Many, at their time of death weep, not for their sins, but because death will deprive them of the pleasures of life. They weep because death will separate them from their beloved ones and from their lusts; the world is still sweet in their eyes even at the hour of death. Do not think that death surely brings dread to man. No, this is not true for every one. The thief on the right benefitted from the hour of death whereas the thief on the left did not. Whilst the thief on the left was blaspheming and reviling, his companion was praying and supplicating, saying “Remember me, O Lord, when You come into Your kingdom.”
—H.H. Pope Shenouda III, Father, Forgive Them
Category: FAITH
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In the case of physical illness, even if doctors tell us it is beyond hope, we do all we can to save the body. But on the other hand, when it comes to the spirit and its maladies, for which recovery is never beyond reach, we plunge into despair as if there is nothing we can do. Focusing on your spirit more than your body will save both; focusing on just the body will cause you to lose both.
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
ON REPENTANCE & DEFEATING DESPAIR
Letters to Theodore -
Such a person does good without waiting for a commandment. His good nature makes him in no need of a call to do good.
He does good because it is in his nature, being in God’s image. He does good as a habitual thing, as a breath coming out, without feeling that he is doing something strange or beyond his ability.
So, seeing it is something normal, he does not boast of doing it.
On the contrary, he who does not love good finds God’s commandment heavy, and he becomes an enemy to God! He feels that God deprives him of the pleasure of sinning, and that His commandment restricts him, leading him in a way he does not want. Thus God’s way becomes difficult to him and he walks in it forcibly, if ever he does!
—H.H. Pope Shenouda III, Fruits of the Spirit
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A believer trusts that his own prayer has reached God, and that God has heard it and will respond. He is sure that God will act. That is why some of David’s psalms start with request and concludes with response. For instance he concludes Psalm (6) with the words: “Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity; for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord has heard my supplication..” (Ps 6: 8)
—H.H. Pope Shenouda III, Fruits of the Spirit -
A person who has no longsuffering falls in anxiety, annoyance and disturbance. He becomes worried and loses his inner peace.
Such a person will be always anxious, looking at his watch every minute and every moment. He may also be rash and do himself much harm. Such an impatient person may in his rashness take decisions or actions haphazardly, like one who thinks God has not responded to his prayers and so swears never to enter the church, as if protesting against God!
—H.H. Pope Shenouda III, Fruits of the Spirit -
In order to have peace and confidence, one can remind himself of God’s protecting power.
Trust that God exists, and that He works for you. Trust that every problem has a solution, and God has many solutions; for what is impossible with people is possible with God. Even more, all things are possible to him who believes (Mk 9: 23).
—H.H. Pope Shenouda III, Fruits of the Spirit
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God forms character in obscurity. Right now you might feel forgotten. Do not despise the hidden season. Hidden years are not wasted years.
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“I went to my home parish, and was awaiting a Bible Study to conclude so that I could speak to the person affected. During the Bible Study, I asked our God for help, and looked to Saint Mary’s icon and asked her to help me with what to say, that I wanted to be obedient but was also scared of the repercussions of the conversation I was about to have. I found myself, by His grace and the prayers of our Lady, finding words that I know I didn’t have.”
Confession and Guidance: An Approach by Antony Paul
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Clement possessed all the characteristics of the talented master: a flashing intellect, a fiery enthusiasm, and an ever youthful soul. He believed that teaching was a divine mission, and gave himself wholeheartedly to it. He went as far as opening his School to all who came, regardless of age and sex. And the people from all walks of life crowded to hear him: the rich and learned aristocrats; the women of high rank, powdered and perfumed; young “ne’er-do-wells,” coming from sheer curiosity, philosophers and rhetoricians. A medley of a crowd, if ever there was one. A cynic, looking at such a crowd, might well have declared that it was void of all good.
THE STORY OF THE COPTS
THE TRUE STORY OF THE CHRISTIANS OF EGYPT WHO HAVE LIVED THE BIBLE FOR 2,000 YEARSBY IRIS HABIB EL MASRI
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We refrain from committing sin, because we love God, others, and ourselves.
—H.E. Metropolitan Youssef, How to Develop Your Personality
SO GOOD QUOTES 