Category: BEST OF

  • I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

    And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.

    I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

    That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.[Ecclesiastes 1:12-15]

    What did he mean by “vexation of spirit”? It refers to the aimlessness and futility of human activity, for one can never lay hold of real satisfaction. It vexed him to see many that had wisdom not use it, and many that had folly not strive against it. The minds and manners of men are crooked and perverse. Solomon thought with his wisdom and power together thoroughly to reform his kingdom, but he was disappointed. He found no lasting satisfaction, for the world was still full of problems that could not be solved. All the philosophy and politics in the world will not restore the corrupt nature of man. Human wisdom will never be able to change the course of things, since all things are ordained and cannot be different from what they are.

    Book of Ecclesiastes
    Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty

  • Bruno was definitely in the throes of a midlife crisis. Was Michel? A man in a midlife crisis is asking only to live, to live a little more, a little longer. Michel, on the other hand, had had enough; he could see no reason to go on.

    That evening he stumbled on a photo taken at his primary school in Charny and he cried. The child in the photograph sat at his desk holding a textbook open in front of him. The boy smiled straight at the camera, happily, confidently; it seemed unthinkable to Michel that he was that boy…

    For several days Michel kept the photograph beside him on his bedside table. The mysteries of time were banal, he told himself, this was the way of the world: youthful optimism fades, and happiness and confidence evaporate. He lay on his Bultex mattress, struggling to come to terms with the transience of life.

    The Elementary Particles
    Michel Houellebecq

  • ‘My friend, said the Spirit. ‘Don’t you know?’

    ‘Know what?’

    “That you and I are already completely forgotten on the Earth?’

    The Great Divorce
    C.S. Lewis

  • People who have a creative side and do not live it out are most disagreeable clients. They make a mountain out of a molehill, fuss about unnecessary things, are too passionately in love with somebody who is not worth so much attention, and so on. There is a kind of floating charge of energy in them which is not attached to its right object and therefore tends to apply exaggerated dynamism to the wrong situation.

    —Marie-Louise von Franz

  • Where else can we find rest other than the church, and of course, the altar? I remember my second day as a priest. I was ordained on Sunday, and then Monday night I spent the night at St. Mary in Dallas. The next morning, we prayed the Divine Liturgy, and there was a priest visiting. I actually—please forgive me—I don’t remember his name, but I remember his advice.

    After we prayed the Liturgy, I think during the Liturgy, he saw me. I didn’t have a beard, nothing, so he said to me:

    “There are some things that have no solution. What are you going to do? You’re going to take it, and you’re going to put it on the altar. And that’s it.”

    And I never forgot this. I wish I remembered his name, but I don’t. I remember the advice: “There are some things that only the altar can solve.”

    The Family and the Altar – Father Jacob Gendy – Nahda 2026

  • One day the monks dismissed a brother, and when St. Serapion asked about the reason, they told him because of the sin in which he fell. Upon hearing this, St. Serapion left their company saying, “I also am a sinner”.

    Judge Not Others
    H.H. Pope Shenouda III

  • The hardness may be in the use of hurting words.

    It may be in the form of ascribing very bad attributes to the condemned person or uttering such accusations that prejudice his honor, his character, or his mentality. For example the words “you fool” are hurting words which should be punished by hell fire as the Lord said (Mt. 5: 22). How many, actually, are the words and expressions used by people bearing the same meaning of “you fool”.

    Judge Not Others
    H.H. Pope Shenouda III

  • What is the guilt of the hearer that he loses his simplicity and have bad thoughts because of you?

    Because of you, the image of the others may change in his mind and may remain so, affecting his relationship and his dealings with them without the other person knowing the cause of all this! Why all this destruction?

    Therefore, the fathers said that a person who talks wickedly against others, destroys the souls of the hearers and his own as well.

    Judge Not Others
    H.H. Pope Shenouda III

  • Poor are those who limit their thoughts to the past with all its troubles, mistakes and its sweet dreams. There would not be any time or strength left for them to do something for the future.

    They talk about the beauty of the past, the greatness of the past, either a boosting talk or a sorrowful talk. As for the present, there is nothing about it, it does not exist, the same with the future … etc. 

    The beautiful past is not going to satisfy you if the present is troublesome. Therefore, do not live on sweet memories but reach forward. Let your present always be better than your past.

    Do not remember from the past except what could make your present better and gives you a push forward in repentance or in growth.

    WORDS OF SPIRITUAL BENEFIT VOL III
    H.H. Pope Shenouda III

  • The wreck of friendship is also a blow to religion. Many have lost their faith in God, because they have lost, through faithlessness, their faith in man.

    The Art of Being a Good Friend
    Hugh Black