Author: ramez

The Greatest Gift of All

Prayer

Lord, please set my heart aflame with love for You. Let not my heart desire anything before You. Please grant me purity of heart that I may see You, feast upon Your beautiful countenance, and grow in love for You each day.

Lord, who can ever comprehend the height of Your love? For You loved me and died for me, even though I hurt You and continue to sin against You.

I love You, Lord, for you first loved me. To even see Your back, like Moses, would be enough for my cup to run over with the tremendous love You have for Your creation. Even when I am overwhelmed with Your love, I know it is still but a glimpse, a shadow, of Your limitless love.

Lord please grant me a heart like Yours – a heart over-flowing with love for my neighbour, even those who hurt and persecute me. Remove any trace of hatred or pride dear Lord, but rather grant me sacrificial love that seeks the comfort of others before my own, a love that would lay down its life for the sake of its friends. Amen.

The Greatest Gift of All

Focus Quote

“The Lord wants us to love one another. Here is freedom: in love for God and neighbour. In this freedom, there is equality. In earthly orders, there may not be equality, but this is not important for the soul. Not everyone can be a king, not everyone a patriarch or a boss. But in any position, it is possible to love God and to please Him, and only this is important. And whoever loves God more on this earth will be in greater glory in His Kingdom.”

St Silouan the Athonite

Love

The Greatest Gift of All

New Testament Passage

1 Corinthians 13

1Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. 13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Discussion Questions

  1. Even the greatest sacrifices are worth nothing without love. It is not what we give, or how much we give, that matters, but rather the love that compels us to give what we can. How then, does that affect the way we give and receive?
  2. Love bears all things, regardless of how burdensome or grievous they may be. How does that affect our relationships and the way we interact with others?
  3. In what ways do we “show” people love rather than just saying, “I love you?”

Old Testament Passage

1 Samuel 18: 1-4

Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2 Saul took him that day and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore. 3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armour, even to his sword and his bow and his belt.

Discussion Questions

  1. “… having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” (John 13:1). How can we love God and our neighbours every day?
  2. According to Gary Chapman, there are five ways we express and experience love. These five languages of love include: words of affirmation, acts of service, receiving gifts, quality time and physical touch. Is it necessary to demonstrate all five languages of love?
  3. How important is it to understand our partners / friends preferred language(s)?

Ask In My Name

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Mark Basily

Passage John 16:23-33

“Ask in My Name” – a phrase repeated by Christ throughout this passage. This is a promise from our Lord – Christ is saying, “I promise if you ask the Father in My Name, you will receive.”

That’s a very bold promise. This is a huge commitment to make.

“Until now, you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” – John 16:24.

What does this actually mean? What are we allowed to ask for? Can I ask for materialistic things, a car, a phone? What is the Lord promising us today?

The four key words He says are, “Ask in My Name.” If we take each of those words individually, we understand His promise.

ASK

He wants us to ask! We shouldn’t assume that He knows what we want already. He knows what we need but He still wants us to ask for it. When we ask for it, we are admitting that we need Him. We ask and when we receive, we are thankful for we know it came from Him. If I don’t ask, I will never realise that He is the source. I will never truly realise that I need Him. The important step that He asks first, is to ask. This is not a burden, but a privilege. We are given the opportunity to ask of God.

I remember a time when one of our students was going through hardship and he came to me and asked me to speak with the Dean of his university to explain his situation. I called the secretary of the dean and she told me I couldn’t speak to him without an appointment. I asked to make an appointment, she came back and told me that he wouldn’t speak with me, but I could write him a letter. I wrote him a letter and never heard back from him. It was unlikely that he even read my letter.

This made me realise that if the Dean of a University was too important that he couldn’t make time to speak to me, let alone read my letter, but where does he stand in comparison to God? Today, Christ is telling us to just come to Him! Come talk to Me, I’m here, I’m ready, you don’t need an appointment. This is our God. He is the King of all kings but He humbles Himself to hear MY prayers. When Christ says, ask, it is an honour, a blessing, a gift, to ask the Creator of the Universe, and we should take full advantage of this.

IN

What are we in? We are in Christ. When we ask, we belong to Christ. When we belong to Him, we stand before the Father, in Christ. Imagine Christ is the One asking, and we are in Him. Could the Father say no to Christ? Never, so we ask IN Christ. When we belong to Him and are a part of Him, there is nothing that we cannot ask of the Father.

MY

My kids have been asking for a Nintendo Switch. I don’t want them to become addicted to games and screens. They beg and plead but I know this is not good for them. I explained to them saying, “I want you to understand that if you ask for something that is good for you, I will always say yes. Ask me for something that is bad for you, I will say no. If you want a book to read, I will go to the bookshop for you right now and get it for you. If you want a soccer ball, that’s good for your fitness, we’ll go get a soccer ball. If you want a new bike, that good for you to exercise, we’ll go get a new bike. Ask me things that are good for you.” Now, they ask according to what is good for them. My will for them, to be good and well-rounded children. God has a will for us, and He wants us to ask according to His will, and not our will.

If I ask God to give me the strength to fight temptation, what will He answer? His answer will be yes, it’s a given. If I ask for peace, His answer will be yes, given. If I ask God for holiness, yes here it is.

We ask according to His Name and according to His will for our lives. When we are in Him, we begin to know His word. When we are in Christ, we know Him, we know His will for us, we know if the answer will be yes or no, this is good for you or this is not good for you.

NAME

The name of Jesus is powerful. In Jewish tradition, the name of somebody held significance. It was not just a nice sounding name. The name held significant meaning, and God changed a person’s name based on significant events. Abram to Abraham. Sarai to Sarah. Jacob to Israel. God has changed people’s name for a reason. The Jews would not refer to God as YHWH. The Hebrew word was too holy to utter, so they used Adonai (which meant Lord). They used this as a substitute. So, we know that just the name of Jesus Christ is powerful.

We say not to use the Lord’s name in vain for it is powerful. There is a beautiful prayer called the Jesus prayer that goes like this, “My Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner.”

It’s a simple prayer that has come from the repetition. The monks of the early church would repeat this. They called it the Arrow Prayer, because in uttering the name of Jesus Christ, we invoke the power of the name of Jesus Christ to have mercy upon us.

This is a reminder of the gift of asking, anytime, anywhere, anything. All we need to do is to be in Him, to know Him, to belong to Him, to know His will. When we ask in His name, we ask according to His will, and His will becomes ours.

The Sword of the Spirit

The Armour of God Part 5

By Andrew Gad

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” – John 15:7  

A priest tells the following story regarding the value of reading the Bible.

A student received an offer to study interstate, accepted it and left his whole family behind to pursue his dream course. His father missed him very much, and would write him letters every week, checking up on him, updating him and most importantly, letting him know how much he was missed. Initially, the son would eagerly wait for his father’ letters, replying almost instantly and cherishing each and every word written in these letters. However, as time passed and life’s distractions got the better of him, the son began to neglect reading his father’s letters. At first, he would read one letter and skip the next one, but eventually, he would not even open the letters- leaving them to pile up on his desk.

The father missed his son very much, and was extremely worried, wondering why his son stopped replying to his letters. Filled with immense love for his son, he took time off work and decided that his son was due for a visit. The son woke up one morning to loud knocking on the door- to his surprise, it was his father! “Dad I’ve missed you so much!” the son exclaimed, as the pair embraced upon their reunion. The father then sat down in his son’s room, and saw a pile of unopened letters sitting there on his desk. Immediately, he was extremely saddened and taken aback, with tears in his eyes- “Son, for months I’ve been writing to you with no response. I was extremely worried about you. Have you not even been opening my letters?”. The son was greatly humiliated, and sat their speechless, unable to justify or explain himself to his father. The father had spent a great amount of time writing these letters, and the son could not even find five minutes every week to read them?

Now replace the son with yourself, the father with God and the letters with the Bible. Isn’t this a story which sounds all too familiar?

How many times have we come back home after a long day of lectures or study and thought to ourselves…“I’ll probably just give the Bible a miss today” or “I already read the Bible yesterday, I’ll read it again tomorrow”.

Why do we often complain that we have no direction in life? That our prayers aren’t being answered? That we feel anxious, worried or distressed? That we haven’t overcome that annoying, repeated sin, no matter how much we try? Why does God always comforts and reveals things to other people, yet never to me?

Maybe the answer is simple? Perhaps we have the key in our hands, but we refuse to use it? Just like our body needs food in order to survive and function, so too do our souls need the word of God in order to survive and thrive throughout the dilemmas, decisions and hardships that we face each and every day.

When a woman from the crowd saw Jesus walking through the streets, she cried out, glorifying St. Mary and exclaiming: “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You” (Lk 11: 27).  Jesus, instead of agreeing with her, turned around and corrected her, saying: “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (Lk 11:28). That’s right! Even though St. Mary was considered blessed enough to be the Mother of God, Jesus Himself says that there is an even greater blessing available to those who hear the word of God (which is the Bible) and keep it!

To be as blessed as St. Mary? This alone should be enough encouragement for us to read the word of God, study it diligently and transform our lives!

Now that we know the great blessings available to those who read the Bible diligently, let’s talk about some of the ways in which the Bible can genuinely transform our lives.

  1. The Bible is a “light to our path”:

In life, we are all faced with big decisions- what university course to study, what job offer to accept, whether it’s really worth moving away from home- and the list goes on and on. Many people make decisions based on fear, others based on advice they’ve heard, and others just leave it all up to chance! But in Psalm 119: 105, David the psalmist teaches us that the word of God can and should be used to direct our steps and guide each and every decision that we make.

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path”

But how can the Bible be used to guide such decisions- it just doesn’t seem to make any sense? The word of God is just like a lamp- it won’t show you the whole path all at once, but it will provide you with enough light to see one step, and then the next step, and then the next step. The Bible tells you to “Love your enemy”- that’s the first step. Take it, then the Bible will tell you to “watch and pray”- that’s the second step. Then the Bible will tell you: “The lamp of the body is the eye”. That’s the third step, and so on. And so, by following the words of the Bible step by step, you’ll find that God has just directed you along the entire path.

  • The Bible cleanses our thoughts:

The Paradise of the Fathers tells a story of a monk who was struggling with a particular sin, and went to his confession father asking for guidance. His confession father listened to his complaint, gave him a bucket with a small hole in it, and asked him to go fill it up at the well and report back to him. The younger monk was confused at this request, but out of obedience did exactly what was asked of him. By the time he went back  to his confession father, all the water had seeped out through the hole and the bucket was empty.

His confession father asked him to do the same thing again, and out of obedience, the younger monk did exactly that. After the third or fourth time, the younger monk became frustrated at the waste of time, complaining to his confession father: “Father, can’t you see that there is a hole in the bucket, and every time I fill the water, it seeps out!”. The confession father replied: “My son, even though the water has seeped out, can’t you see that the bucket is now much more clean than it was when I first gave it to you?”. This is exactly what happens when we read the Bible- even if we feel that it is not having a strong effect- it cleanses and purifies our heart, allowing for God to reside and dwell inside us. We just have to persist and keep on reading.

The word of God is your adversary if you want to live in ungodliness, but if you are an adversary to ungodliness, the word of God is your friend.

  • The Bible is an answer to our prayers:

The word prayer in Arabic is extremely powerful, and means “connection” or “relationship”. Now for any relationship to be successful, it needs input from both parties. Often we talk to God through prayer, and then wonder…why isn’t God answering me? Is He not listening to my prayer? Is He really there? Does He really listen? Now even though God can communicate with us in mysterious ways, 99% of the time, God will use the Bible to respond to our prayers.

Feeling worried?

The answer is in the Bible: “Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”- Mat 11: 30

Feeling depressed?

The answer is in the Bible: “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears. And delivers them out of all their troubles” – Psalm 34: 17

Needing guidance?

The answer is in the Bible: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” – James 1: 5

Feeling alone? Read the story of the Samaritan woman.

Feeling guilty beyond the point of repentance- Why not give the story of the prodigal son ago?

And the list goes on and on.

A final thought- imagine an extremely poor man. Now imagine a rich man who sees him, has compassion upon him and hands him an envelope with one million dollars. Now imagine that the poor man takes this envelope, puts it in his drawer at home, and continues living the rest of his life in poverty! What a great loss! How foolish would this man be! We too, have been given an envelope of much more value than a million dollars. Will we open it or keep it closed till it’s too late?

Many Mansions

Many Mansions

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Samuel Fanous

The Gospel provides us with a lovely image of death. Christ says “In my Father’s house there are many mansions.” This imagery is sometimes lost because he said this to poor fisherman, rather than the rich. Thus, it was something glorious for the people present. He gave them the perfect image of death. He said that everything that you longed for in life will be received at death. You will have it in the Father’s kingdom.

 If we reflect on Christ’s references to death, most of them are joyful and positive. Very few are negative. The Kingdom of Heaven will be a glorious place. Christ attempts to inform the people that the Kingdom of God is a happy experience.

When people think about John’s Revelation, people think of the apocalypse and horror. But that in fact was not John’s focus. Rather, he aimed to provide a message of comfort to those who were in persecution. Upon close analysis, although it has scary imagery and judgements towards Rome and evildoers, it was a message of comfort to the believers.

“God will wipe away every tear.”

These are all messages of comfort. The messages of fear are those opposed to God. They are told to be fearful, the persecutors, the Jews. To His own people, he provides a message of hope, that there will be many mansions and will live comfort. Christ was portraying the perfect image for the people present during His sermon.

However, nowadays there is a changed perception towards death. One filled with fear and anxiety. Perhaps this is due to the ambiguity surrounding death. The unbelievers fear this greatly as they have no clue what to expect. What will happen after death? Where do we go? Thus, they choose to spend life not thinking about death, to focus on the present and ignore what is to inevitably come. However, we should not follow in this train of thought. We should be prepared. We must think of death often to come to the realisation that we should not fear death. What are we truly afraid of? Death is the gateway to Heaven. Why should we fear entering Christ’s Kingdom?

The day is coming for all of us. No one is exempt from encountering death. No matter a day from now or 50 years from now, it will come. To encounter that day in tranquillity and joy, we must change how we live today. If today was your last day on earth, what would you do? You must continually prepare yourself. That day will come, but will you be prepared?

🏘 Full sermon 🏘

The Goods of God and Man

The Goods of God and Man

By Fr Antonios Kaldas

Original post by Fr Antonios Kaldas blog site

 “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, Cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9
I gave a talk on this verse yesterday at Sydney Uni Coptic Society and it made me think. Allow me to share some thoughts with you.

The thing that struck me most was the command for us to be ONE, to be whole. I am not speaking about a congregation or a family being united here, I am speaking about the individual not being divided against him/herself.

The words are very strong: ABHOR … CLING – there is no wavering here! My interpretation is that St Paul is asking us, “Who are you?” What kind of a person are you? What motivates you, and what moves you? What repels you and what sets your heart on fire?

One of the main ways we define ourselves, or think about who we are, is by what we believe, what we value, or what we think to be important or true. If I try to make up a list of these values I personally hold, I wonder what they would be? Would they all fall under the category of “good”? 

Of course they would! I wouldn’t hold those values unless I thought they were good … good for ME, that is. But that’s not necessarily ‘good’ in the sense St Paul was talking about. For him, ‘good’ is not what any individual thinks to be good, but what God thinks to be good, and there can be a very big difference between the two, and often is.

So to fulfil this verse, I have to find out what God thinks is good. That’s not so hard – it’s all in the Bible. What is hard is to let go of my own concept of good. A simple example: Someone annoys me really badly. My good: teach the idiot a lesson he’ll never forget – he deserves it, and it will make me feel so much better. God’s good: Blessed are you when men revile and persecute you … and if he strikes you on the cheek, turn to him the other … do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Which one I choose out of those two determines who I am. To CLING to what is good is not easy. There are many, many forces, both within and without me, that are trying to prise me away from what is good. This verse informs me what it takes to hang on: CLING!!! Hang on tight! Never let go! Never give up! If your grip slips, clamber it back on again quick!

And on the other side of the coin: ABHOR!!! Hate! (yes, hate!) This is what hatred was made for – for things that are evil. We are not only allowed to hate evil, we are commanded to hate evil. We must hate evil. We must shun evil, and fight it and escape it with all our mind, strength, heart and soul.

To do anything less than this is to allow oneself to be a divided person. You can’t go for two goals at the same time, when they are at opposite ends of the field! You’ve got to make up your mind whose side you’re on, and then play for that side, aim for that goal.

Only then can love truly be without hypocrisy. Hypocrisy comes from a divided soul. One part of me wants to say and teach nice things. Another part of me wants to practice sins. The two cannot be in harmony. I find I have become a hypocrite.

The Teaching of the 12 Apostles (Didache) (2nd century AD) begins with the famous words: There are two ways, one of life and one of death: but a great difference between the two ways.

And we will give the last word to Joshua: choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve … But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Original blog found at- http://www.frantonios.org.au/2007/10/11/17/

The Proposal of Christ

The Proposal of Christ

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Mark Basily

One of the most unforgettable days in someone’s life is the day they either proposed or were proposed to. Whether good or bad, yes or no, it’s still unforgettable. The words used on the day are ingrained in your mind.

The reason why it is such a significant day is that it is a transitionary point in your life. It marks the official transition from a relationship heading preparation for a wedding and on to marriage.

On that day, there is so much love, so much hope for what it will become, and so much faith in each other.

The Jews had a different process, they didn’t get down on one knee. The process would begin when the man would bring a gift to the girl which would mark the covenant. If she accepted the gift, it was done. He then says, “I’m going to go prepare a place for you. When it’s ready I will come back and take you with me to that place and we will be there together.”

After he said this, he would leave to build an extension to his father’s house for him and his new bride. This would take approximately one year to prepare and build. The father would then determine the right time and he would go in a procession to bring his bride back to his father’s home.

What we read in the gospel of John in the last supper discourse sounds, Christ frames His departure in very similar fashion;

“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know” – John 14:2-3.

In essence, this was a Jewish proposal – a transition point in the relationship of Christ and the disciples. This was now heading toward a marriage.

He stays on earth for 40 days after His resurrection, until the Ascension. The ascension we celebrate this coming week. The Ascension is major event that gets overlooked midweek, between the Resurrection and the Pentecost.

Why did Christ stay for 40 days? Why this particular number of days, why couldn’t He remain of Earth forever? If you read through scripture, every time the number 40 is used, it is a transitionary moment.

During the time of Noah, they remained in the Arc for 40 days and 40 nights. When Moses takes the Israelites out of Egypt, they wonder in the desert for 40 years searching for the Promised Land. A transitionary point in the history of Israel from being in the bondage of slavery to being heirs of God’s people in their own land.

Before Jesus begins His ministry, He spends 40 days and 40 nights in the desert where He was tempted by the devil. A transitionary point from which He would begin His public ministry and miracles.

Here, we have the Ascension that takes place 40 days after the Crucifixion. This was a transitionary moment for the disciples. From fear to courage, from not understanding who Christ was or what He was saying to being able to fully comprehend His divinity and preparing for the marriage feast that was to come.

After His ascension, we read, “And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy” (Luke 24:52)

This is a strange reaction to a loved one leaving. If you really loved someone, you would not be joyful at their departure. Why were the disciples so joyful at the ascension of Christ? Because the proposal is now coming into effect.

They remembered the words of Christ, I will go to prepare a place and when it’s ready, I will take you with Me.

They were joyful to see Him leave so that when He returned, they would be going with Him. Just like the bride is joyful when her groom leaves to prepare a place for her, the disciples can say goodbye to Christ with joy. It was joy in anticipation of what is to come. They spend the next nine days waiting for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. How did they spend those nine days?

“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication” – Acts 1:14

In prayer and supplication, they waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

We today, hear these words of Christ as though Christ is on one knee proposing to you, and saying, “I am going to My Father house to prepare a place for you and then I will come again and receive you to Myself that where I am, you may be also.”

On the day of Ascension, we celebrate the day He leaves to prepare that place as a transitionary moment in our lives, looking toward eternity. We ought to return to our lives with joy for we wait in hope of His return when we will be with Him. We live joyful in prayer, preparing for wedding that is to come. We live in this hope, in this faith, and in this love.

💍 Full sermon 💍

The Helmet of Salvation

The Armour of God: Part 4

By Faisal Dean

 A life ever so changing with uncertainty, regret, anxiety and unanswered questions. While seemingly negative, this brings about the basic moral ingredients taught from birth, manifested through maturity and ultimately, in preparation for tribulation.

Just as no soldier would go into battle without a helmet, we must always enter into tribulation with salvation protecting our minds. Those that wear the helmet of salvation remain steadfast in their ways and dwell within the fountain of salvation.

These compelling words of, “Take the helmet of salvation,” leave us with a great challenge. Where do we attain this helmet? If it is so essential to life, how could I have walked into tribulations without it?

 Let us start by reflecting upon the author. A life of complete surrender towards Christ saw St. Paul’s faithfulness toward Christ as he spoke to the Ephesians, “Put on the whole Armour of God.” Be bold! For in the final days, I would love that God could look upon me and say, “you have fought the good fight, you have finished the race, you have kept the faith.”

During this time of uncertainty, anxiety and imbalance, we can only hope that we walk with the helmet of salvation. If I wear the helmet of salvation then I reject the vanities of this world and “thirst” for Christ. Is the Lord, the source of purity, balance and chastity, the source of my vision?

Pope Shenouda teaches us about persistence by begging the Lord for His blessings. For us to receive the blessings of Christ we must obtain the virtues of purity and humility: “I shall not get up from here unless I have received Your special blessing and feel that You have taken me back and counted me among your children. I do not just want You to forgive my sin, I want You to remove from my heart any love of sin, once and for all.”

When I wear the helmet of salvation, the lusts of the flesh are repelled from my thoughts. In Christ, I have power. King David writes “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow”. (Ps. 51:7).

We cannot leave Christ’s presence unless we leave armed with the helmet of salvation that protects our minds and our thoughts through faith in our Lord Christ.

When you spend time with Christ, make sure you are enterring into the greatest love story ever told. Make sure you do not leave until it seems that Christ could not possibly love anyone more than He loves you. Do not deprive yourself of this love that is freely given to the one that accepts it.

Just as any relationship, we endure times of dryness and uncertainty, but this should not cause us to walk without the helmet of salvation. Even in these times, we must remember that salvation is more than mere feelings, but is as important as oxygen is to breathe.

The remembrance of Christ helps us remains steadfast in the faith. At each remembrance, we slowly build our relationship with Christ. If I recall that Christ is the pathway to salvation and stop doubting, nothing can stand against me and I will rest in the “Shadow of the Almighty.” We are called to walk with Christ, we are called to walk by faith, we are called to be like Christ, we are called to wear the “Helmet of Salvation.”