The greatest source of tears which the saints, the desert ascetics, used is weeping for sins. It is a source out of which abundant tears spring forth, for everyone who offers a true repentance with all their heart, feeling sorry for their sins, which caused all these sufferings to their compassionate Redeemer, portraying His wound before them and His open side by the spear of their sins. Therefore, you can do nothing but weep and shed tears.
They are the tears of regret for the lost time in entertainment and the false happiness in the vain pleasures of the world.
—H.E. Metropolitan Youssef, How to Pray
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and existential questions that loom ever greater as she ages. “I was sad and frivolous, determined and listless,” she confesses at one point, reflecting on her adolescence.
—Roger Ebert -
“…languor of lost youth”
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“How intoxicating it can be to discover one’s life as full of enigmas and possibilities, as we do when we’re young, and how melancholic it can be to reflect on the experience and find it limned out by loneliness and regret.”
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“Desire is a mystery, and sex is its funeral,” remarks Parthenope at one point. But longing for her beauty to remain closed off to others—a vision to be admired, not a spectacle to be consumed—leaves her as alienated from the human experience as the timeless deities to which she’s compared.
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Q4. How does one know what is the gift that God has given them? Is there something that is supposed to be revealed at a certain time? Is there anything one can do to speed up the process of finding our gift?
Yes, you can pray about it and God will help you, to reveal your gift to you. Also, you can listen to the feedback other people give you. For example, people will say to you, “You have leadership qualities”;
“You know, when I talk to you, I feel comfortable,” so perhaps your gift is counseling, or you may be good at administration. So listen to the feedback from other people.
—H.E. Metropolitan Youssef, How to Know the Will of God
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Q3. How do you know when a door is closed by God?
As I told you, you will not have peace about this way. When you ask many people, they will not be comfortable about this way. As I told you, God is not the author of confusion. God will send you certain signs or verses or messages, assuring you that this is not the way. When you try to knock on this door or to pursue it, you will find may challenges.
So, when you put all these things together, then you will know that this door is not for you. It is closed.
—H.E. Metropolitan Youssef, How to Know the Will of God
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So, examine the circumstances around you.
Perhaps the job for which you have applied several times is not God’s plan for you to get. You may need to apply in another company, for another job. You need to look at the circumstances. Yes, there are some doors which will be closed, but this does not mean that God does not like you, God hates you, God rejects you, God does not love you. It does not mean all of these. It can simply mean that this is not the will of God for you. Look at the open doors. But, also, I want to warn you here that not every open door is necessarily the will of God. That is why you need to follow the mentioned steps not only this one step.
—H.E. Metropolitan Youssef, How to Know the Will of God
SO GOOD QUOTES 