Author: ramez

Never Lose Hope

Translated from a sermon by HH Pope Shenouda III

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What is hope? Hope is wishing for the best, no matter how difficult or complicated the situation is before them. No matter how long it takes, the person with hope never gives up. They do not fall into despair.

The opposite of hope is despair. Hope is accepting tribulation with an open heart. Joy in all tribulation. Wishing for the best at all times. We remember the key phrases from John;

I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.

Revelation 3:8

Behold, a door standing open in heaven

Revelation 4:1

Hope is have an optimistic view, to put off all pessimistic thoughts. In this way, nothing can harm; not anxiety, not sadness, not depression or despair. Always looking toward a brighter future and a happier day.

You constantly reiterate that all is repairable, all the bad of today can be healed tomorrow. Every problem will come to an end. When you have hope, any lost opportunity is preparation for the next. A lack of hope diminishes our mood and motivation to keep going. It makes us feel sadness and despair. A loss of hope in its final stages, leads to even suicide.

When we speak about hope, we don’t speak about hope alone, but hope in God. God who is the hope of the hopeless and the helper of the helpless.

The hope of those who have no hope and the help of those who have no helper

the Litany of the Sick

Hope is waiting on the Lord. We wait for God to solve our problems. Not waiting anxiously, but waiting in hope, with confidence and joy.

Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart

Psalm 27:14

Know that God will come, even if it is the final watch.

But those who wait on 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 not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

To also have hope in your prayers answered. The first example of hope was Eve’s hope in God’s promise that her seed will bruise the head of the serpent;

He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.

Genesis 3:15.

After that, there was the hope of Noah. After the waters covered all the land, and all the mountains, he found himself in an ark filled with animals. There was no sign of land. He had hope that the waters would be dispersed and he would see the land once more.

Abraham had hope that Isaac would return alive even if he had been sacrificed. God told him that through Isaac he would have more descendants than the stars in the sky. And more than the grains of sand in the sea. Yet he would be sacrificed. Abraham had hope in God’s promise.

Moses the prophet had hope when he was standing before the Red Sea with Pharaoh and his armies were behind him. All the people lost hope but Moses said to them; “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you and you shall hold your peace” – Exodus 14:13-14.

David the prophet had hope when he fought Goliath. He had a giant before him that was bigger and stronger than him. David came to him with a few stones and his hope in God. With those few stones and his slingshot, he would defeat the giant before him. He said to him, “this day the Lord will deliver you into my hand.” – 1 Samuel 17:46. He had hope that the Lord would help him.

Joseph had hope that his dreams would come true. Maybe he forgot about it for a while, but there was no doubt that he thought about it from time to time.

Esther had hope that God would accept her fasting. Her hope was that the king would hear her petition and save her people. This was all in the Old Testament.

Hope continues in the New Testament. The right hand thief had hope that Jesus could save him even while he hung on the Cross. He was a sinner, deserving of death but he had hope in eternity and forgiveness. As he pleaded, “remember me O Lord when come into Your Kingdom.”

Zacharias erred when he had lost hope, thinking it was too late for his prayers for a child to be answered. God chastised him for his loss of faith.

There is another type of hope- hope in healing. Many people have hope of being healed. One was the man that had spent 38 years by the Poolgate waiting for someone to take him into the waters. He hoped throughout this time until Christ came to heal him.

The hope of the man born blind. This was the first time that someone was born without eyes and received new sight. There is hope in the Resurrection. On this hope all will die knowing that after death there is another life. We pray for this second life.

 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.

1 Thessalonians 4:13

There is also hope in forgiveness. No matter the sins that we have committed, we remain hopeful in God’s forgiveness. St Peter who denied Jesus three times, and Judas that betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. The outcome was different because one had hope and the other did not. His lack of hope led to despair and his ultimate demise.

St Monica spent years praying for her son St Augustine in hope that he could change his life around. She wept for his salvation for twenty years until St Ambrose told her that the son of those tears could not be unmoved.

No matter how many times they fall, there is always hope that they will rise again. Even if you fall in sin, have hope that God will save you. He will save you from sin, from thoughts of sin.

One might say that God will save them from a difficult habit. One might be smoking for years and years, and if they lose hope then they can never stop. If they have hope, then they know that the long years mean nothing compared to hope in the Lord. Even if they fall into addiction, they have hope that they will rise again. They have hope that God will save them. If one loses hope that they will continue to fall into sin and become lost in it as the Bible says about the fig tree that was filled with leaves and had no fruit. There was a suggestion that it should be cut down. The saying was said to leave it another year that it might bring forth fruit.

Choose Your Friends Wisely

Adapted from a sermon by Adel Magdy

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Mark 2:1-12

One of the most interesting stories in the Gospels is the story of the paralytic man that was lowered through the roof by his friends seeking his healing. Typically when Jesus heals someone, it’s through the personal faith of the one being healed. For the man born blind, Jesus said to him, “do you want to made well?”

In this story we hear a very different sentence. We read of a man being lowered through a roof by his friends and then Jesus says something quite different to him than in the other miracles of healing.

When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

Mark 2:5

It was because of the faith of the four friends that this paralytic man was able to walk again. Not because of his own personal faith. His healing came from the faith of his friends.

There is Biblical basis for the concept of receiving healing from the faith of those we surround ourselves with. When St Paul visits the town of Lystra, he begins preaching and is loved by the people. The Jews from other surrounding towns come and they turn the crowds against St Paul. They compelled them to stone him almost to death.

However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city.

Acts 14:20

St Paul rose when the disciples gathered around him. Similar to the story we read about the paralytic man, for it wasn’t his faith that made him well, but the faith of his friends that brought him to Christ.

We can rely on the faith of others when we feel weak. At times when I have felt distant from God and in extreme need, I have confided in my father of confession and as soon as I go home to pray, I pray not for my sake, but for the sake of the faith of my confession father who I know is praying for me. Almost always, this is a prayer that is answered.

What these four men did for their friend was incredible. They had every reason to give up; the crowd was huge, they couldn’t reach the Lord, they could have said it was too hard to lift the man above the roof, they could have said this is not our house to remove the roof.

Yet, none of this stopped them from seeing the Lord. These are the kind of friends that I need in my life. The ones that will do whatever it takes and come to the Lord no matter what it takes. These are the people I know will always look out for me.

Sometimes, even in a non-spiritual sense. In my second year of university, I got really sick and I missed the majority of the semester. I was constantly going back and forth from the doctors.

When I finally got back to my studies toward the end of the semester, I had an assignment due the next day. I had missed so much that I barely knew anything about the subject. I didn’t know what to do. I spoke to a good friend of mine and he said do what you can when you get home. This didn’t work very well for me so I was planning to explain my situation to the Dean the next morning.

As I walked into the office, I got a call from my friend who asked me where I was. I told him I was at the Dean’s office to make an appointment. He told me to meet him outside. I walked outside and saw him there holding an assignment that he had spent the whole night writing. He told me that he made mine very different to his and to submit it as my own. When we got our results, the assignment he had done on my behalf received a higher mark than the one he did for himself.

Imagine this on a spiritual level. Who did I consider to be my closest friends? Are they the ones that draw me away from the Lord? Or the ones willing to carry me to meet the Lord? These are the friends that I need.

Learning to be Content

adapted from a sermon by Fr Michael Fanous

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John 6:5-14

When we read the story of the feeding of the 5000 with five loaves and two fish, we see an abundance of blessing and fulfilment. They left filled and satisfied.

How do we get this same fulfilment in a spiritual sense?

We can strive to be content. The kind of contentment that St Paul speaks about;

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.

Philippians 4:11

St Paul says that he has learned. This is to say that being content is not something that comes naturally, or something is subject to what he has. He learned to be content by putting away selfishness and desires of the body.

I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:12-13

St Paul can do all things only through Christ who gives him strength. This state of being content is vital and we see the end result.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Psalm 23:1

I shall not want the love of another, for I am content with the love of my spouse. I shall not want the mansion that my friend has, for I am content with the house I live in. I shall not want the beautiful cars that I see, for mine is sufficient.

We see that through being content, we can find happiness. Even with nothing, no matter the situation, we are content.

The next level up after remaining content is an obedience to our Lord, giving thanks for all things. Our Lord Jesus Christ was obedient to His Father, and He was glorified. He was obedient and also gave thanks. He was happy to endure the crucifixion.

When the angel Gabriel came to St Mary, she said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:28). She was obedient and thankful.

When the Lord told Abraham to leave his people and his country and go to a far country, Abraham was obedient and thankful. This is how he became the Patriarch of all patriarchs. Obedience with thanks is very important.

Fr Tadros Malaty once told us a story about obedience and thankfulness. A holy man was going to see our Lord. On his way, he saw a poor man and told him, “Would you like me to say anything to Jesus Christ for you?”

He replied, “Yes! Please ask Him why He left the world to live in luxuries while I remain in misery?”

The man continues along his way and comes across a rich man and asks him the same; “Would you like me to say anything to Jesus Christ for you?”

He replied, “Yes! Tell Him, Your grace is more than sufficient for me. You have given me more than enough. Too much even. Please, what can I do with my riches?”

On his way back, he came past the rich man again who asked him what the Lord had said. The man replied, “Christ cannot stop giving you because of your thankfulness.”

He went along his way and came past the poor man and said to him, “Because you are not thankful, even the little that you have will be taken away from you. The wind came and blew away the tent that he lived in.”

This story tells us that the Lord will pour on us and give us complete fulfillment if we are thankful. If we are obedient with thankfulness.

Through prayers, reading the Bible, attending liturgies, praises and reading spiritual books, we remain close to God. When we practice these things, we grow closer to God and gain fulfilment. When David the King fell, he was able to come back, and his sin was lifted from him, for David was a man of prayer.

I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

Matthew 25:37-40

The one that takes their love for God and applies this to service will ask these questions. When were they ever able to help the Lord? Only by helping the least of these. Once we serve, we get served, for we receive fulfillment from the Lord. We become content in the Lord. Completely happy and fulfilled, not seeking a thing. The devil cannot tempt me for I have everything.

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

Better than New

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Elijah Iskander

Luke 7:36-50

[She] stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.

Luke 7:38

This was an act of complete adoration. Think of a time when you have broken something, or when your car is dented, or if you’ve ripped a piece of clothing. How have you tried to fix it? The most reassuring thing you can say to someone next is – as good as new! Like it was never broken. I can’t even see where the dent used to be.

This is our standard, but when the Lord fixes, He does not make things as good as new, He makes them better than new. We see this clearly in the story of the woman that wiped Jesus feet with her tears and anointed them with fragrant oil.

The act of anointing His feet with fragrant oil is significant as the oil was a tool of her trade. An attractive smell that would lure people. Her long hair to attract attention. In those times, hair was not left untied out of modesty. The very things that were the source of her weakness – the smell of perfume and her long flowing hair – that invited men into sin also became the source of her honour. These became tools her adoration.

The Lord transformed these tools to be better than ever before. When the Lord transforms He does not make things as good as new, He makes them better than new.

Similarly, Zacchaeus had a weakness of money. If the Lord was going to make Zacchaeus as good as new, He would have told him to return any money that was stolen. This would be as good as new. When the Lord enters Zacchaeus’ house, he is moved to give so much more. He is not as good as new, but better than new.

St Moses the Strong was living a holy man in the monastery. One night, four thieves came into his cell. St Moses single-handedly overpowers all four of the thieves, ties them up, carries them and brought them before the other fathers that were in church. He says to the fathers, “In my past life, I know exactly what I would have done with them, but now I don’t know what to do next.”

The fathers were stunned and said, “let them go.” The four thieves later realised who St Moses was, recognising him from his past life. They were so moved by his transformation that they became monks themselves. If the Lord would make things as good as new for St Moses, he would have gone from life as a thug to a holy life, but our Lord makes things better than new. He makes him a person that inspires others because of his past life.

Even on the Cross. What was once a symbol of death and a punishment for the unrighteousness was completely transformed to life. When our Lord transforms He does not make things as good as new, but better than new.

We pray that the Lord does the same with us. We pray for transformation to be better than new. If I am angry, I pray that the Lord breaks my anger and replaces it with peace. Even if I am broken with shame, with lust, with hypocrisy, for whatever it takes to transform me, and make me better than new.

But those who wait on 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 not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

Mental Health is not a Spiritual Problem

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Many, many years ago, people were taught that you could not have a mental health problem if you were close with God. I’m not really sure where that came from, forgive me for not fact checking but my goodness, the audacity that ever allowed people to think this way. 

Since then, the major belief is that the two are not related. You can have a deep and meaningful relationship with our Father, despite where your mental health may be. A mental health problem is not a spiritual problem. 

Needless to say, I agree with this wholeheartedly. The hurt of that original statement, I think blocked any kind of connection between mental and spiritual health, which is a shame. Mental health is dealt with in one way and spiritual health in another.

Each person has three distinct parts- the body, the mind and the soul. The body which is outward, and the mind and soul that lie inwardly. If the mind and soul dwell inwardly together, surely they’ve crossed paths at some point. 

Let’s think of the sound “mind,” without a care in the world. Wakes up every morning, completely refreshed, goes to work, comes home and says their prayers with a mouth that may be singing praises but a heart that says, “sorry God for my sins (I know I have to say that one) it’s just been so busy, I think this is enough for tonight, check.” 

The opposite of this could take a range of different forms. Maybe it wakes up in the morning and thinks, “I don’t know how to get up today.” Maybe by the time it gets to work, it thinks, “if I don’t do anything wrong today, nothing bad will happen.” Maybe it thinks itself a failure, as neglected, as the one that no good could ever come from.

My reflex response to hearing someone think in this way is typically, “it’s okay, everything will be okay, you’ll get through this.” But I don’t know if that’s how God responds. I don’t think He says, “it’ll be okay.” I think He says, “Yeah- in this world you will have tribulation, but be good cheer for I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Sounds easier said than done but what will always be true is that God hold the heart that is in distress in the palm of His Hands. He is by your side and He is the strength when you feel like you have nothing left. It was tribulation that allowed Job to say, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You” (Job 42:5). It was in his deepest and darkest despair that Job saw God. In those moments of mental distress, God is there and His presence is felt stronger than ever before.

If we see the struggles of the mind in this way, then it no longer becomes, “I don’t know how to get up today,” but “please God help me to get up today.” It is no longer, “I hope I don’t mess up,” but “God please help me to get it right.”

“God, be by my side and help me.”

“God, even if I mess up, let it be for Your good.”

“God, help me to believe in You.”

“My Lord, Jesus Christ Son of God have mercy on me.”

The one that comes home from a long day, broken and defeated is the one that prays with a broken and a contrite heart – these our Lord does not despise. Maybe we despise because we look outwardly. But the heart that is in distress from the outside is the one that is honest on the inside and prays with all sincerity.

The heart that cries out in anguish to the Lord is already miles ahead of the one that is content. Mental health can be a spiritual tool.

Praying when the mind feels discontent is not the solution to mental health. But think of how God sees your prayers. The one that is honest, and broken and in so much need – I think that soul is God’s favourite. Truly, even those that feel fully content are still in need, we all are. We all need our Creator. If it is anxiety, depression, or even worse that brings you to Him, your soul will always belongs to our Lord, and this could be the bridge your soul craves to bring you back to His embrace.

When St Paul says, “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6), I don’t think he means just forget your anxiety, or even go get the help you need and then consider your spiritual life later. He means to take your anxiety and turn it into prayer. Pray about everything, give thanks for everything, and in that your soul will be at rest, no matter what plagues your mind. Prayer is not the solution, but prayer is the good company that will be with you along the journey of the unknown.

While I can’t speak from a mental health standpoint, the help is there. Here are just a few:

• Lifeline: 13 11 14
• beyondblue: 1300 224 636
• Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467
• Men’s Line Australia: 1300 789 978
• PANDA (Perinatal, Anxiety and Depression Australia): 1300 726 306
• QLife: 1800 184 527
• HealthDirect: 1800 022 222

In the meantime, tell the One that sees it all, from the inside out, and be reassured that He sees you, He hears you, He knows how it difficult it is for you to cry out to Him, and it is during these times that He holds your hand even tighter. Glory be to His Name, Amen.

See more here:

• Christianity and Mental Health by Dr Graham Barker
• Depression by Dr Mirette Ibrahim
• Overcoming Myself by Fr Daniel Fanous
• Speaking of Health- killing the ANTS by Fr Anthony Messeh

Pray Always and do not Lose Heart

Translated from a sermon by Fr Louka Sidarous

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Do you think that God cannot hear you calling on Him, day and night? Of course He hears you! He hears, but He is long suffering with you; with us all.

God has a plan, He always has a plan. More times than not, it is very different to the plan we have in our minds. We are often distracted by our temporal life on Earth to see the bigger picture.

All we see is the one problem in front of us, but there is so much more! There is so much more to God’s plan for our lives. When we think of what troubles our minds – work, school, family. But do we ever stop to think, what troubles God’s mind?

My salvation – that is His biggest concern. What God plans for my salvation does not always match what I want for myself. Not every plan I make is relevant to salvation. Sometimes His plan does not match the needs that I feel I need or see as necessary. 

When we become closer to God, and when our will begins to align with His will, we see the bigger picture clearly. 

Why is He silent? In terms of prayer, we know that He always listens to our prayers. The prophet says, “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy. Now I will arise,” says the Lord” (Ps 12:5). 

God is telling us that He hears our cry. He sees and hears. There is a bigger plan, and there is time to achieve much greater than the problems we see before us. My timing is not the same and my plans are not the same. 

Abraham could have had Isaac just as any other person would have a son. But why delay it for one hundred years? Zacharias the Priest and Elizabeth waited for years and heard nothing. Hannah, the mother of Samuel the prophet, only gave birth after pouring her heart out before God. 

There is always a bigger plan. Our submission to God, and our prayers for God’s will above our own will, give us peace in any tribulation. There is no need to worry, for I know His plans, I know His timing, and I know that all His plans are in wisdom. It is all for my salvation. All my tribulation, all my suffering, all my persecution are counted. There is nothing that our Lord misses in His plan. 

When we pray, we strive to pray with hands of the beggar. The beggar stretches and receives. If the beggar keeps his hands in his pockets, how can he receive anything? If a man stretches out his hands, he begs. But when does man beg? When he is in need. When he has no other option. 

If we are comfortable where we are, why would we feel the need to beg? All is well, we are not in need. When one feels their weakness and their needs, and stands before God, poor and needy, waiting for His refuge, for He is the only source of refuge, then he knows how to pray.

A man cries to God, “Save me! I am scared of losing my salvation, my eternal life. I am busy with cares of the world.  Help Lord, for the godly man ceases!” (Ps 12:1).

The battle around me is great. The chances of salvation are slim and slipping away. Evil has spread and it feels like the world is polluted. All so we can exit the world unscathed and unharmed by the turmoil of this life. It is difficult to attain eternal life without enduring tribulation in this life. I need prayer! And I need tribulation to drive my prayers. 

Everything revolves around salvation, but does this limit our prayers to salvation only? Are we not to pray about things of the world? Certainly not! “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:8-9).

When we pray however, we do not forget that salvation comes first; “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). 

The matter needs prayer. It needs struggle. For there is no need for the one that is not struggling. Prayer with deeds, and prayer from the heart. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Matthew 8:36).

Glory be to God forever Amen.

Today I Begin Again

By Shery Abdelmalak

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To me, this phrase is repentance. It is a show of mistakes made but I’ll try again today. It is to not be overcome by despair, but to try again, and to try harder.

But these are not my words. These were the words of St Anthony the Great. St Anthony did not use this phrase in this same way I find comfort in despair. 

Quite the contrary. St Anthony would spend his days in prayer and fighting demons in a way I could never imagine. Yet, he would start his day with the phrase, today I begin again.

St Anthony accomplished leaps and bounds of spirituality beyond all comprehension, but his mentality was set on each new day. St Paul made this clear to the Colossians when he likened wisdom to the time well spent; “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.” – Colossians 4:5.

When I look back on my most spiritual days. Days spent in church. Days spent in communion with others. Days spent in service. If only I could be the servant of the Lord I once was. But then there were days of failure, days of laziness, weeks of prayer in church alone but never bringing the essence of prayer back home with me. Does that make me a hypocrite? If I could not replicate the same prayer at home that I do in church, am I like the Pharisee that prayed at the top of his lungs in one breath, and in the next looked down upon the tax collector beside him?

These are the thoughts that compound when I come to pray. When I feel like I can’t pray because it’s not the same as before. In essence, these are the roots of my own self-righteousness. These are thoughts that I am better than the prayer that I have to offer today. I think I can’t pray because I’ve prayed “better,” in the past. I think my prayers aren’t worth it because I need the church to get me started. When in fact, this is the best place to start – when I come to my Lord with broken prayers. The prayers of the past, I leave in the past. Each day, I start anew. I fight like I’ve never fought before to get to know my Beloved.

When I ask myself, “Why? Why is it so hard to pray?” It used to be so simple when I was younger. For the young, it is simple, because they are simple. When I was a child, I was told to pray and so, I prayed. Maybe it becomes harder to pray with age because Jesus said, “Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). When I start each day irrespective of what was accomplished the day before, I remain a child in faith.

Each day I wake up and remember that His mercies are made new every morning (Lam 3:22). I don’t remember the good of my past, and I live that day for my Lord to the best of ability. I am not living for me, but for Him. If my eyes are ever upon Christ, then the past is not relevant. Today, I begin again. I search for the love of God again.

We see two distinct methods of interactions in the life of Christ. The Christ that would shower love, blessings, healing and compassion on the sinners, the adulterers, the murderers, the demon-possessed, the lepers, the tax-collectors. But then we also see a sterner Christ that spoke with the Pharisees and the leaders of the temple. Was it not the Pharisees that knew Christ and anticipated His coming? The difference between the two, was that the sinner knew to cry for mercy, while the Pharisees were not in need.

If I begin each day anew, overlooking the good of the past, then I can quite easily cry out for mercy. I can easily remember where I stand and where Christ stands. Because it was never about my own personal progress, but the height of grace that was bestowed upon me.

Sometimes, I can misinterpret the words of St Paul when he said, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things (1 Cor. 13:11). This idea of maturing was one he used quite frequently when preaching, to suggest a growth in spirituality. One that I misinterpreted to mean that prayers are enhanced with age; with spiritual maturity.

Again, he says, “For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” (Hebrews 5:12-14)

The “child” that St Paul alludes to is the “child” he was before he came to know Christ. Before St Paul knew Christ, he knew the Jewish law inside out. He had more knowledge than maybe even the disciples. For a Jew, I am sure many aspired to be just like him. The “childish things” that St Paul put away, were those pertaining to himself. The thought of his own knowledge, his abilities, his strengths. He left all that behind and emptied himself to be filled with the love of the Father, negating all knowledge of the law, and putting on Love, that has no limits.

To be, “spiritually mature,” is to devoid that title altogether. To begin each day with the knowledge of God’s mercy, and not my own strengths. Today, I begin again, as a child, earnestly desiring the love of my Father, like I’ve never tasted love before.