Power of the Lives of the Saints

By Bishoy Sharobim

Originally seen on Fr Anthony Messeh’s blog (2 Nov. 2018)

pope cyril.jpg

This is a guest post from Bishoy Sharobim, from the Coptic Orthodox church of St. Mary and St. Mina in Sydney, Australia. In today’s post, Bishoy discusses a spiritual practice that has long been part of our Orthodox heritage, but unfortunately has become less appealing to our modern world. You can find more of Bishoy’s work on his Facebook page, The Art of Orthodoxy. If you too are interested in guest posting on my blog, please visit my Guest Post guidelines for more info.

When I say “the lives of the saints”, I’m not talking only about the church’s synaxarium, which is filled primarily with accounts in the first millennium. I’m talking about accounts of saints’ lives that are high quality translations written in excellent English and that are about modern-day saints who reposed in the last few decades. Such examples of recent saints and holy souls are Fr. Faltaous El Sorianni (-2010), Fr. Fanous El Anba Paul (-2012), Pope Shenouda III (-2012) and many more others.

Why is reading the lives of the saints important or I’d even say extremely beneficial for our salvation? Pope Kyrillos VI – a recently canonized saint in the church – once wrote: “Whoever reads the books of the saints, seeking to know the way of righteousness, the way of righteousness will be opened to them.”

To properly understand this concept, I present to you a testimony of a wonderful experience a self-admitted lukewarm youth in America had upon reading the 1st book of the highly saintly nun Tamav Erini who reposed in 2006.  

She writes…

“My life has totally changed after having read the valuable life story of Tamav Erene. Before hand, I was only interested in whatever was worldly. However, from the moment I read this book, Tamav’s life touched mine. I cried bitterly and told her, ‘Please be my mother and attract me to heaven and to whatever is holy.’ When I came to Egypt, I decided to come to the convent and to visit Tamav’s shrine to ask her to help me change my life and to come closer to God.

Truly, my life has changed in such a way that surprised me personally. I started to pray and fast, so I felt a power that helped me to achieve what seemed difficult. I asked God with the prayer of Tamav Erene to help me give up all my bad habits. I started with songs which I was crazy about and many of which I knew by heart. While I was in Tamav’s shrine, I told her, ‘Please divert my attention from these things.’

Indeed overnight, and with God’s help, I started to listen to the holy Mass and religious hymns instead. I also used to enjoy gossiping and judging people. I asked Tamav to handle this habit so that I would renounce it totally. I did. Moreover, one of my acquaintances was really upsetting me. I was so angry that I imagined that I would never be able to talk to her again. However, I found myself calling her and telling her that I would be visiting her at her home. I did, and the whole issue was resolved.

Today, 11/8/2007, I came to ask Tamav to help me for the salvation of my soul. I have to admit that I feel her support every step of the way to my repentance. Now joy fills my heart and my whole being and the light of God and His saints has become the torch that guides my life.”  (Taken from “Tamav Irene: book 2”)

Indeed I repeat the words of our holy and saintly patriarch, “Whoever reads the books of the saints, seeking to know the way of righteousness, the way of righteousness will be opened to them.” But off course we must read such works with tremendous discretion, wisdom and common sense, growing with the utmost gradualness and struggling according to our current spiritual levels and our current life circumstances.

What impact might reading the lives of the saints have on spiritual life? Maybe it’s worth a shot to find out…

(c) Fr Anthony Messeh (2018). The Transformational Power of the Lives of the Saints by Bishoy Sharobim. Available at http://www.franthony.com/blog/the-transformational-power-of-the-lives-of-the-saints

The Key to Confidence

The Key to Confidence

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Yacoub Magdy

Sometimes your requests will never be rejected from our Lord. Our struggle often comes from a lack of confidence in the Lord.

We can ask for the Lord’s help but we are still unsure of ourselves. This effects our performance and belief in our own abilities. We need to find the recipe for confidence to sustain us. Our confidence is in the Lord, the Provider of all good things.

Can you out-give God? Can you give God more than He gives you? The answer is a firm, “no.” Otherwise, how could He be God?

We could never give God more than He gives us, this is a rule that has remained steadfast for centuries. It is impossible. If you give God more, then He will give you much more. Some people give their entire lives to the Lord, then their reward is in eternity. It is impossible for the Lord to deny the reward of the one who gives.

This is our first rule in the recipe of confidence- we can never give more than God.

What can I  give in return? If I live in sin, I have bad habits, my life is a total mess. I have nothing to offer the Lord, and so, I assume that the Lord cannot give me anything. This brings us to rule number two. Time is a commodity created on earth, but eternity is timeless. Our Lord is not bound to the constraints of time. The present, past and future are the same. This is strange to grasp as humans as we see life as sequential, everything in order, in due time.

God created time for a reason, but He is not bound to time. Even if we haven’t given Him anything in the past, I can give in the future. This is called a vow – to borrow from the future. My past is not good, but my future can be.

We can gain confidence by making vows to the Lord. It might be good to write our vows down so that we do not forget what we have promised to the Lord. Vows are serious, as the Bible says – “Better not to vow than to vow and not pay” – Ecclesiastes 5:5.

We must be careful, but if we can fulfil, we should vow. The Bible encourages us to fulfil our vows;

When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you

Deuteronomy 23:21-22

In vows, the Lord glorifies us and we will give thanks to Him. We can give God vows in service, vows in prayer, vows in any way that may glorify the Lord. Whatever we like from the Lord, we can make vows, and He is faithful to repay.

We must be cautious not to vow more than what we can fulfil. Consult your father of confession to ensure these vows are realistic. Some get afraid that they cannot fulfil their vows. The key is in our hands. If your vows are strong and reasonable and you fulfil them, you will never be disappointed. How the Lord works, we never really know.

Success is not a figure, but a relationship with God that guarantees glory in every aspect of your life.

The elderly are not tempted like the young. They are not faced with the same temptations. As St John writes,

I have written to you, young men, Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, And you have overcome the wicked one

1 John 2:14

Some vows we can consider when we are young –

  • Short and honest confessions. In confession, many people are honest and to the point. Others speak, tell stories, make jokes. These will generally leave feeling like they do not benefit from confession. Of course they did not benefit, for they didn’t confess. You didn’t embarrass yourself, you did not break your heart.
  • Money is another; with any skill we have, we can use this to help others and the profits to give the poor.
  • Pray for one another, use your time in prayer to pray for others.

We have a key to the power of God. He is very real, and encourages making and fulfilling vows. They are Biblical. The risk is that you make a vow and cannot fulfil it. We must always pray for one another, in unity. If you are not affected personally but see others around you struggling, share with them in prayer.

Our confidence is derived from using all our talents for the glory of God. No matter the career, we remain servants of the Lord for eternity.

If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

John 12:26

Have you not always practiced love?

by Francella Brown

Originally seen at Phoebe Farag’s Mikhail blog, Being in Community

To my friends. My sweet friends.

Dry your eyes. Lift your chin. Fix your face. Shake your guilt.

Thank you for thinking about me and asking if I’m ok.

But why the guilt in your voice? Haven’t you always loved me? Haven’t you always supported me? Haven’t you always fed me? Haven’t you always treated me with respect? Haven’t you always called me your sister and loved me as such? Who convinced you that this isnt true?

Not God. Not me.

Sweet friends. Dry your eyes. Lift your chin. Fix your face. Shake your guilt.

Who lied to you and told you that you were the problem? Who’s bullying you into posting hashtags and shouting slogans? Who’s trying to make you repent of sins you’ve never committed?

Not God. Not me.

Sweet friends. Dry your eyes. Lift your chin. Fix your face. Shake your guilt.

Who’s guilt tripping you into making public declarations of where your loyalties lie, as if your life isn’t declaration enough? Who’s convincing you that you’re someone you’re not?

Have you not always practiced love? Have you not always set the standard? Have you not always been you? Who dares to dispute that?

Not God. Not me.

Sweet friends. We wouldn’t be friends if these things weren’t true.

And there wouldn’t be a single problem in the world if everyone was like you.

So when you call me and ask me, ‘What should I do?’

The answer is simple: Keep being you.

Dear friends,
I’m ok.
Are you ok, too?

(c) Pheobe Farag Mikhail (June 26, 2020) – Being in Community. Have you not always practiced love by Francella Brown. Original blog – https://beingincommunity.com/have-you-not-always-practiced-love/