Holy Synod Statement

Coptic Orthodox Holy Synod Statement His Holiness Pope Shenouda III Pope of Coptic Orthodox and the see of St Mark Passed Away

Verses and Fathers Sayings

Watch therefore, for you know neither the day
nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
(Matt. 25: 13)



Always remain in a state of repentance for we know
not the day or the hour at which the Lord will come.

St. Nilus of Sinai

So That I May Enjoy The Banquet Of Your Love

So That I May Enjoy The Banquet Of Your 

Love,
I Do Not Desire The Banquets Of The 

World. 

From the inspiration of Daniel (5)

Belshazzar dared to defile the holy vessels,
and with ignorance I defile my body, Your precious vessel!
Let me enjoy the banquet of Your love, may Savior,
so that I do not desire the banquets of the world!

Your hand was stretched to declare Your judgment of Belshazzar.
Let Your fiery Spirit write the words of Your love in my heart,
so that I may not desire any wise person in the world,
but I may seek Daniel, Your prophet,
and hear Your divine voice inside me!

Daniel despised all the gifts of the king and did not desire richness or authority,
then You gave him grace in the eyes of Cyrus to support Your people in their captivity,
When do I despise the temporal matters?
When do I obtain You,
the treasure of my soul and her inner glory?!
Behold I am in Your hands,
use me as You wish! 


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

The River of Time

The River Of Time 

One can love the world, or love God: if we love the world there is no room in our heart for the love of God; we cannot love God and the world, which passes away with its loves.

We ask, 'Why should I not love the world, since God made it?' Brethren, a man loves God too little who loves anything except for God's sake: it is not that created things may not be loved, but to love them for themselves is cupidity, not love.

Choose: either love the things of time, and pass away with them, or do not love them, and live for ever with God.

The river of time sweeps on, but there, like a tree planted by the water, is our Lord Jesus Christ. He became man, willing to plant himself by the river of time.

If you feel yourself drifting down to the rapids, lay hold of the tree; if you are caught up in the love of the world, hold on to Christ. He for your sake entered into time, but he did not cease to be eternal.

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

Teddy Stoddard

Inspiring Story! 

As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children an untruth.
Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. However, that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.

Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he did not play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. In addition, Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big 'F' at the top of his papers.

At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.

- Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners...he is a joy to be around."

- His second grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle."

- His third grade teacher wrote, "His mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest, and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken."

- Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class."

By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag.
Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume. But she stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist.
 

Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say: 'Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to.'

After the children left, she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children. Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her 'teacher's pets..'

A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class,  and she was still the best teacher he ever had in life.

Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he had ever had in his whole life.

Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer. The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.

The story does not end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring.

Teddy said he had met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing.  Moreover, she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together.

They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, "Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference."

 Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, "Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you."


(For you who don't know, Teddy Stoddard is the Doctor at Iowa Methodist in Des Moines that has the Stoddard Cancer Wing.)

Always believe that you can make a difference. Just as Teddy did, say to yourself:
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

 Just try to make a difference in someone's life ...

Verses and Fathers Sayings

Luke 15: 21, 24
+ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

 +  for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

God sells righteousness at a very low price to those who wish to buy it: a little piece of bread, a cloak of no value, a cup of cold water, a mite.

Abba Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus

Sayings From Pope Kirillos VI

Pope Kirillos VI 

Sayings From Pope Kirillos VI  
The 116th Pope Of The See Of ST. Mark 




  + There is nothing under the heavens that is able to upset or worry me because I am protected inside the faithful refuge of the fortified castle. Comforted in the merciful bosom. And I own the spring of comfort. 

+ Let no one annoy his brother with harsh words, but reconcile with each other through the sweetness of love. 

+ Do not cease doing a good deed for the sake of people talking about it. Do not do any work for the sake of gaining people’s praises.

+ I wished to live as a stranger and die as a stranger, but let the will of God be done. + Be comforted and do not over think – Leave the matter in the hand of the one who can deal with it. 

+ Say to those who have a fearful heart; “Be strong and of good courage, do not be afraid for He is your God.”

+ Trust that the one who chose for you the beginning of the road, will not leave you in it’s midst. 

+ It is important that you keep your peace. When you are in a state of anger, you will speak harshly.This is a war against you from the enemy of good, which wants to make you lose your peace and consequently the grace of God will depart from you. 

+ Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.

+ The one who keeps the Children is God. 

+ Struggle to be honest in your work and look out for the tricks of the enemy of good. Be obedient and submissive to your Magistrates even if they have impolite manner. Keep hold of humility because the one who humbles himself will be exalted and loved by both God and people. 

+ He is the Lord who supported me and gave victory to my soul.  

+ Make sure that after these tribulations God will give Grace, because every grace proceeded by a disaster. Surrender your circumstances to Him as He is sincere in his promise ( I will not forget nor forsake you, if the mother forgets her baby I do not forget. We are hard-pressed on every side, but not in despair; Cast all your cares upon Him because He cares for you ).

The Great Lent - By Pope Shenouda III

HH Pope Shenouda III

The Great Lent
By Pope Shenouda III 

 When Jesus fasted forty days and forty nights in the wilderness in preparation for His saving ministry, we are told that the devil tempted Him to change stones into loaves of bread. The Lord rebuked the tempter with the words,
“It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” 
(Matthew 4:14; Deuteronomy 8:3)  
In this way Jesus succeeded where Adam had failed
(see Genesis 3:1-6) 

His answer to Satan is a trenchant affirmation that to live our lives as though God did not exist, that is, “by bread alone,” is to live according to a demonic lie. Fasting is an essential element of the Christian Life. Christ fasted and taught men to fast. Blessed fasting is done in secret.  It has its goal in the purification of our lives, the liberation of our souls and bodies from sin, the strengthening of our human powers of love for God and man, and the enlightening of our entire being for communion with the Blessed Trinity.Let us fast with a pleasing fast to the Lord. This is the true fast: the casting off of evil, the bridling of the tongue, the cutting off of anger, the cessation of lusts, evil talking, lies and cursing. The stopping of all these, is the true and acceptable fast. Genuine fasting, which subjects our flesh and its passions to the will of a humbled and contrite spirit is perhaps the most effective means to grow in God’s grace 

(see Romans 8:1-17) 

It opens our innermost self to the promptings of the Holy Spirit Who yearns to make our soul His temple. It is this possibility for growth in Christ-likeness through fasting that should fire our self-discipline according to the canons and rules of the Church. The point is to give up a measure of our dependence upon the material world in order to experience personally our hunger for God. 

The days of fasting are days of repentance and contrition. At the same time, they are periods of joy and cheer as believers experience victory and power in their innermost self. Fasting does not imply fatigue, restraint, or irritation, but rather it inspires joy and inward gladness with the Lord reigning within the heart. This is the experience of the Coptic Church particularly during the Holy Week. At that time believers practice asceticism more than any other time of fasting. The signs of real spiritual joy and consolation filling the heart are so clearly evident then. How you begin and conduct your fast will largely determine your success. You have to plan to make your time with the Lord more meaningful and spiritually rewarding.  

Set Your Objective!

Why are you fasting? Is it just as a tradition of the Church? Or is it for spiritual renewal, for guidance, for healing, for the resolution, of problems, for special grace to handle a difficult situation? Ask the Holy Spirit to clarify His leading and objectives in your prayer for fasting. This will enable you to pray more specifically and strategically. 

I AM! - Biblical Reflection

Biblical Reflection - Gospel of John

The Seven "I AM" Statements of Jesus from the Gospel of John.


God is speaking directly to you through these verses. 

He is Calling you! Will you answer His call?!
 

"I AM" the bread of life:
+  Jesus said to them, “I AM the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst."
John 6:35

"I AM" the light of the world:
+ Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I AM the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12
 

"I AM" the door:
+  So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I AM the door of the sheep."
John 10:7

"I AM" the good shepherd: 

John 10:11-14
+  11 "I AM the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."

+ 12  He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.

+ 13  He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

+ 14  "I AM the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me."

 

"I AM" the resurrection and the life:
+ Jesus said to her, “I AM the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

John 11:25
 

"I AM" the way, the truth and the life:
+ Jesus said to him, “I AM the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

John 14:6

"I AM" the true vine:
+  "I AM the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser."
John 15:1
 

+  "I AM the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."
John 15:5