Fear of Hell

Fear of Hell

Fear of hell causes beginners to shun evil.

Desire to be rewarded with divine blessings confers on those who are advancing a readiness to practice the virtues.

But the mystery of love transcends all created beings and makes the intellect blind to all that is sequent to God.

Only upon those who have become blind to all that is sequent to Him does the Lord bestow wisdom, showing them what is more divine.

St Maximos the Confessor


 

May History Pass And The End Of Times Come!

May History Pass And
The End Of Times Come! 


From the inspiration of Daniel (11) 


All the history is under Your control, and nothing is hidden from You.
Giants arise and many perish.
Covenants are established, some keep them while others break them.
Kingdom arises against kingdom, and all is past history.

May all the events of the history pass away, and may the End of Times come.
The Antichrist will poison all, but the Conqueror One, the Christ is certainly coming!
May You, the Victorious One, come and may Your believers be glorified!



Fr. Tadros Malaty
From the Inspiration of the Book of Daniel    

The Heart's Delight

The heart's delight  

First return to yourself from what is outside you, and then give yourself back to him who made you; for he is the sum of all our happiness and our perfect good. To worship him is to love him, to long to see him, and to hope and believe that you will see him.  This is to long for happiness - to reach him is happiness itself.

Ask yourself how much your love has increased: the answer your heart gives is the measure of your advancement. We now see him confusedly, as our love increases - but then we shall see him clearly.

Beloved, this love does not come to us of our own free choice, but by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us; for how could we have cleaved to God if he had not spoken to our hearts?

At the last we shall all receive the reward of salvation, like the labourers in the vineyard who came at different times, yet all were given the same wage. With the Prophets, apostles and martyrs we shall contemplate the glory of God, and looking in his face sing his praises for ever. There will be no more sin, no more falsehood, and in love we shall cleave to him for whom we now sigh.  We shall live for ever in that city whose light is God, finding in him that happiness we now labour for.

  DAILY READING WITH

St Augustine --- The Heart at Rest

HOW LONG WILL YOU WAIT, O MY SOUL!

HOW LONG WILL YOU WAIT, O MY SOUL!  

From the inspiration of Ezekiel (7)  

Your voice, O my God, never stopped! 

It warns me: The end is near!

As the Architect of the whole world, You know its mysteries.

You confirm to me, that heaven and earth will disappear.

Yet, with my idiocy, I remain slothful and negligent.

Until when will you wait, O my soul?!

Will you escape to the mountains?

They are shaking!

Do You lean on your friends?

All hands will be feeble,

And all knees will be like water!

Do you trust in your silver and gold? They will not deliver you!

Do you lean upon the formalities and letters of worship?

Your God seeks the heart and depths!

Do you lean on authority? Everything will come to an end!

Until when will you wait, O my soul?! 

Fr. Tadros Malaty

From the Inspiration of The Book of Ezekiel

My God, My All

My God, my all  

Why do you mean so much to me? Why do I mean so much to you that you command me to love you? And if I fail to love you, you threaten me with great sorrow, as if not to love you were not sorrow enough. 

Have pity on me and help me. O Lord my God, speak so that I may hear your words. Whisper in my heart, ' I am here to save you'.  My heart has ears ready to listen to you, Lord, open them wide and I shall hear your voice and make haste to clasp you to myself. 

My soul is like a house, small for you to enter, but I beg you to enlarge it. It is in ruins; I ask you to rebuild it.

In it is much that will displease you: this I know and I do not conceal it from you. But who is to empty it of these things? To you only I can say, 'I trust, and trusting I find words to utter'. Lord, you know that this is so, for I have acknowledged my sin.

I do not dispute your judgement for you are truth itself, and I have no wish to delude myself lest I betray my own malice.  'For if you, Lord, will mark iniquities who may abide it?' 

     DAILY READING WITH

St Augustine --- The Heart at Rest 

The Titanic's Last Hero

John Harper was born to a pair of solid Christian parents on May 29th, 1872. It was on the last Sunday of March 1886, when he was thirteen years old that he received Jesus as the Lord of his life. He never knew what it was to "sow his wild oats." He began to preach about four years later at the ripe old age of 17 years old by going down to the streets of his village and pouring out his soul in earnest entreaty for men to bereconciled to God.

As John Harper's life unfolded, one thing was apparent...he was consumed by the word of God. When asked by various ministers what his doctrine consisted of, he was known to reply "The Word of God!" After five or six years of toiling on street corners preaching the gospel and working in the mill during the day, Harper was taken in by Rev. E. A. Carter of Baptist Pioneer Mission in London, England. This set Harper free to devote his whole time of energy to the work so dear to his heart. Soon, John Harper started his own church in September of 1896. (Now known as the Harper Memorial Church.) This church which John Harper had started with just 25 members, had grown to over 500 members when he left 13 years later. During this time he had gotten married, but was shortly thereafter widowed. However brief the marriage, God did bless John Harper with a beautiful little girl named Nana.

Ironically, John Harper almost drowned several times during his life. When he was two and a half years of age, he almost drowned when he fell into a well but was resuscitated by his mother. At the age of twenty-six, he was swept out to sea by a reverse current and barely survived, and at thirty-two he faced death on a leaking ship in the Mediterranean. Perhaps, God used these experiences to prepare this servant for what he faced next.......

It was the night of April 14, 1912. The RMS Titanic sailed swiftly on the bitterly cold ocean waters heading unknowingly into the pages of history. On board this luxurious ocean liner were many rich and famous people. At the time of the ship's launch, it was the world's largest man-made moveable object. At 11:40 p.m. on that fateful night, an iceberg scraped the ship's starboard side, showering the decks with ice and ripping open six watertight compartments. The sea poured in.

On board the ship that night was John Harper and his much-beloved six-year-old daughter Nana. According to documented reports, as soon as it was apparent that the ship was going to sink, John Harper immediately took his daughter to a lifeboat. It is reasonable to assume that this widowed preacher could have easily gotten on board this boat to safety; however, it never seems to have crossed his mind. He bent down and kissed his precious little girl; looking into her eyes he told her that she would see him again someday. The flares going off in the dark sky above reflected the tears on his face as he turned and headed towards thecrowd of desperate humanity on the sinking ocean liner. As the rear of the huge ship began to lurch upwards, it was reported that Harper was seen making his way up the deck yelling "Women, children and unsaved into the lifeboats!" It was only minutes later that the Titanic began to rumble deep within. Most people thought it was an explosion; actually the gargantuan ship was literally breaking in half. At this point, many people jumped off the decks and into the icy, dark waters below. John Harper was one of these people.

That night 1528 people went into the frigid waters. John Harper was seen swimming frantically to people in the water leading them to Jesus before the hypothermia became fatal. Mr. Harper swam up to one young Man who had climbed up on a piece of debris. Rev. Harper asked him between breaths, "Are you saved?" The young man replied that he was not. Harper then tried to lead him to Christ only to have the young man who was near shock, reply no. John Harper then took off his life jacket and threw it to the man and said "Here then, you need this more than I do..." and swam away to other people. A few minutes later Harper swam back to the young man and succeeded in leading him to salvation.

Of the 1528 people that went into the water that night, six were rescued by the lifeboats. One of them was this young man on the debris. Four years later, at a survivors meeting, this young man stood up and in tears recounted how that after John Harper had led him to Christ. Mr. Harper had tried to swim back to help other people, yet because of the intense cold, had grown too weak to swim. His last words before going under in the frigid waters were "Believe on the Name of the Lord Jesus and you will be saved."

Does Hollywood remember this man? No. Oh well, no matter. This servant of God did what he had to do. While other people were trying to buy their way onto the lifeboats and selfishly trying to save their own lives, John Harper gave up his life so that others could be saved. "Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends..." John Harper was truly the hero of the Titanic!


But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved). Ephesians 2: 4 - 5 NKJV

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. John 15: 13 NKJV


Sources for this article: "The Titanic's Last Hero" by Moody Press 1997,
Scriptures are quoted from the New King James Bible. John Climie, George Harper

Testimonies and tributes originally published in Scotland in 1912. Compiled and edited by John Climie at the request of John Harper's brother, George. Also published as: John Harper: a hero on the Titanic, 1997


Also named: A True Story of the Titanic... Sacrifice at Sea... John Harper Preached... Twice Saved - A True Titanic Hero

The Holy Synod

The Holy Synod, in leadership of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, has chosen His Grace Bishop Rafael as Secretary of the Holy Synod in place of His Eminence Metropolitan Bishoy.

The first picture of the Holy Synod with His Holiness Pope Tawadros

   

Egypt's New Coptic Pope Enthroned

Egypt's new Coptic pope enthroned 

November 19, 2012 
Christophe De Roquefeuil 

   
CAIRO: Pope Tawadros II has been enthroned as the new leader of Egypt's Coptic Christian minority in a ceremony at Cairo's St Mark's Cathedral attended by Prime Minister Hisham Qandil. 

Dozens of Coptic clerics in flowing robes took part in Sunday's ceremony, the first in four decades, as the Muslim Prime Minister looked on. 

Tawadros received the crown and crucifix from Bishop Pachomius, who had served as the church's interim leader, before ascending St Mark's huge wooden throne embossed with lions

Arabic, English and Greek mingled with the ancient Coptic language of the church's liturgy in the psalms and prayers of the service and the tributes of well-wishers. 

Tawadros, 60, was chosen on November 4 to succeed Pope Shenuda III, who died in March after four decades on the patriarchal throne. He was chosen after a blindfolded altar boy picked his name from a chalice, according to church custom. 

He becomes spiritual head of the largest Christian minority in the Middle East and 118th pope in a line dating back to the origins of Christianity and to Saint Mark, the apostle and author of one of the four Gospels, who brought the new faith to Egypt. 

Shenuda, a careful, pragmatic leader, died at a critical time for the increasingly beleaguered minority, which has faced a surge in sectarian attacks after an uprising overthrew president Hosni Mubarak in February last year. 

The pope leads the Coptic Orthodox community in a country where Christians make up between 6 and 10 per cent of an 83 million population. 

Amid increased fears about the community's future after the overthrow of Mubarak, Tawadros will be its main contact with Islamist President Mohamed Morsi. 

The rise of Islamists after the revolution sparked fears among Copts of further persecution, despite Morsi's repeated promises to be a president "for all Egyptians". 

Copts have suffered sectarian attacks for years, but since Mubarak's overthrow several dozen have been killed in sectarian clashes and during a protest in October last year crushed by the then ruling military.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/egypts-new-coptic-pope-enthroned-20121119-29l6e.html#ixzz2Cf5qvQXi

Bishop Tawadros new pope of Egypt's Coptic Christians

Bishop Tawadros new pope of Egypt's Coptic Christians

Bishop Tawadros has been chosen as the new pope of Egypt's Coptic Christians, becoming leader of the largest Christian minority in the Middle East.

His name was selected from a glass bowl by a blindfolded boy at a ceremony in Cairo's St Mark's Cathedral. Three candidates had been shortlisted.

The 60-year-old succeeds Pope Shenouda III, who died in March aged 88.

He succeeds as attacks on Copts are on the increase, and many say they fear the country's new Islamist leaders.

The other two candidates were Bishop Raphael and Father Raphael Ava Mina. They were chosen in a ballot by a council of some 2,400 Church and community officials in October.

'In God's hands'

Their names were written on pieces of paper and put in crystal balls sealed with wax on the church altar.

A blindfolded boy - one of 12 shortlisted children - then drew out the name of Bishop Tawadros, who until now was an aide to the acting leader, Bishop Pachomius. 

Bishop Pachomius then took the ballot from the boy's hand and showed it to all those gathered in the cathedral.

 Strict measures were in place to make sure there was no foul play during the televised ceremony: the three pieces of paper with candidates' names were all the same size and tied the same way. 

Copts say this process ensures the selection is in God's hands.

Bishop Tawadros will be enthroned in a ceremony on 18 November.

The new pope has studied in Britain, and has also run a medicine factory, the BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo reports.

He is a man of broad experience and with managerial skills, our correspondent says, adding that he will need all those talents to lead the Copts as they face an uncertain future in a country now debating the role of Islam following last year's revolution. 

Our correspondent says no-one in Egypt expects the new pope to introduce radical changes to the deeply conservative church. 

Pope Shenouda died in March. Under his leadership, the Coptic Church expanded significantly, including outside its traditional Egyptian base.

He was a passionate advocate of unity among the Christian churches, and also clashed with then President Anwar Sadat, particularly over their conflicting views on the future of Egypt's relationship with Israel.

Coptic Christians have long complained of discrimination by the Egyptian state and the country's Muslim majority.

But when President Hosni Mubarak was ousted last year and succeeded by the Muslim Brotherhood, their fears grew.

In October 2011, 25 people died in clashes with the security forces after a protest march in Cairo over the burning of a church.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20192922

No Point - True Story

No Point 
True Story 

A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage. They were a loving couple and the boy was the apple of their eyes. When the boy was around two years old.... it happen so this one fine morning, the husband saw a medicine bottle open. He was late for work so he asked the wife to cap the bottle and keep it in the cupboard. The mother, preoccupied in the kitchen, totally forgot the matter.

The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the bottle and, fascinated with its color, drank it all. It happened to be a poisonous medicine meant for adults in small dosages. When the child collapsed, the mother hurried him to the hospital, where he died. The mother was stunned. She was terrified how to face her husband.

When the distraught father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just four words.

What do you think were the four words?

The husband just said "I Love You Darling"

The husband's totally unexpected reaction is proactive behavior. The child is dead. He can never be brought back to life but There is no point in finding fault with the mother. Besides, if only he have taken time to keep the bottle away, this will not have happened. No point in attaching blame. She had also lost her only child. What she needed at that moment was consolation and sympathy from the husband. That is what he gave her.

Sometimes we spend time asking who is responsible or who to blame, whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we know. We miss out some warmth in human relationship in giving each other support. After all, shouldn't forgiving someone we love be the easiest thing in the world to do? Treasure what you have. Don't multiply pain, anguish and suffering by holding on to it! Forgive one another and forget about it. There is no point in holding a grudge or revenge or blame. Forgiveness heals you and the other person as well.

If everyone can look at life with this kind of perspective, there would be much fewer problems in the world.

Take off all your envies, jealousies, unwillingness to forgive, selfishness, and fears and you will find things are actually not as difficult as you think.

Final Three Candidates For Papacy Announced

Final Three Candidates For Papacy Announced

 

The Holy Synod has announced the final 3 papal candidates as part of the process to select the 118th Pope for the Coptic Orthodox Church. The three remaining candidates who were chosen by the 2411 eligible voters are:



- H.G Bishop Raphael (1980 Votes)
- H.G Bishop Tawadrous (1623 Votes)
- Hegumen Fr. Rafael Ava-Mina (1530 Votes)

The new Pope will be selected in an altar ballot during a Liturgical service at The Grand Cathedral of St Mark in Cairo on 4 November 2012

Window Through Which We Look

Window Through Which We Look

 

A young couple moved into a new neighborhood.

The next morning while they were eating breakfast, the young woman watched her neighbor hanging wash outside.

“That laundry is not very clean,” she said. 

”She doesn’t know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap.”

Her husband looked on, but remained silent.

Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.

About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband,

“Look, she has learned how to wash correctly.I wonder who taught her this.”

The husband said, “I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows.”

And so it is with life. What we see when watching others may depend on the purity of the window through which we look.

Author Unknown 

THE HOLY MOUNTAIN

THE HOLY MOUNTAIN 

From the inspiration of Ezekiel (6)

How amazing are Your works, O Lord!
You made me - the dust and sand - a holy mountain for You!
Count me as the Mount of Horeb,
On which to proclaim Your Law,
As the Mount of Tabor,
On which You transfigure with Your splendor.
And as the Mount of Calvary to offer on it the sacrifice of Your love.

On the mountains, Israel set their idols like other nations.
They defiled the high places with their abominations.
With love You chasten by bringing a sword and by abolishing the high places.
The cities would become desolate.
Yet You do not forget the holy remnant.
As You are the compassionate God
Take away from my mountains all abominations.
Burn by the fire of Your Holy Spirit all the thorns of sin.
Sanctify me, and count me as Your holy mountain!



Fr. Tadros Malaty
From the Inspiration of The Book of Ezekiel
 

Verses And Fathers Sayings

Verses And Fathers Sayings 

Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. 

The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”    

Matthew 26:41
        

 A small but always persistent discipline is a great force, 
for a soft drop fallen persistently hollows out hard rock.
St. Isaac the Syrian 

Holy Cross - Verses

For the message of the cross is foolishness 

to those who are perishing, 

but to us who are being saved 

it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 1:18 NIV

Here Today And Gone Tomorrow

Here Today And Gone Tomorrow 
 
Wherever the soul of man turns, unless it turns to you it clasps sorrow to its heart.  Even if it clings to what is lovely, if this loveliness is outside God, it has clung to sorrow, for these beautiful things would not exist without you.  Like the sun, they rise and set: they have their beginning and then they grow old and die. 

Let me praise you for these things, my God who made them all, but do not let the love of them be like glue to fix them to my soul. 

In these things there is nowhere to rest, because they do not last, they pass away beyond the reach of our senses.  Indeed we cannot lay firm hold on them even when they are with us. 

In this world one thing passes away, and another takes its place. But does the Word of God pass away? Make your dwelling in him.  Entrust to him whatever you have, for all you possess is from him.  In him is the peace that cannot be disturbed, and he will not withhold himself from your love if you do not withhold your love from him. 


     DAILY READING WITH
St Augustine --- The Heart at Rest

Getting Started

Getting Started

A RESOLUTE AND SUSTAINED PURPOSE

IF you wish to save your soul and win eternal life, arise from your lethargy, make the sign of the Cross and say:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Faith comes not through pondering but through action. Not words and speculation but experience teaches us what God is. To let in fresh air we have to open a window; to get tanned we must go out into the sunshine. Achieving faith is no different; we never reach a goal by just sitting in comfort and waiting, say the holy Fathers. Let the Prodigal Son be our example. He arose and came (Luke15:20).

However weighed down and entangled in earthly fetters you may be, it can never be too late. Not without reason is it written that Abraham was seventy-five when he set forth, and the labourer who comes in the eleventh hour gets the same wages as the one who comes in the first. Nor can it be too early. A forest fire cannot be put out too soon; would you see your soul ravaged and charred?

In baptism you received the command to wage the invisible warfare against the enemies of your soul; take it up now. Long enough have you dallied; sunk in indifference and laziness you have let much valuable time go to waste. Therefore you must begin again from the beginning; for you have let the purity you received in baptism be sullied in dire fashion.

Arise, then; but do so at once, without delay. Do not defer your purpose till "tonight" or "tomorrow" or "later, when I have finished what I have to do just now."  The interval may be fatal. No, this moment, the instant you make your resolution, you will show by your action that you have taken leave of your old self and have now begun a new life, with a new destination and a new way of living.  Arise, therefore, without fear and say: Lord, let me begin now.  Help me! For what you need above all is God's help.

Hold fast to your purpose and do your purpose and do not look back.  We have been given a warning example in Lot's wife, who was turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back (Genesis 19:26).  You have cast off your old humanity let the rags lie. Like Abraham you have heard the voice of the Lord: "Get thee out of the country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, into a land that I will show thee" (Genesis 12:1).  Towards that land hereafter you must direct all your attention.

~ Tito Colliander's The Way of the Ascetics.

Verses and Fathers Sayings

Verses and Fathers Sayings 

"And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."
Jeremiah 29:13  



If we seek God, He will show Himself to us, and if we keep Him, He will remain close to us." 
Abba Arsenius.  

Submit Your Ways To The Lord

Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

Psalm 86: 11 NIV

Everyone has an outer life and an inner life. The outer life is our public life that people can see. The inner life is made up of your thoughts, attitudes and motives. Only you and God know what’s going on inside. Too many people go around today pretending — acting one way, yet on the inside, they’re thinking something totally different. Their heart and their actions don’t line up.

We have to understand that God looks at the inside. We can fool a lot of people, but God knows everything . God would rather us be open and honest than for us to go through life pretending or wearing masks. Today, take inventory of what’s going on inside of you. Are you at peace? Are you overlooking offences? Do you believe the best in people? Are your heart and actions lining up? If not, submit your ways to the Lord today and ask Him to give you an undivided heart. Live a life pleasing to Him and walk in His blessing all the days of your life!

Practical Warnings - Verses

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. Proverbs 6: 16 - 19 ESV

WINGS

Wings

An article in National Geographic several years ago provided a penetrating picture of God’s wings…

After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno’s damage.

One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick. When he struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother’s wings.

The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her babies. When the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast. Because she had been willing to die, those under the cover of her wings would live…

“He will cover you with his pinions,
 and under his wings you will find refuge;
 …” Psalm 91:4


Psalm 91

1 - He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
 will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 -  I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
 my God, in whom I trust.”

3 - For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
 and from the deadly pestilence. 

4 - He will cover you with his pinions,
 and under his wings you will find refuge;
  his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

5 - You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 - nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
 nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

7 - A thousand may fall at your side,
 ten thousand at your right hand,
 but it will not come near you.

8 - You will only look with your eyes
 and see the recompense of the wicked.

9 - Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—
 the Most High, who is my refuge —

10 - no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
 no plague come near your tent.

11 - For he will command his angels concerning you
 to guard you in all your ways.

12 -  On their hands they will bear you up,
 lest you strike your foot against a stone.

13 - You will tread on the lion and the adder;
 the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

14 - “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
 I will protect him, because he knows my name.

15 - When he calls to me, I will answer him;
 I will be with him in trouble;
 I will rescue him and honor him.

16 - With long life I will satisfy him
 and show him my salvation.” 

Verses

Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; 

let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; 

let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, 

and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Isaiah 55: 6 - 7 ESV

Verses and Fathers Sayings

Uphold my steps in Your paths,
that my footsteps may not slip.
(Ps. 17: 5)


Nothing shall let the feet slip, but pride. Love will
move the feet to walk, and to ascend; whereas
pride would lead them to stumble and fall.

(St. Augustine)

 

LET ME ABIDE IN YOU, WHO CHASTENS COMPASSIONATELY

LET ME ABIDE IN YOU, WHO CHASTENS
COMPASSIONATELY


From the inspiration of Ezekiel (5)


Let me abide in You, who chastens compassionately!
You allowed if for Your prophet Ezekiel to shave all the hair of his head.
To proclaim his great grief for the corruption of his people - as dead.
And to threaten Your people,
That You would likewise, remove them away from You,
To reject their priesthood that was defiled;
To confirm them in that they are living as shaven-head captive slaves.  

Chasten me O Lord; but do not deliver me to someone else!
You who chastens compassionately!

You have chastened me in secret;
And I did not forsake my abominations.
And here you are exposing me among my people.
And even among the nations…..
Let it be; but do not deprive me of Your salvation!
Because You are whom chastens compassionately!


Fr. Tadros Malaty
From the Inspiration of The Book of Ezekiel

How To Love

How To Love

If the things of this world delight you, turn your love to their creator so that in what pleases you, you may not displease him.

If you love people, love them in God because they too are frail and only stand firm when they hold on to him.  Love them in him, and draw as many to him as you can.

The world was made by him, and exists in him. Wherever we taste truth, there is God.  He is in our very inmost hearts, but we have strayed from him.  Cling to him who made you, and peace will be yours.

The good things we love are all from God, but they are good and sweet only when they are used to do his will; they will turn bitter if they are wrongly loved.  In this land of death you try to make yourself a happy life.  You won't find it there.

Our life himself came down into this world, and took away our death, calling us to return to him in Heaven.  He went from our sight, so that we should find him in our hearts.

Your life has come down from Heaven, will you not now at last rise with him and live?  But how can you rise if you sit in high places and your clamour reaches to Heaven?  Come down from your heights and this time climb to God. 


     DAILY READING WITH
St Augustine --- The Heart at Rest