Author: matthew

These days many youth are in the church and that is an unspeakable blessing. It can be easy however to forget how many youth are also away from the church. Many times these youth may go without someone asking about them for years. I remember even hearing a terrible story where a particular person was away from the church for so long and had not been contacted. By the time someone tried contacting that person, one of their parents picked up the phone and told the caller that their child had died. They had died and the servant didn’t even know it…

Now if you would care to invest your time, let us consider this topic with a rhyme.

When was the last time you sought the one and left the ninety nine – instead of being on Facebook all the time?

How about your prayers at home? Do you speak to God in your room when no one is looking or are you too busy watching shows about cooking?

Don’t get me wrong cooking is great – but have you taken the time to seek your mate?

Your mate who was in your Sunday school class all those years ago. Remember? The one you would tease so your other friends you would please. They’re gone now and no one has contacted them for years. Literally years.

Besides they’re not your responsibility right – why should you have to fight for your friend’s soul? They’re not interested in Christ anymore you say, but dying on the cross for them you did not pay.

Why not let God lead you for once instead of relying on your base logic? Do you think Christ can’t reach them anymore because your logic says so? Well moving a mountain with prayer isn’t logical and that happened. Opening someone’s eyes with mud isn’t logical and that happened. Why limit God when you know His power your mind hasn’t fathomed?

Guard against the love of ease for then only yourself will you please. Real service is difficult. In true love and humility Christ bled. But for you sacrificing pleasure is a dread.

Arise from laziness and put your hand to the plough – your friend has been away too long till now.

Get up and call your mate. If you don’t have their number then look them up on Facebook. If you still can’t get in touch with them then look through old Sunday school lists – you just might find their number that way.

Isn’t it true when for that pair of shoes you were looking, sadly you didn’t find them, and it led you to inward sooking. Why don’t you pursue your friend as much as you would pursue things that make you look good? You want to adorn your body so you look nice but in the past 5 years, have you, for their soul, even prayed thrice?

Please don’t look at this like a guilt trip, just be encouraged to wrestle like Jacob when God touched his hip.

But in all this forget not to pray – asking that we all may inherit the Kingdom on judgement day.

Rhymes may be cheesy but it makes writing easy – Read again what is above and take from it what is true, then let God be the one to guide you…

The Forgotten Medicine

By Mary Girgis

The sacrament of Confession, is one of the most important spiritual practices of the Christian faith because it is a necessary requirement for entry into the Kingdom of Heaven. And yet, it is the one that is most often forgotten. St Augustine, the prototypical confessor, explains the gravity of the sacrament of confession in a way that we cannot ignore:

“Let this be in the heart of the penitent: when you hear a man confessing his sins, he has already come to life again; when you hear a man lay bare his conscience in confessing, he has already come forth from the sepulchre.” – St Augustine of Hippo

We are made dead by sin but made alive again by confession. So why do we continuously avoid it? Why do we keep choosing death over life?

Because death is sweeter.

There’s a certain bliss that comes with ignoring my sin. When I deny myself of the medicine that is confession, I lose all accountability for my actions. How liberating! To be free from guilt.

Perhaps for a time.

At first, I ignore my sinful actions, living in a spiritual stupor. But it isn’t long before I am roused by an unrelenting conscience. It is then that I realise that I am enslaved by sin.

What can free us from this slavery?

“For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:14)

Under the new covenant, the one perfect sacrifice of Christ is enough to procure spiritual pardon for all nations and ages. Our only task is to repent and confess before the Lord, and He will free us from our sin, and in effect, our guilt.

If I am to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, I must partake in true repentance with:

1. Remorse for my sins
2. An honest intention to improve
3. Faith in Christ and assurance of His mercy
4. Verbal confession of my sins before a priest

“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 18:18

Jesus gave his apostles the divine discretion to “bind” or “loose” sin. A sentence is not valid until it is endorsed by Christ’s representatives who, for us, are the priests. They are the ones who have been given the authority by Christ to absolve us from our sins.

Again, that’s what we often fear about confession – a heightened sense of guilt. But God has given us a superior alternative – His grace, which is sweeter than any flavour of death.

Turn it Up

By Mina Iskander

“There is no doubt that the sounds of music, at the Lord’s command or with His permission, have unleashed great forces.” St Gregory of Nyssa.

I may not realise it or want to admit it, but music affects me. A song with a fast beat makes me drive a little faster, whilst a slow song makes me feel sad, or even cry if no one is looking. And that song from “The Good Guys” ad is just irritating.

St Gregory of Nyssa calls music a “fabulous material” and reminds us of the biblical evidence for its power. “We read that by means of David’s tuneful harp the demon was expelled from Saul. The divine reading attests that the walls of Jericho at once collapsed at the din of trumpets.” He concludes, “There is no doubt that the sounds of music, at the Lord’s command or with His permission, have unleashed great forces.” These great forces can be constructive or destructive. Which do I continually choose? Which lives in my iTunes library? Which is emanating from my headphones?

Music is one of God’s creations for humanity to enjoy. God created every tool that we use in order to produce, listen to and ultimately enjoy music. An infant, before they are even capable of speaking or seeing clearly, squeals with delight when they hear their favourite song. Music therefore cannot be inherently bad. The simplest evidence for this is the fact it plays such a central role in Orthodox worship!

Some claim, however, that since God created music then all music is suitable for my ears. That is like saying that because God created humanity, all human actions are suitable for me. I must therefore ask myself, am I enjoying music in the manner that God intended? In the words of St Gregory, are the “forces” being unleashed by the music I listen to destructive or constructive?

In 2 Samuel 6:5, we see how David and the people of Israel used music to celebrate the return of the Ark of the Covenant: “Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the LORD on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.”

Origen the scholar links this passage to the promise of Jesus that: “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them” (Matt 18:19). He explains that the well-tuned instruments “have in them that harmony of tones which is of such power that if only two people bring before the Father in heaven any request with that symphony which is found in divine and spiritual music, the Father grants it to them—which is most remarkable.” How constructive a force this is! If two people are united in prayer and song, their prayer will be answered! Imagine a united couple, family, group of friends, and indeed a whole church!

As a church we often pray together using the psalms, which were originally written as songs. The psalms are themselves littered with references to singing and music. Perhaps one of the most frequent words we see in the psalms is “selah”. Biblical scholars debate the exact meaning of the word, but most agree it is akin to “pause”. St Gregory of Nyssa writes beautifully about these pauses.

He explains that it “is a pause that occurs suddenly in the midst of the singing of a psalm in order to receive an additional thought that is being introduced from God.” How constructive this is! Is the music I am listening to interrupted by additional thoughts from God? Or is He far from it, perhaps waiting and hoping that the next song may be more suitable?

We need to turn our music up. Our desire for music is God given and thus should not be stifled, but rather should be redirected to Him. Let’s turn it away from violence, dysfunctional relationships, sexual immorality, immodesty, and materialism and turn it up to the love of God. Turn that music up!

PS – Apologies if that Good Guys song is stuck in your head. Replace it with something more constructive.

A Servant in Poetry

Depending on which church you go to you’re called a “servant” after you graduate from a preservants course, which could take one to several years to complete.

But is that really what makes us servants?

Now if you would care to invest your time, let us consider this topic with a rhyme.

True servanthood belongs to the one who reflects their true Parenthood. We have been adopted from above and the sign of that is that we show true love.

Indeed without love we may serve but from the upright path we will swerve.

Preaching sermons doesn’t make us servants, nor teaching Sunday school for that matter, indeed without love all this would be but chatter.

You see in the end one of the most important things to remember about service is that service is not the most important thing. Your personal relationship with Christ is. Dear servant, where do you stand in your personal relationship with Christ?

You consider yourself as sent but are you someone who still repents?

You want your listeners to be in submission, but when was the last time you had confession?

You’re good with your words and want to stand on the block, but when God looks into your heart can He see a person who actually cares for the flock?

Take heed not to serve for show, otherwise your heavenly reward you will blow.

Take a moment and consider your end. Leave no lesser legacy than that you were His friend.

Rhymes may be cheesy but it makes writing easy. Read again what is above and take from it what is true and then let God be the One to transform you.

Tolle Lege – Take up and read!

“…I read on and on, all afire”
(St. Augustine)

The exercise of reading conjures up all kinds of different feelings and emotions for different people. For some, reading is one of life’s greatest pleasures, for others readings is an avenue for attaining and retaining desired knowledge, but for many others, the exercise of reading is so foreign that they often claim: ‘I have never a read a book from cover to cover’. School students are always reminded that reading is an essential element in developing their literacy skills. What about the Orthodox Christian servant? Is reading an essential element in developing ‘spiritual literacy’ skills?

Reading is one effective avenue for a servant to fill themselves continually. St. Paul, realising the importance of reading for the servant, exhorts the young St. Timothy saying: “Till I come, give attention to reading…” (1 Tim 4:13). Reading has often been viewed as a means to attain knowledge, but in fact reading is not only a means to attain knowledge, but a means to be transformed in every aspect of the spiritual life. H.H. Pope Kyrillos, a holy man of prayer, suggests that reading is an essential element to an effective prayer life. He says:

“Honour reading and persist in it, if possible, more than prayer. Reading is the spring of intelligent prayer”

Having now established the importance of reading for the servant, how then should reading be approached? What should be our intention as we read through sacred scripture and other spiritual books? Very simply, reading should be approached as a life-transforming exercise. St. Augustine used the metaphor of fire when encountering any spiritual text; “I was on fire as I read” he would say. In the Confessions he reconstructs his first reading of a psalm as a newly converted catechumen. He read, he says, with intense excitement and his experience like fire:

“How loudly I cried out to you, my God, as I read the psalms of David…How loudly I began to cry out to you in those psalms, how I was inflamed by them with love for you and fired to recite them to the whole world, were I able…I shuddered with awe, yet all the while hope and joy surged up within me…I trembled as I heard these words…How these words moved me, my God…As I read these words outwardly and experienced their truth inwardly I shouted with joy…The next verse wrung a cry from the very depths of my heart I read on and on, all afire.”

The Lord answered the prayers of St. Monica, by calling St. Augustine to read. As he was sitting in a garden, he heard some children singing: “Tolle lege, tolle lege” (“Take up and read, take up and read”). He responded to this call by opening the sacred Scriptures and reading a verse that would forever change the course of his life:

“Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” (Romans 13:13-14).

St. Augustine would later recount this event saying:

“I had no wish to read further, nor was there need. No sooner had I reached the end of the verse than the light of certainty flooded my heart and all dark shadows of doubt fled away”.

The transformative reading experience of St. Augustine and other saints like St. Anthony who changed their direction in life from a single verse, reveals to us the potential impact reading can have on our lives. We must learn to read for life, to read for transformation.

But what sort of literature should we read? you may be asking.

When Fr. Tadros Malaty was in Sydney not so long ago, I was given the privilege of driving him to one of his appointments. I was very excited that I would get a whole hour of un-interrupted discussion with him and I could ask him all the questions I wanted. When we got in the car I thought long and hard about a good question to ask him. I wanted the question to be an intelligent one, worthy of the person I was asking. I remembered that he really enjoys reading and writing so I thought of the perfect question to ask (well at least I thought it was perfect at the time): “Abouna, what’s your favorite book that you have read” I asked. Without a second to think, he responded “the Bible”. After taking a moment to swallow my pride due to the not so intelligent question, I realised how essential it is for the Bible to be the centre and core of our reading. It is the most life-transforming text you will ever read.

Having the Holy Bible as the centre of our reading, we should also ensure that our reading is well balanced covering all areas such as Bible commentary (especially from the Church fathers), spiritual, social, theology, Church History, Saints and so on. Let us draw upon the wealth of Orthodox literature that is now readily available to us in the English language.

May we respond to the same cal that St. Augustine received: “Take up and read, take up and read” and may we moreover be transformed in the same way St, Augustine was transformed. By in so doing, we will also transform those whom we serve.

Glory be to our God forever, Amen.

Attaining Godly love

Bible reference- Luke 14: 25-35

Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. “Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

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In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, One God Amen.

In chapter 14 of the Gospel of St Luke Christ teaches us the harsh truth of what is required of us as children of God to attain the Kingdom of Heaven. We are generally used to Christ telling us to be joyful because God has fulfilled His promise of salvation and deliverance through the coming down of Jesus Christ. In John’s gospel Christ even says ‘Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.’ (John 16:24).

In the beginning of this gospel passage we can see that Christ now had a great multitude following Him. With anyone else but the Son of God, you would think that once they had attained such a large following, that they would take the opportunity to be a crowd pleaser so that the number of followers would swell up. If this happened the thousands which followed Him might have become a hundred thousand within a month, but God does not work in this way- He turned and told the congregation the difficult sayings we see in this gospel passage. He tells the multitude “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple”.

For the people it would have been very hard to hear this, they probably said to themselves: “What are we supposed to do? This man tells us to love one another and then next he is telling us to hate. This is so difficult to understand”. The saying would have confused many, but this is the nature of God.

He says in Deuteronomy “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God” (Deuteronomy 4:24), this is even repeated by St Paul to the Thessalonians:

“we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 1:4-8)

These words may seem harsh to us, but this is the truth which God Himself tells to both the believers and the non-believers through those who were chosen by Him to preach the gospel. We call Christ the true physician who knows exactly what we need, and thus these ‘harsh statements’ are meant so that we may be healed; to remind us to keep God as the focal point of our lives because this is what will grant us true comfort, peace and rest – things which those in the world seek after but never find.

In Matthew’s gospel, Christ says “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28). All people need rest; most of us go on holidays at least once a year and society as a whole spends vast amounts of money to get the best holiday possible to be able to achieve this aim, but this rest is a bodily rest which does not last. The true rest we seek is through Christ Himself-only He can grant us the living water which leads us to everlasting life. If we are to love anything else besides God, we cannot attain this rest that we all need; we cannot attain peace. He is telling us in Luke’s gospel that He should be the central point around which the rest of our lives revolve around and upon which our lives depend.

If we occupy ourselves with other types of love, without first loving God, even if it may be for “father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters” we cannot attain the heavenly rest Christ desires to give us. We must first love everyone through Christ, then it is possible to obtain genuine love for everyone around us, otherwise we are worshipping a different ‘god’. Christ himself even says unless you accept this command which I give you, you cannot be my disciple.

We have many examples of people throughout the Bible and the early years of Christianity who show us just how important this command Christ gave us in Luke’s gospel is:

-Adam loved his wife more than he loved God, eating from the tree of knowledge to appease his wife and thus he fell from eternal life and was exiled from Paradise

-Samson, when he no longer kept the fear of God in his heart and loved Delilah, was led into many sins which resulted in him breaking his covenant with God, losing both his strength and his eyes

In contrast there are the many saints who loved God more than all else, counting their lives as nothing so that they may attain eternal life and live with God:

– All the countless martyrs and saints who brought their bodies into subjection

-Abraham who loved God more than his son Isaac, willingly giving his only son through whom the covenant was to be fulfilled, up to death. We even see that he left early in the morning to stop his wife Sarah from knowing what was going to happen or having the chance to intervene. Likewise, he did not allow his servants to follow him the whole way so that they could not get between him and the duty he was given by God

-St Demiana despite loving her earthly father, said to him when she saw him serving idols ‘I don’t want to know you. You are not my father anymore’, placing the commandments and love of God first before that of men

And we even have God the Father Himself who set us the most perfect example. Despite His immeasurable love for the Son (Christ), He gave Him up to crucifixion for us so that the plan of salvation could be carried out for His creation. As we are commanded to love Him, He too loved us perfectly granting salvation to those who follow out His commandments and statutes; to love Him with all our hearts, minds and souls.

We find in our lives that we are preoccupied with many things which will mean nothing for us on the final day of judgement, we are like the individuals in the parable of the ‘Great Feast’ (Luke 14:16-24) – we have excuses that we use to justify why we cannot follow Christ. In order to attain the Kingdom of Heaven we must become disciples of Christ, a feat which is only possible if we empty ourselves of the concerns of this world and put Christ first in all that we do. In doing so we can truly and purely love everyone else; as soon as we put on Christ, as soon as we love Him, then we can earnestly love even those we consider our enemies.

To become the people chosen by God, we first need to get close to Him and love Him. The love of everyone else and true heavenly love for yourself, which compels you to seek salvation, naturally follows from first loving God. All the martyrs had no care for their own bodies readily giving them up for Him as they counted their lives as nothing because they loved God and put Him first. We need to be like that. We may not be able to become physical martyrs in today’s society, but we can put all other love in our heart which is not for God aside, and put our whole focus on Christ, to become martyrs of the spirit. In doing so we can attain the everlasting joy which comes from God and is not of this world and can then attain the rest we desire by becoming His children and disciples.

Glory be to God forever. Amen

On the Psalms

“Singing Psalms is medicine
for healing the soul”
– St. Athanasius

If you open the Bible right in the middle you will find the book of Psalms. In fact, the middle chapter in the whole Bible is Psalm 118. The longest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119 and the shortest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 117. If you attend any Orthodox service, whether it is Vespers, Liturgy, Marriage ceremony, you name it; you will no doubt hear a portion of a Psalm being read. Try opening a page of the Coptic Orthodox Prayer book (Agpia) – you will most definitely fall on a page that contains a Psalm. The Psalms are so important that Monks are required to recite them daily. I still remember as a child in Sunday school always being offered prizes if I could memorise a Psalm. So, what is so special about this Holy book of Psalms that takes its place as the centre of Orthodox worship? (Or as one Orthodox Bishop put it: “It is the golden thread that runs through the beautiful garment of Orthodox worship”)

To put it simply, the Psalms are so unique and special because they express in divinely inspired language the innermost thoughts and fears of humanity. And this was ultimately and no better expressed than when our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Himself quoted the Psalms when hanging on the cross on Golgotha.

In addition to inspiring the public prayer of the Orthodox Church, the Psalms are an indispensible part of the private devotions of all who seek a closer relationship with God. It is for this reason that the Coptic Orthodox Church has tirelessly encouraged its faithful to pray and memorise the Psalms. When St. Benedict of Nursia, in the sixth century, prescribed the weekly reciting of the psalms to his monks as the barest monastic minimum, he lamented the inability of his monks to perform this task daily, as was being practiced by the Coptic Monks in the deserts of Egypt.

The majority of the Psalms were written by the ‘sweet singer of Israel’ King David the Prophet. Twenty four psalms are ascribed to Asaph (perhaps a title of various chief musicians), and to the sons of Korah (a family of official doorkeepers and musicians), as well as to Heman and Ethan. These psalms are properly classed together since their authors were associated with the service of song which David established. In addition to this Moses, may have written Psalms 90 and 100 as well as one or two psalms may have been written by Solomon.

If you want to talk to God, if you want to praise God, if you want to thank God, if you want to worship God, if you want to complain to God, and even if you want to return to God after sin, then the Psalms provide the divinely inspired words and the spirit to do so. William S. Plumer says, “(The psalms) have been read, repeated, chanted, sung, studied, wept over, rejoiced in, expounded, loved and praised by God’s people for thousands of years.”

Life in the 21st century is travelling at a million miles an hour. Everyone is so busy trying to balance their commitments to their family, to their friends, to their service and to their demanding career, while prayer and meditation is pushed to the final moments in an exhausting day. Our souls are in need of desperate healing. St. Athanasius said: “Singing Psalms is medicine for healing the soul”.

May we use this divinely inspired language to revive our prayer life, may we memorise the psalms so that we might recite them throughout our busy days to provide healing to our souls. I will leave you with a famous quote that was said to me by my Spiritual father: “Keep the psalms in your heart, and they will keep you”

Glory be to God forever, Amen

January is for St Joseph

By Fr Jonathan Ishak

Today’s gospel talks about a saintly character, a man of a few words. Although he is known for his quiet spirit he was also a man of great, virtuous deeds. For these characteristics the Heavens chose him from amongst all of humanity to behold the Lord Christ and protect Him as a young Child. This great saint is indeed, St Joseph the Carpenter (holding Christ on the left).

Today’s gospel tells of how a mere human on Earth was chosen by the Heavens for this revered role, to protect the Child, from the unmerciful hands of Herod. Indeed, this shows us that St Joseph the Carpenter was judged worthy to look would look after The Christ, with St Mary. Amongst many there are three particular characteristics which can be learnt from the virtuous St Joseph the Carpenter. The first is his steadfast faith in the Lord, a brand of faith that parallels that of Abraham in the Old Testament. We observe Abraham’s faith in his

response to God command that he go slaughter his only beloved son to which he unhesitatingly obeyed, “Yes Lord.” Thus, Abraham had faith that what God commands is for the best and is governed by His goodness. In the same spirit St Joseph the Carpenter faith mirrors Abraham’s steadfast faith in the Lord, this can be understood in discussing St Joseph’s speediness and readiness when a request from Heaven was given to him, whether this be in the form of a message or a desire. The final point to be discussed is his quiet nature as a silent saint, he was constantly more occupied with God than with people and thereby, was able to hear God’s voice clearly. These three points are evident in the life of St Joseph the Carpenter and will be expounded within this article.

In the picture above you can observe the spirit and nature of St Joseph the Carpenter; one righteous saint commented on the above picture and said, “On every Christmas, we should remember this righteous saint, who beheld the Child Christ between his hands and cared for him. The one who Christ glanced at and was the first person who He addressed as ‘father’.” Indeed, this saint who loved God and God the Father entrusted with His Son, knew that the one he held was the Son of God. This is a comment on his faith, for He believed what the Angel Gabriel told him; that the one born of the Virgin Mary is God.

Yesterday I was accompanied by Fr Micheal during a trip, who recounted his visit to a known church named after St Joseph the Carpenter, whilst in Canada. He commented that many people go and visit the church and make petitions through the intercession of St Joseph the Carpenter, and also that he performs many wonders and miracles in this church. Evidence of his intercession and blessings could be seen in a designated room set by the parish priest, which holds items that had previously belonged to people once burdened with infirmities and had been cured through his intercession. Notably, this also included the wheelchair of someone who was paralysed and was healed through this blessed saint. This church is known for its miracles because St Joseph the Carpenter is a great saint which the Heavens selected thus, in our human weakness how could we not honour him and venerate him greatly?

As we look into the picture of St Joseph the Carpenter, our hearts are inevitably touched with his humility and his purity. Not solely this but we are also touched in this image by the spirit of one who worships in the presence of God continually and in the same nature, acknowledges and feels the presence of God.

The first of the three points of discussion is this saint’s faith. In gazing upon this picture, we see an icon of faith. If we were to glance at every icon in the church, we would find and learn something very individual to each one. For as believers, when we enter into church and see a beautiful icon, we leave and feel we have learnt something from it, for we desire to liken ourselves with the saints in these icons. In St Joseph the Carpenter we observe a brand of faith unmeasurably great for he never allowed his mind to distract nor disrupt his faith. Sometimes our minds cause us to be over thoughtful and be coaxed into the belief that we posses intelligence greater than which we have. This therefore causes us to enquire into things to do with God, things that we shouldn’t question, for they are greater than what we can comprehend. An example of this is if someone were to ask if confession is necessary. To this we would explain that the Church has practiced confession since the time of the Apostles and furthermore, that it was said to the saintly apostles, “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 18:18 NKJV) Thus when one comes to church, they should come in humility, and not overuse their mind. They should not question as to what benefit would be gained in confessing to a priest if they pray and partake of Christ’s Holy Body and Precious Blood, which they might think to be sufficient. This is a misconception, for the Church teaches and encourages us to come and take the absolution from the mouth of the priest. To resolve such conflicts, we can take the example of St Joseph the Carpenter who never used to overuse his mind rather he believed the word of God with simplicity, evidenced in his sincere belief of the word prophesied by Angel Gabriel. Undoubtedly, this Saint was so great in his faith.

Many people delay the baptism of their children despite hearing the verse, “Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” ” (John 3:5 NKJV). Those engrossed in their own self knowledge and are proud in their hearts, are caused to question saying: when a child is submerged into the water, he comes out looking the same and its very essence it is simply water- what is its use? They do not recognise however that the water is indeed the secret presence of the Holy Spirit, for Baptism is one of the seven sacraments of the church. Thus, it not ordinary water but water endowed with the work of the Holy Spirit; water that writes the name of this child in the Kingdom of Heaven. In simplicity, there lies our faith.

Unfortunately however, we live in a world that does not have faith in God, rather on the contrary values glorifying the mind. This can be observed when the world tells us something it can steal our peace and troubles us very much. For example, today the world tells us to think logically and question the benefit of going to church on a Sunday. It whispers attempting to convince us that it is unnecessary: “Why don’t you stay home and just say your own prayers?” You see however, the Church is the house of the Lord, the house of the saints. Thus we have faith that when we enter into the Church we are not simply entering a physical building, but rather we have been granted the greatest honour and gift, to meet the Lord and partake of His Body and Blood.

This spirit was exhibited by St Joseph the Carpenter who teaches us this kind of faith as evident in his very nature. For when approached by Church elders as to whether he would take a very poor fourteen year old girl, who offered no prospect of a future. Although It only seemed logical that he could not, for how could he? We know from various sources that he was a celibate man. Despite not previously desiring to be married and at the present not wanting one, in obedience he listened to The Church’s instructions, with steadfast faith. Perhaps, what is more incredible to note is that he did not at present even have resources to adequately care for St Mary, she would have been an extra burden on him in his old age. However, in his obedience He even did not consider the large age difference between them when he was asked to take her as his wife and he continued in celibacy, both individuals living in purity. Therefore, initial evidence of his faith was in his trust and subsequent obedience to the Church elders: “at your word, I will cast the net” (Luke 5:5 NKJV), and he took the hand of St Mary.

In St Mary‘s pregnancy, he willingly kept it a secret out of his righteousness. He didn’t want to make it public knowledge nor did he seek to protect his image, although having the opportunity to seek self-preservation and kill her according to Mosaic law for this supposedly, ‘unlawful pregnancy’. Rather, St Joseph most likely thought that she had found a partner and in his humility would have commented, “May God bless your relationship. I am not the one who can have a physical relationship with you. Go in peace and live a blessed life with your partner.” But then that night, the angel appeared to him and told him that this pregnancy was not by a human but by the Holy Spirit. We wonder, O’ St Joseph have you ever heard before of a lady who became pregnant by the Holy Spirit? It would have been a defiance of reason

and that of human understanding! Nevertheless, St Joseph believed and trusted in faith what the angel from heaven told him, that she had indeed became pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

For what is even more beautiful is, St Joseph the Carpenter was steadfast in his belief. In our own lives we may retain faith for a period of time, to which the devil is very quick to come and take the belief away from us. Similarly, you may listen to a sermon and have your heart moved towards a certain service or incentive. You might conclude that you will take care of giving to the poor, or help with the church or even commit to participating in a certain service however after one week, you may find that you have forgotten your promise and other earthly matters may be prioritised instead. St Joseph the Carpenter did not allow himself to fall to this, despite inevitably experiencing many wars by the devil, for many years. As St Mary progressed through the pregnancy, the devil would have implanted doubts in his mind. He would have questioned him, “Do you actually believe this, that a woman would become pregnant without a man? Nothing alike has ever occurred, this defies all reason!” Nevertheless, St Joseph the Carpenter believed what he was told by God steadfast in his faith and did not allow his belief to be shaken. This man believed for twelve years that this Son who came from the womb of St Mary was indeed the Son of God, that He was not human and that He has great power. St Joseph the Carpenter deserves the praise that Abraham received for his faith for amazing is the faith of St Joseph the Carpenter, who believed until the end, whom the devil could not overcome. May we too always have this faith in God and His word.

The second characteristic displayed by St Joseph the Carpenter was his service to God, he never delayed in obeying an instruction or in fulfilling a desire in his heart. Today’s gospel says that the angel came to him and he arose that same night, “When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt” (Matthew 2:14 NKJV). We observe that He did not wait until the morning, rather He got up that night loaded his donkey, took St Mary and Christ and headed for Egypt. We must question ourselves, for we often are woken up to commit to a virtuous deed, how often however do we act upon this immediately? A daily example is in that one may experience a desire to pray, but they immediately stray making an excuse and consequently separating themselves from God. An excuse as, “Right after this phone call,” would have removed the desire to speak to God immediately from your heart. By the same token, God often moves your heart towards doing a certain charitable deed, on many different occasions. It could be that you feel you should call and seek forgiveness from someone that you have upset, or that is upset from you, or even that you

should pay your tithes, yet we excuse ourselves and delay this calling. St Joseph the Carpenter fought this temptation; instead He immediately arose as soon as he was given the command by the angel. In the same spirit we too should rise whenever we have a desire to be closer to the Lord, and also long to perfect this feeling of repentance in our heart by immediately wanting to see our confession father. Like this virtuous saint, we also should seek God when we are susceptible to these feelings and conquer it through reading the Bible and prayer. For when the Holy Spirit visits your heart and tells you to go attend a certain spiritual meeting today, indeed how many the fruits would be, if only you don’t delay it. These holy desires are visits from the angels to us, just like the angel visited St Joseph the Carpenter. Therefore, let us not delay or put off feelings of charity, good deeds, repentance or worship but act like St Joseph the Carpenter.

The final point is one that I especially love about St Joseph the Carpenter; he was a man who was more occupied with God than he was with man and so sat he with God more than he sat with people. Nowadays in today’s society particularly with the quick and portable devices that we value, mobile phones prioritise constant communication with people. You can receive a text message at any time, you have Facebook and various other applications and forms of social media. Due to this we have become accustomed to be preoccupied with people all the time, sadly instead of focusing our full attention to God. St Joseph the Carpenter never allowed this, for he was a saint who was always busy with God. He was not one to be heard of as busy with people, in that he did not speak often. Rather, he was occupied with the Lord and would sit and just meditate on the Lord in his mind. Similarly, we need to have time with God. This does not mean that we should not love those around us! No, but we should not be preoccupied with them as they take us away from our time with God. For in spending too much time with people, inevitably you would not have the heart or time to open the Bible or to pray. How often do we think about what others say, whether it be praise or criticism? How often do we take notice of superficial matters like, if a certain person replied to our text message or if they remembered to message on your birthday? There is also the triviality and shallowness of, ‘How many likes did I get on Facebook?’ coupled with, ‘who commented on the picture that I posted?’ It is clear that we become absorbed in our friendships with human beings instead of focusing on the one friendship of utmost value, that with our Lord.

This can be further explained through a particular experience on our youth trip to Egypt. It was spent three and a half weeks where the youth were extremely happy in visiting their

mother land, a very blessed time. For they felt the simplicity of the people and their kindness, each day was very beautiful. Amongst our planned activities and visits, we had a special appointment to meet with His Holiness Pope Tawadros II. We were a large group and were given a time slot to meet him in the cathedral, which began through a warm welcome in his reception room where we spent a very good time with him. However, there was something about him that was brought to my attention, which I really loved about him. While sitting with us, I found that he occasionally gazed towards Heaven. I could not help but feel that he constantly felt his responsibility as the Patriarch and his service to bring people to church. This was affirmed in the manner of which he answered a question posed to him by one of the youth. He replied, “I know my responsibility, as Shepherd of the Coptic Church, as being responsible for all of the Coptic Church.” Indeed, this spirit of service was evident in all his answers and all his questions to the youth. Another example was when they would praise him and express their happiness in meeting him but he would never respond to this praise. Instead, he would be continually busy asking, “What else can we do for you to make you happy? What is the church lacking in order to make you comfortable?” Indeed, he is a person whose mind is continually with God. I also realised the same thing during the Liturgy of the Feast of the Nativity. When President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi gracefully visited the Cathedral, everyone around the President were very occupied with him. Inevitably every person wanted to exceedingly welcome him in a lavish manner, except for His Holiness. For His Holiness was sitting there in simplicity, evidently his mind was somewhere else. His smile and grace showed that he respected and appreciated the President, but his mind was with God, because he was in the presence of He who is greater and more powerful. Indeed, much like many other Saints of our Church, St Joseph the Carpenter and St Pope Kyrillos VI. There are some pictures that show the late St Pope Kyrillos VI walking beside former President Gamal Abdel Nasser, and holding his hand. It should be noted that Former President Gamal Abdel Nasser was a man who was feared greatly not solely only in Egypt, but also by surrounding countries. However, St Pope Kyrillos VI was walking with complete serenity and trust that God was with him, evidently this guarded him against fear of any individual of which he was in the company of.

In this we can observe how fortunate it is for the person who feels that God is more beautiful, that God is sweeter indeed, that God is more powerful. How lucky is he who doesn’t undervalue his relationship with God because of any other circumstance, or event or

relationship with another being, or by any desire. This is because feeling in the presence of God is far sweeter and much better, exceeding all manner of comparison to all.

In this spirit, as we celebrate the life of St Joseph the Carpenter, I have a special request that you ask for his prayers and intercession often. Let us assign January as the month of St Joseph the Carpenter. For much like how we focus on St Mary in December, let us remember St Joseph the Carpenter during the month of January yearly. Above all innately we focus on Christ the entire year but let us honour St Joseph the Carpenter and in doing so, dedicate January to him.

May his picture, a particular representation of him be ever present in our homes to aid us in remembering him, that it may be a source of blessing to us. It is that of a great saint, an elderly saint and more so it depicts the fatherly relationship Christ had with this saint, for the Child sits in his lap playing with his beard. It stands to reason that Christ loved this individual and selected him from Heaven so that he may be called His father.

May the prayers and blessings of St Joseph the Carpenter be with us all. Glory be to God forever and ever, Amen.

Baptism

By: Dr Adel Magdy

Of all the practices of the Church, the sacrament of Baptism is perhaps the most misunderstood. Baptism has been given various names by the Early Fathers of the Church, including the ‘new birth’, ‘sanctification’, ‘washing’, ‘seal’ and ‘illumination’. But what is it? Is baptism just the dipping of our flesh in some water, singing some prayers, and then saying that he is now Christian?

Has baptism merely become an opportunity for us to gather family and friends, and enjoy a celebration together? Is it simply an occasion that we photograph and frame on a wall, a time that we dress nicely? Or is it a time when the soul becomes dressed in Christ? Is it really essential for us to be baptised, or can I enter Heaven without it?

The words of the Lord Himself are clear: Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:3). The very fact that the Lord Himself chose to be baptised in instituting this sacrament, is eloquent testimony to its value and significance.

Christ’s final instructions to His disciples, as recorded in the gospels, are as follows: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”

And so, we see again, that baptism is in fact a pre-requisite for our salvation. But the question still arises: why? What is the significance of the sacrament of Baptism that makes it so crucial for our salvation? Why is Baptism the door by which the believer enters the church, and has the right to partake in the rest of the Sacraments?

In being immersed in the act of Baptism, we are in fact, dying. But this is no ordinary death: it is a death, with Christ. “Do you not know that as many of us as were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death.” (Romans 6).

And so, we are united together in the likeness of His death (Romans). It is not a coincidence that St. Paul says that we are united in the “likeness” of His death: because the two deaths are NOT the same, since His death is the body’s death but ours is a death of sin (St. John Chrysostom). And so, Baptism is the death of sin that lived in our old man.

But the story does not end there: for when we were buried with Him in baptism, we were also raised with Him through faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead”. Just as Christ arose from His physical death on the cross, we too arise from our dead selves because of our sin.

And so, finally, we are closer to understanding the true meaning and value of this blessed sacrament of Baptism. Baptism is essential for our true life in Christ; for it is in baptism that we are united with Christ, it is in baptism that we die with Him and it is in baptism that we rise up with Him to a new life.

And so, just as we were united to Christ in the likeness of His death, we are united to Him in the likeness of His resurrection. No longer does death have dominion over us. No longer does sin reign over us. No longer is it I who lives, but it is Christ who lives in me.

May we follow in the footsteps of the holy men and women who lived before us, and who valued the significance of their baptism. May we, as a Church, follow the teachings of the ancient fathers that baptism should be our armour, our helmet, our love, our spear, our patient endurance and our panoply (See quote below).

My Lord, I beg You to hear me now, as I ask You to make me as pure as the moment of my baptism. Immerse me in Your love, that I may die to my sin and filth.

Let me arise with You to a life of joy and glory.

Let me follow Your command with zeal, that Your name be spread to all nations and all people.

Let me experience the joy when they too, experience the awe of baptism.

Let me live a life worthy of the calling with which You have called me

Amen.

Let your baptism be your armour; your faith, your helmet; your love, your spear; your patient endurance, your panoply (St Ignatius of Antioch)

On the Prayer before Holy Communion

After the confession in the mass, directly before the congregation begins to queue up for the Eucharist, you may have noticed members of the assembly opening up their Agpeya or pulling out their phones and generously passing them on to their neighbours once they are done reading the “Prayer Before Communion,” as it’s titled. The Coptic Church has held this beautiful tradition of praying this Prayer Before Communion, with a feeling of reverence and unworthiness; we pray this prayer from the depths of our hearts. Maybe you yourself are a part of this customary ritual and routinely pull out your Agpeya to read the words scribbled out on the pages to prepare yourself for the Eucharist. Once communion is complete and we’re back in our seats putting our shoes on, we complete the once-a-mass routine by again opening our Agpeya to read the “Prayer After Communion.” The church in its abundant wisdom places these prayers to fulfill a certain purpose in the process of communion and subsequently, the cycle of repentance. Have you ever really taken the time to read, and more than that, understand the significance of these beautiful prayers though? Or like me, do you find yourself reading blindly without an appreciation of what these prayers mean? To truly understand the value of these prayers, we have to explore the Gospel of Luke and see where the words of these prayers originate from and the context in which they were written. For the sake of utmost appreciation we will first try and investigate the meaning behind the Prayer Before Holy Communion.

Prayer Before Communion

Very recently, whilst reading chapter 7 from the Gospel of St Luke, a certain phrase struck me as being very familiar. This phrase was uttered by a very famous biblical character, and our Lord Christ Himself spoke highly of this charact. Upon walking into Capernaum with His disciples, Jesus was met with elders of the Jews who were sent to meet Him by a centurion whose servant was sick and dying. They implored Him to come and heal the servant and obliging, He followed them to the house. When He was not far off from the house, He encountered friends of the centurion who were instructed by him to say these words to Christ on his behalf:

“Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word and my servant will be healed.” (Luke 7:6-7)

It’s this profound quote that struck me for a couple reasons. Firstly, like Christ Himself, I was astonished by the level of faith shown by this man in a country that lacked conviction in their belief and hope in Christ. St Ephraim the Syrian even comments, “What an honourable level of faith it is when God, the Son of Righteousness, ‘marvels’ at a human being.” But the second thing that stood out to me was the stark similarities this quote bears with the opening of the Prayer before Holy Communion. In this introduction we read:

“Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof because I am a sinner, but only say the word; ‘your sins are forgiven’ and my soul will be healed.”

When we read these words, we are drawing from the faith of the centurion who believed with utmost conviction that the Lord was able, with just a word, to heal his dying servant. In the same way we believe that, in spite of our wickedness and tendency to fall into sin, Christ can heal us of all our iniquities with just a single word. This ‘word’ of Christ has proven powerful on more occasions and in different circumstances aside from the healing of this centurion’s servant. With just two words, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated “Little girl, I say to you arise,” (Mark 5:41) Jesus was able to raise Jairus’ daughter from the dead. With the powerful cry, “Lazarus, come forth,” (John 11:43) Christ brought back Lazarus from the pit of the grave amidst his stench of death. And at the end of Luke chapter 7, which is most pertinent to this prayer, He says to the adulteress woman who washes His feet the words “Your sins are forgiven…your faith has saved you. Go in peace,” (Luke 7:48; 50) freeing her from her captivity to sin and granting her a new life with Him. “As You did not stop the adulteress from kissing Your feet, please do not prevent me from coming near You to receive Your Holy Body and Your sacred blood.” Sound familiar?

Isn’t this the reason we partake of the Eucharist? That we can be freed of our past oppression to sin and renew our relationship with Christ bearing a new and loyal Spirit? Yes. Is our faith then not enough? That a single word from the mouth of Christ is able to resurrect our souls? There is just a little bit more to it.

The words of the centurion, while they encourage us to call upon our Lord with a stronger, renewed level of faith, also help to draw our attention to the event that immediately follows the healing of his servant. The following day, Jesus and His disciples were walking through the city of Nain, when they noticed a large crowd carrying the body of a widow’s son outside of the city to be buried. When Christ saw the widow mourning, He comforted her, walked towards the coffin of her deceased son and “touched the open coffin,” (Luke 7:14). And following the words, “Young man, I say to you, arise,” the boy rose from the coffin, no doubt cueing huge celebrations amongst the previously mourning multitude and restoring the joy of the grieving widow of Nain. But, the question still remains? Why did Christ feel the need to touch the boy? He’s proven before on countless occasions that His ‘word’ is sufficient enough, why then did He go and touch the body of the widow’s son? Christ was trying to make us aware of the redeeming power in touching His body when we come into contact with Him at Holy Communion. His word and His touch break the chains of confinement to our old lives of sin and corruption. We need the touch of Jesus in the same way we need oxygen in the air. If we lack either of these things we will die. One of them an earthly death, the other, eternal.

St Cyril of Alexandria comments on this miracle in Nain with a beautiful contemplation on the touch of Christ saying:

“How was not a word enough for raising him who was lying there? What is so difficult to it or past accomplishment? What is more powerful than the Word of

God? Why then did he not work the miracle by only a word but also touched the bier? It was, my beloved, that you might learn that the holy body of Christ is productive for the salvation of man. The flesh of the almighty Word is the body of life and was clothed with his might. Consider that iron when brought into contact with fire produces the effects of fire and fulfills its functions. The flesh of Christ also has the power of giving life and annihilates the influence of death and corruption because it is the flesh of the Word, who gives life to all.”

More than just saving us from an eternal death, the touching of the body of Christ in communion has the capacity to grant us everlasting life. Father Anastasy from St Antony’s monastery in California says, “we must touch Jesus in secret conversation with Him and contact with the human members of the body of Christ, which is the church, in the mystery of the Lord’s Supper.” His touch is salvation for our souls, and protection for the church as a whole.

So, next time we read the prayer before Holy Communion, may we consider what we are really requesting of our Lord as we approach His Holy Body and Blood at the altar. As I come towards the altar, about to partake of the Eucharist, may I be reminded that I am not just coming to touch the Lord, but He also is coming to touch me. In a series called “A Dialogue with the Savior,” Father Anastasy also declares, “We must not suppose that we have touched Jesus because we have drawn near to Him, but there are privileged moments when a kind of ineffable shutter, a sort of irresistible evidence, which if authentic, cast us into the depths of humility and make us cry out, ‘I have just touched Jesus,’ or better, ‘Jesus has just touched me!’”

May we then humbly come closer to the altar of God, where lay His body and blood, and boldly plead with Him to come and touch us, freeing us of all our tyranny to sin, healing us of all our brokenness, cleansing us of all our impurities and granting us a new life walking in His presence and experiencing His touch all the days of our lives.

+ Glory be to God forevermore Amen. +