St. George and St. Anthony Coptic Orthodox Church, Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt is proud to present...
Excerpts from the Writings of H. H. Pope Shenouda III
117th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of Saint Mark
Translated by: Mrs. Basilius, Australia. Revised by: Mrs. Wedad Abbas.
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Part 2
[Your Relationship with the Holy Bible.] [Memorizing.] [Do Not Postpone.] [I want...] [Do Not Despair.] [Blessing and Affliction.] [Continuance.] [Envy of the Devil.] [Sacrifice.] [Hope.]
Your Relationship with the Holy Bible
- Your relationship with the Holy Bible is concentrated in acquiring the Bible, adhering to it, reading, understanding, contemplating, studying and learning it by heart. And, above all, you should behave according to it and train yourself to follow its commandments.
- To acquire the Bible does not mean to keep it as a rarity on your desk but to have it for your continual use. You take it with you wherever you go, in your pocket or in your handbag. That makes it easy for you to read it at all times.
- It is better to read the Bible on regular basis, this must be daily. It is better to read extracts every morning so that they might be the subject of your thoughts and meditations during the day and fill your mind in your getting in and out.
- Let your reading in the Bible be with understanding, depth and contemplation. It would be better if accompanied by prayer, so you would say with David, "Open my eyes that I may see wondrous things from Your Law."
- Let your reading be with a solemn spirit so you may benefit from it. Remember how we stand at Church in great reverence to listen to the Holy Bible. Never slacken in reading or be negligent or thoughtless.
- What is important is not the amount you read but the depth in reading. That comes when the Lord's words penetrate deep into your heart touching your feelings...
- Try to learn some verses that give certain principles or impressions or some of God's promises and answers to matters that bother you.
- Repeat these verses in your heart many times with enjoyment that makes them stick to your spirit and depths.
- Deal with these verses practically. Make them the subject of your spiritual exercises. Thus you turn the Bible into life and it becomes part of you.
- In your reading do not focus on the letter but the spirit. And if you need help, do not hesitate to ask...
- The important thing is to receive a spiritual benefit from reading.
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Memorizing
One of the useful practices during fasting is memorizing by which we mean memorizing psalms, prayers, chants and hymns and also memorizing verses and extracts from the Bible.
- By memorizing, you keep yourself busy with something that is spiritually useful.
- By memorizing, you plant in your subconscious and in your memory spiritual matters that could be of benefit when you remember later on.
- By memorizing, you feel you are in a spiritual atmosphere, just like that of prayer and you get a chance to contemplate on what you learned.
- By memorizing verses from the Bible, you'll be able to find an answer to any thought that comes to your mind, You'll also obtain an enlightened heart regarding divine matters and religious studies. The Bible becomes inside you.
- By memorizing psalms and prayers, you'll be able to pray all the time, in any situation and at any place, even among people. There would not be any need to open a book or to reveal your prayers.
- By memorizing, you'll be able to pray while walking in the street or while on public transport. You'll be able to pray while you are with people talking about matters that do not concern you. You sit quietly, repeating the prayers you learned. They would think you are listening while in fact you will be praying within your heart, without anyone noticing you!
- By memorizing, you'll be able to pray in the dark and entertain yourself by contemplating while on a trip or a long walk.
As a suggested programme for memorizing, one may start by the common parts in the Agpeya such as the Thanksgiving prayer, Psalm 51 and the Trisagion, then move to some psalms, passages, absolutions and Gospels from the seven prayers, whatever pleases one's heart...
One may also memorize some known parts from the Bible such as (1 Cor. 13) about love, or (Rom. 12) or (1Thess. 5: 12-28), or (Phil. 3: 7-14).
As for the young, they may learn to memorize many verses according to the alphabetical order besides some chants, hymns and Agpeya prayers that suit their level of understanding.
Competitions could be held at Sunday Schools or attempting common reciting among friends.
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Do Not Postpone
If the grace of God worked in your heart and you felt a strong desire to repent, do not hesitate not even for a few minutes...
You do not know, perhaps the motive might cease as well as the outside effect, then the desire to repent goes away and when you try to look for repentance you will not find it...
Your deferment for repentance will give the devil a chance to be prepared for you and to put obstacles in your way. When he knows of your intention to repent, his wars will become fierce and he will make repentance difficult for you...
The Bible considers your rejection of the voice of God, a kind of a hardness of the heart. The Divine Inspiration says, "Today if you will heart His voice, do not harden your hearts." (Heb. 3:15).
Also such deferment, or non-response to the voice of God and His work in you is considered as giving little value to the work of grace.
God might allow His grace to be taken away from you, or deliver you to the hands of your enemies or let you be humiliated by sin in order that you may know the value of the grace you rejected and refuse it no more afterwards...
The prodigal son, when he came to himself, he said, "I will arise and go to my father." (Luke 15:18). Immediately he arose and went... He seized opportunity of the spiritual warmth before it became cool in the heart and before it was snatched by the enemy...
The Bible says, "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. " (Eph. 5: l6). Therefore, benefit from the time in which you feel a longing for God; turn such a desire into practical fact showing that you seek God as He seeks you...
Many of those who delayed repentance never repented. Or when they tried to repent later they found it very difficult. And what is worse, many of them no longer had the wish to repent...!
Every time you delay repentance, say to yourself what is the meaning of this? Does it mean that you forsake God's reconciliation?! Or do you prefer to continue resisting Him?! Or do you not mind to strife with God and wound His love?
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I want...
O Lord, on the New Year's eve, I do not want to make many promises, as through my previous experience, I know that I shall not fulfil any, or start but not perfect!
I do not want to rely on myself; I know my weakness. I know I have many good intentions, "but to perform what is good I do not find" (Rom. 7:18).
The first thing I want, Lord, is to talk to You openly.
I want to present you my heart as it is, not as it should be. And I want to put to You my weaknesses, as they are, so that with Your grace and Holy Spirit, You take charge of them...
I do wrong if I promise that I will repent, but I cry out to You "Restore me and I will return." (Jer. 31:18).
I will be at fault if I promise to do many good deeds, but I ask You to strengthen me so that I may be able to do. I want You to work in me in order to do what You want me to... "For it is God who works in you both to will and to work." (Phil. 2:13).
Lord, at the beginning of this year, I want you to take charge of the whole year, every day of it... and I want You to take all my life Yourself and shape it in the way which conforms with Your goodness and Your holy will...
I want you to reveal to me Your will in my life. "Teach me Your statutes. Make me understand the way of Your precepts." (Ps. 119:27). "Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law." (Ps. 119:18).
Tell me what You want and give me the strength to do it. If I do wrong and fall, excuse my weakness and hold my hand to rise.
I do not ask only for myself but also for those whom I love, whom You like most, because You chose them temples for Your Spirit. "Holy Father, protect them in Your name Sanctify them by Your truth." (John 17:11&17).
I want their names to be written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
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Do Not Despair
However weak your spiritual life may be, do not despair; for desperation is one of Satan's wars by which he wants to weaken your morals and stop your resistance, to fall in his hands.
Even though you despair of yourself, never despair of the grace of God. If your deeds do not lead you to repentance, God's work for you might do.
Sometimes, in your spiritual life, the cause of despair may be setting before you ideals above your level, or taking steps which do not comply with the necessary gradual progress.
And because you cannot achieve what you want, you despair.
Therefore, it is better to put before you a gradual system within your power and abilities and within the gifts God gave you. Be aware that God wants only one step from you and if you take it He will lead you to the next and so on...
You might despair because you cannot stand before the Lord unless, first, you make yourself better.
It is preferable to say to Him I cannot reform myself and then come to you, but I come to You so you can make me better.
Do not despair if you feel that you do not love God. Do not say what is the use of all my works since I do not love Him!
Say rather if I do not love God, it is a comfort that He loves me and with His love He can make me love Him.
If you practise the spiritual means but do not feel a true attachment to God, do not despair.
Keep on the spiritual readings, even without understanding. Keep on praying, even without warmth, confess always even though you feel no penitence. Perhaps because of your perseverance, the Grace of God may seek you and give you the understanding, warmth and penitence.
Your mere perseverance in the spiritual means puts God in your mind even without repentance! But if you despair and break the commandments, you might go downwards and forget God completely.
Even if you are in a weak state, do not despair. It is better for you to stay as you are than to be lead through despair to worse.
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Blessing and Affliction
How astonishing are the persons whom God gives blessing but they turn it into affliction!
Money is a blessing, beauty also is, art, freedom, knowledge, power, discipline are also blessings. But, practically it is so easy to find all these blessings turned into afflictions by different means!
Misusing such blessings may turn them into afflictions. Money buys and sells conscience and beauty becomes a means of enticement. Art turns into entertainment and frivolity and freedom becomes means of rashness and inattentiveness. Power develops into an instrument of tyranny and science is used in destructive and harmful inventions while discipline -- through misuse -- turns into routine and an implement of delaying!!
These blessings -- due to competition -- may turn into afflictions!
For the sake of competition in the fields of money, science, power or art, it is so easy for a person to be at enmity with his brother, hatred and rumours spread, and fighting occurs -- in which a person loses his humanity and love for others.
Moreover, what else may be said? Even the ministry, God's ministry!! Satan can also penetrate into the sphere of ministry and change it into affliction. If there are differences of opinion, they will turn into disputes, and aspirations for improvement will change to destruction and defamation.
Also, there will rise competition for leadership as it is the case in the worldly affairs...!
And as one invention could be used for good and evil, likewise, all the other potentials could be.
So it all depends on the person himself, on the heart, the mind and the will through which a matter becomes either a blessing or a source of affliction.
At the martyrdom period, persecution seemed to be an affliction, but the saints changed it into a blessing which they received with crowns... The bloods of the martyrs became the seeds of faith. The Church grew in spirituality and became more attached to God and deeply involved in holiness in preparation for eternity.
Also, trials and diseases were accepted by the saints as blessings...
Therefore, do not say, such a thing is a blessing or such, an affliction, but say it can be changed into this or that.
A wise heart can transfer an affliction into a blessing, even sin!! He benefits from it: contrition, humility, keenness and sympathy for sinners.
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Continuance
Continuance is a very important element in the spiritual life. It is easy for a person to begin a relationship with God, but, can he continue or not?! this is the question.
The Galatians "have begun in the Spirit" but they did not continue and concluded by the flesh (Gal. 3:3). Demas served with the Apostle Paul and did not continue "for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world. " (2 Tim. 4:10).
How easy it is to live a life of love for a certain period, but it is important to carry on, as the Lord said to the angel of the Church of Ephesus, "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. " (Rev. 2:4). And so the Lord said also, "Abide in My love. " (John 15:9).
To start is easy but the strength is to continue as St. Isaac said "An exercise which you do not practise steadfastly is fruitless."
If Satan finds out that you had begun a spiritual work, he will do his utmost to make you stop and not continue. Therefore, continuance in the spiritual action needs your seriousness, strong will and self-control...
Continuance shows the sincerity of your wish to live with God and also provides spiritual experience.
For if a person proceeds with a certain virtue, he will by time realise its scope, its wars and obstacles and how to overcome all this.
For the sake of continuance, the Lord said, "...he who endures to the end will be saved." (Matt. 10:22) because the good beginnings are not everything, their strength lies in that they carry on to the end unto death.
The Apostle said, "Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct." (Heb. 13: 7). The greatness of those saints lies in their faithfulness to the end.
If you started a spiritual work and failed to continue, search for the reason. Perhaps you have begun with a level beyond your ability. In this respect the saints said, [little continuous work is better than a bigger one that stops after a time]...
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Envy of the Devil
In the Holy Mass, we say in the Prayer of Reconciliation "You destroyed the death which was introduced into the world by the envy of the devil."
We see that Satan envies every good and successful deed, because goodness and success are against his diabolic plan to resist the Kingdom of God on earth... either in relation to individuals or groups.
The devil always labours to fight the children of God but his labour is in vain.
When he finds out that he toiled in vain with no result, his hatred and envy to the children of God increases. His wars become more fierce, and after being waged in secret, they turn out openly and without shame pressing on the children of God without mercy. But God does not allow this "For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous." (Ps. 125:3).
Therefore, in every good deed expect the envy of the devils but do not fear them.
At the ordination of a new monk, a chapter from the Book of Joshua Son of Sirach is recited which says, "Son, if you engage in the service of your God, prepare yourself for all trials.
We find the same meaning in the words of St. Evagrius to the devoted monk [upon you start the holy prayer, be prepared for whatever comes upon you]. He means be ready for the wars of the devil which he will wage on you because of your holy worship.
How poor is the devil who spends his life in envy, hatred and fighting!!
His envy does not harm the children of God, but in fact it harms him and increases his eternal:punishment. Also, such envy causes him more grief, sadness, distress and trouble... Any harm the devil tries to impose on the children of God is external, unreal and does not affect their eternity for God rapidly saves them from it.
Satan might fight God's children directly as it happened with the righteous Job, and he might fight them through his human assistants.
In both ways his envy will end in vain because the grace of God intervenes and stops his evil deeds. The Lord God arises and His enemies are dispersed and all those who hate His holy name flee before His face!
Even though Satan succeeds in the beginning, he will surely fail at last...
When Satan envied Job the righteous, it seemed that he succeeded in his plan and triumphed over Job: destroyed his house, killed all his children, struck him with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head and made his friends reproach and disgrace him... But the whole matter ended to the contrary; the Lord restored Job's losses and gave him twice as much as he had before...
Satan is tormented by his own envy before the children of God strike him.
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Sacrifice
The love which does not sacrifice is a barren love, without fruit.
Love is a productive mother that gives birth to numerous virtues such as compassion and affection, a word of encouragement and a word of consolation, attention and care, forgiveness and seeking the salvation of the soul. This is the spiritual love...
Perhaps the most distinguished quality in love... is sacrifice.
This is the big difference between love and lust: love always seeks to give whereas lust always seeks to take.
Lust seeks to take because it is concentrated around the self, but love, as the Apostle said, "... does not seek its own."
Love that does not sacrifice is not a true love.
Love sacrifices everything, does not keep anything from whom it likes, no matter how this thing is precious or essential to self. It gives from its needs.
The greatest thing a loving person can offer is to sacrifice himself, and the Lord said, "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13). This was shown in depth on the cross...
The crucified Jesus is a sacrifice of love... The Bible said, "For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16).
During the Passion Week, many contemplate on the passions of Christ. Christ's passions are merely a natural result of His love. Love here is the origin, while pain is the outer appearance...
I wish we would contemplate on His love which He revealed through His passions.
The candle melts to give light to others; this is also a kind of self-sacrifice for the sake of others. So, we put candles before the icons of the saints... as a symbol.
Also the incense burns in fire to give sweet smell which ascends to God... It is a delightful burnt offering to God, and it is also a symbol...
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Hope
The spiritual person who is known for the virtue of hope always has hope in all the particulars of his life, which grants him strength and joy:
- With regard to repentance and purity, he always has hope that God will pick him up however great his fall may be and will set him up.
- He has hope that God will work with him in every spiritual act. He believes in God, in His goodness and protection, in His love and promises. This faith fills his heart with hope in God's response. He is full of confidence that his request has entered into the presence of God and that God will do what is good.
- In every affliction or problem he faces, he has hope that God will save him no matter how hard it is or how far God delayed or seemed delaying. This person has hope that God will come, even in the last watch of the night. Therefore, he never loses hope.
- With this hope in him, he does not despair, does not know failure and does not accept the word impossible. With God there is hope, even in the smoking flax and the bruised reed. There is even hope for the barren woman who never gave birth.
- God is the hope for those who have no hope and is the helper of those who have no helper. God is the comforter of the mean-spirited and the harbour for those who are in the storm.
- This hope gives strength that springs from God, as the Lord says, "But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and shall not faint. " (Isa. 40:31).
- It is a firm hope that does not shake because it depends on God who has no variation or shadow of turning...
Jonah the Prophet had hope, even when he was in the belly of the big fish.
- Hope in God gives joy, "Rejoicing in hope." (Rom. 12:12).
- Hope is an incentive for work, for hope does not mean idleness, relying on God! No, but it is rejoicing in the work of God and this urges one to work with God, with full enthusiasm...
- Live in the hope and wait for the Lord, rejoicing in Him and in His work.
There is nothing impossible in the life with God. There is hope whatever the sin and the troubles may be and however difficult the case is.
In the spiritual life, how nice are the sayings about hope in the Bible:
"... all things are possible to him who believes." (Mark 9:23).
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Phil. 4:13).
If you are fought with hopelessness about your personal abilities, you should not be fought about God's power...
If you do not have the ability, God certainly has: Even if you are not seeking Him, He seeks you as He sought the prodigal son and the lost coin. He stands and knocks at your door to open for Him. How great is this hope that God is seeking you and He does not wish the sinner to perish but to repent and live.
Satan, in keen insistence, does not lose hope to destroy the most saintly and continues fighting him. How more becomes our hope in God's salvation of sinners.
God gave us hope through examples mentioned in the Bible, such as the numerous miracles among which was the resurrection of the dead, even the one who has been dead for four days.
The greater war by which Satan fights us is hopelessness.
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