Author: ramez

The Cycle of Repentance

adapted from a sermon by Fr Paul Fanous

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The journey that we are going to go through today is the cycle of repentance. The cycle of repentance describes the forgiveness of God, from the beginning of the journey to the end of the journey.

The beginning point is that unfortunately, we all sin. No one can escape sin, St Paul is clear on that, there’s none righteous, no one will escape this idea of sin or committing mistakes in front of God.

The parable of the Prodigal Son is written about a father who had two sons. He had one son that stayed at home, and he had one son that took the money, wasted and squandered it. Both are on the journey of repentance to return to their father.

The younger son – the more obvious sinner – actually comes back sooner. The second son, at the end of the parable, we don’t know if he actually returns, but both are on the journey. Part of the understanding of this idea of the forgiveness of God is that we recognise two things;

1. We are all sinners
2. We don’t judge other people for sinning, we endeavour to forgive those around us.

No one is righteous because we’re all under the same condition, we all make the same mistakes. If we hold people to a high standard, then God will apply the same standard to us, and we will make the same mistakes as them. To carry on to the next stage is to acknowledge the sin.

 As a hand full of sand thrown into the ocean, so are the sins of all flesh as compared with the mind of God

St Isaac the Syrian

St Isaac is saying that even though sometimes our sins feel really big and sometimes we feel we’re very far from the Father. The Father’s mind is like an ocean a little bit of sand has been thrown in to. The love of the Father is not affected by our sin, the love of the Father is not affected by the mistakes we make.

The Father in this parable sits and waits for the return of his son. His mercy is available but he waits for his son to return. My wickedness can never change the feeling of forgiveness. We must understand this crucial part of this journey is remembering that the Father’s love for me does not change. Nothing you can do is wicked enough, nothing you can do is bad enough, nothing you can do is deep enough that God would not accept you back. Not only would He, but He is waiting to accept you back.

Just as a strongly flowing fountain is not blocked up by a handful of earth, so the compassion of the creator is not overcome by the wickedness of His creatures,

St Isaac the Syrian

The next part of the journey is that as the son takes the money and squanders it, he experiences famine. He has this moment of awakening, he has this moment where he says, “what am I doing here? Couldn’t I be a servant of my father?”

Repentance is the gateway to mercy. It is open for all who seek it. By way of this gate, we enter into divine mercy and apart from this entrance, one cannot find mercy.

St Isaac the Syrian

 So, there is a trigger point for the mercy of God. The mercy of God is waiting but there is something that we do that triggers the mercy of God, it opens up the mercy of God. It is available to everyone but we reach it through repentance. Repentance is a self-awakening. I begin to adjust my behaviour, I become alert to myself and my mistakes.

Fear is the paternal rod which guides us as far as a spiritual Eden but once we have reached there, it leaves us and turns back. Eden consists in a divine love.

St Isaac the Syrian

Maybe what wakes me up is fear, maybe what wakes me up is guilt, maybe what triggers me to go back is fear of bearing consequences of my mistakes. But it only brings me to the door.

Once I enter the door, what does the father do? He runs out, he robes me. He says, “be merry, come and feast.” It is love that continues the journey. When I walk the journey with God, love is the driving force, it’s not fear, fear is the beginning point, it brings me to the door, but love is what continues.

Guilt has no place in the spiritual life, except to return me to repentance. I don’t sit and wallow in my guilt. Unfortunately, some of us hold onto our guilt and don’t let it go even when we’ve returned, we maintain our guilt, we feel that God could never accept me. This is a toxic mindset and it keeps me from returning to God. The Father is sitting and waiting, He’s robing the people, He wants you in the feast, He doesn’t want you staying outside feeling lousy, He wants just enough guilt to bring me back.

Part of the journey is to be cleansed and to leave the guilt and the fear and to continue on with love and faith and that is one of the gifts of repentance. Even if, coming back, I can’t see how the guilt will leave me, once I recognise the forgiveness of the father, the consequence is love. I start to recognise the love of God and I start to love Him back in a proper way.

That last stage, which is the nicest stage, is the reward of sin.

The reward of a sinner is this, instead of a just reward, God grants them resurrection and in place of bodies that trampled on His laws, He robes them in the glory of perfection. The grace which raises us into life after we have sinned is greater than the grace which brought us into being when as, yet we were not.

St Isaac the Syrian

You will be rewarded for being a sinner as long as you return. You will have a gift for being a sinner, as long as you return. The gift and the grace you’ll get for returning is more than when God first created us. It’s a big statement, we’re bounced higher after repentance, it’s the highest spiritual level according to lots of the fathers. We take this idea of returning to God from examples such as the right thief, the first one to enter the kingdom. God doesn’t know how to hold a grudge. From the characteristics of God, we understand certain things, He doesn’t know how to be harsh.

When you read the Old Testament, read it carefully, people often see in the Old Testament a harsh God, ‘He’s wiping people out’, ‘He’s killing’ but read it carefully, you’ll see that God does not know how to be harsh. The second that you say ‘Sorry, please, don’t God’, He always relents, every time, you will never see him rebuking without saying “In the end, I will glorify you”, “I’ll raise you up”. The second someone bows down and says, “God I am a sinner”, God says, “Ok stand up”. See how He’s humbled Himself to the worst kings in the Old Testament.

The Glory of God is manifested in that. Let us recognise the invitation given to us by this parable of the prodigal. Let us be inside the feast, not outside like the older son and come inside and start the process of repentance today. Let it be today, don’t wait to start our process of repentance. Glory be to God forever and ever. Amen.

In the Raging Sea

Translated from a sermon by Fr Bishoy Kamel

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My eyes are on you, My children. I, the Lord, am going to do a big transformation for you. Can anyone handle to see their own children thrown into the sea?

I say to my Lord that I want to increase my faith, but then that raises the question, how is God going to help me increase me faith?

When we look at what Christ did with His disciples, we see that He throws them in the water so that their faith may be increased. We, as God’s children, are sitting comfortably, enjoying life, and we ask for our faith to be increased. I pray, God, please help me to stay up and pray, and fast, and to be patient, and to wait on You until You renews my strength. All the while, I rest in my comfort zone.

Who would pray that God throws them into the depth of the ocean so that their faith may increase? Little do we know, this is the path to the faith that we pray for. If God throws us into the ocean then we have no choice but to stand and pray all night long like Jonah in the belly of the whale.

After the feeding of the five thousands, Jesus goes up to the mountain to pray while He sends the disciples away on a boat. From the mountains, He watches them in the midst of the sea.

We cannot doubt for one second that Jesus’ thoughts were not with the disciples when He threw them out in the sea. From the moment He sent them out, His prayers were with them. It wasn’t their idea, but His. When He tells them to go before Him, He is responsible for their safety.

Are not the winds controlled by God? The winds changing were part of His plan. The boat struggling in the ocean was also part of His plan to increase their faith. The story reads;

Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out.

Mark 6:48-49

In the gospel of Mark, it is clear, that in the midst of the storm, Jesus could have simply passed them by. He doesn’t immediately go to help them. It is only when they cry out that He comes to their rescue.

All this proves is that He told them to go without Him into the sea. He sent out the strong wind. He walked by them, showing that He was close by and ready to answer the call. For our Lord is always in the midst of the storms with us. Once He entered the boat, the seas were calmed and their faith in Him enhanced.

But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

Mark 6:50

The disciples had completely lost hope and cried out in desperation. Their hope was completely lost, but at the fourth watch, God delivered them from their fears.

Similarly, St Paul experienced great hardship when he preached in Asia.  He says, “Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us.” (2 Cor. 1:9)

Even St Paul lost hope at one point. He got into the boat, it crashed and he was capsized. At his lowest, the power of the Resurrection taught him lessons he would have never learnt if it were smooth sailing.

O’Lord, help me to increase my faith. How can I increase my faith? There are two main things;

1. I become physically drained and I lose all hope in myself.
2. Then this allows God to enter my life and becomes everything I didn’t even know I needed.

When we say to God that the tribulation is too much, He says not to worry. When we are in midst of the raging seas, God is standing on the mountains, watching over us and praying for us. He is by the shore, ready to walk on the water to rescue us and be our comfort.

If we think that God could leave us in the middle of tribulation, He tells us that He will allow us to have tribulation, so that we may, “count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:2-3).

Jesus did not need to tell the disciples to be of good cheer, it was enough that He was there for them. He says this to comfort them, He is always watching them and present to help when they call. In the midst of any tribulation, His comfort is there for us. When we ask if He is always going to be there, God says that He will go through the storms, but He would never leave us in the storms alone. Every burden He carries with us.

A certain man who lost hope thinks that the devil has overcome him. This can never be the case, because we know that God will always overcome the devil. Satan may be strong, but God is stronger. Be of good cheer, God is more. If Satan tempts you, be of good cheer for our Lord has overcome the world.

The world is corrupted by sin now more than ever before. Did the raging seas have to come for the Lord to say, “be of good cheer?” Of course He did, if He said it immediately after the feeding of the 5000 then the people would have responded, “but we’re already happy, we didn’t need You.”

This was not the time for Jesus to say, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid,” for they had no reason to be afraid. The time comes after the raging seas, after the fourth watch, that was the time when they needed to hear those words of comfort.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Romans 8:35

Jonah prayed from the belly of the whale. Daniel prayed in the den of lions. The three saintly youth prayed in the fiery furnace. What more could we want from God? It is enough for me that I have Christ with me. It is enough for me to have God in my life. We are strong with His presence. We received everything from Him, all that is left is for us to live like Christ.

In the lions’ den, in the fiery furnace, in the midst of the raging sea, we remember our Lord. In the whole world, Christ lives in us so that we can live like Christ. He is my happiness, my joy, my hope.

For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

Romans 8:14

We live strong through a living hope that has no end. When the disciples went to the shore, they knew Christ. When I listen to sermons, I listen about God and I hear of His compassion, His gentleness, His kindness. He is a powerful God that has prepared a place for us. Our God has resurrected and ascended. They say so much about Him, but I hope to taste and see that the Lord is good (Ps 34:8). When they entered the boat, they had heard of Him, but when they made it back to land, they knew Him.

I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.

Job 42:5

The End is Near

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Mark Basily

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Mark 13:3-37

Our Lord discusses with His disciples the signs to come that will signify the end times are near. There is a whole list of signs to look out for regarding the end of times. Our Lord Jesus Christ concludes these signs with some advice. When you notice these signs, keep in mind this advice.

We live in a time where many will ask if certain events are signs of the end. We turn to the advice of Christ. There are a few different pieces of advice that Christ gives when we begin to notice these signs come to fruition.

But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”

Mark 13:32-37

Watch

The first piece of advice from our Lord is to be watchful. When He says, “Watch,” what is He asking to watch for? Is He asking us to watch for the signs? Rather, He is asking us to watch ourselves. To watch our actions. To watch our thoughts. To watch our intentions. To watch myself.

When Christ was speaking to Peter, James and Andrew, He tells them, “watch lest they come in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning.”

Whenever you see the rooster mentioned in the gospels, you think of Peter. In the very next chapter, Jesus says to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night” (Luke 14:27). Peter responds, “Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be.”

We know that Peter was made to stumble, at the crowing of the rooster. Peter’s mistake here is that he did not watch. He did not assume that he was capable of stumbling. At Christ’s warning to watch, Peter says, “no, even if all will stumble, I will not stumble.”

To be watchful is to realise that I, too, have the potential to stumble. I have the potential of falling away. I have the potential to be tempted. No sin is beyond me.

When we have this mindset, we become very mindful of our actions. I can never assume that I am not capable of stumbling. Our Lord is telling us to be careful of ourselves.

…And Pray

The second thing He tells them is to watch, and pray.

It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping.

Mark 13:34-36

Our Lord divides the night into four sections. The evening, midnight, the crowing of the rooster and the morning. This is the exact same way the Agpia is divided. We have the evening prayer, the midnight prayer (with first, second and third services to correspond with evening, midnight, crowing of the rooster and the morning).

The church creates for us this structure to be watchful in prayer at all times. We are called to watch and pray.

Timing

The final advice our Lord gives to the disciples is not be concerned with the timing itself, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

How it possible that not even Christ knows the time of the end of the world? Isn’t He God? Doesn’t He know all things? How could it be that the Son of Man does not know the time of the end of the world?

Actually, He does know; He must know, for He is God. He doesn’t know In His capacity as a Teacher to tell us. It is not beneficial for us to know. Since it is not beneficial for us to know, then He does not know, in His role as a Teacher.

If someone comes for confession, and soon after another person comes and says, “did he confess that he lied?” What can the priest say? He cannot say yes as he cannot reveal confessions. He can’t even say no, because even that he cannot reveal. What the priest can say is, I don’t know. I don’t know what he confessed, because it is not my place and it is not beneficial for you to know.

Our Lord Jesus Christ who instructs us to the Kingdom, says He does not know for it is not beneficial to us. What does that mean to us? It means that He wants to be prepared at all times. To always be ready.

If He were to give us the exact date, then I know I can relax for now. It is not helpful to me. Rather, our Lord tells us, no one knows the time, so therefore, now is the time. Now is the time to be prepared. Today is the day to be ready.

When we look around us in the world, we can see almost all the signs of the end. There are wars, there are rumours of wars. There’s Afghanistan, there’s COVID, there’s famine. There is everything. So what do we do with these signs? Our Lord tells us to watch, watch ourselves. Pray and be prepared now.

Lessons from St Mary

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Michael Fanous

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St Mary is loved by the whole world for so many reasons. How can we imitate the life and virtue of St Mary? By analysis of her words and actions recorded in the Gospels, there is much for us to learn.

Asked questions of the Lord

How can this be since I do not know a man?

Luke 1:34

Archangel Gabriel came to her and this was the first question that she asked of him. It wasn’t that she was surprised that she had an angel before her, but the request he made of her. This shows us that she wanted to remain a virgin all her life, and thought this was most favourable in the eyes of God. God had other plans that came a surprise to St Mary.

We are all allowed to ask questions of the Lord for the purpose of understanding. We can tell Him what we wish as well.

Abraham asked questions of the Lord as well. When the Lord wanted to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham asked, “Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” – Genesis 18:25.

It was the questions of Abraham that would have spared the nation of Sodom and Gomorrah if just one righteous man was dwelling there.

We see in Moses as well the question that Moses asked that prevented God from killing the nation of the Israelites when they turned to worship Baal. Moses says to God, “Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people” (Exodus 32:11-12). The Lord listened to Moses and His wrath against the people was defused.

In Psalm 73, when Asaph, the prophet, was wondering how he could say to the people of Jerusalem that the Lord is good while the ungodly were prospering? One day he went into the sanctuary and he saw the Lord and he came out with great revelation.

I was so foolish and ignorant;
I was like a beast before You.
Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You hold me by my right hand.
You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory.

Psalm 37:22-25

In the end, we see that Asaph finds delight in the Lord above all ungodly pleasures that the world has to offer. The end result is our submission to the Lord. As St Mary says, “Behold! The maidservant of the Lord.” We can ask questions of the Lord but our end must remain the same; that we reach submission under the Providence of our Lord.

St Mary carried the joy of the Holy Spirit wherever she went

As soon as Mary greeted Elizabeth, the babe leapt within her womb for joy. The place became filled with joy, peace and of the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth asks, “But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”

We then read the prophecies of St Mary, being so full of the Holy Spirit. When we greet others, do we take Christ with us? Do we share our joy to that person? Does the Holy Spirit fill the place we are in? Wherever St Mary went, she took the Holy Spirit with her.

My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour.

Every time we are blessed or receive grace from the Lord, this is what should come to mind. Moment by moment we receive grace from the Lord that we can’t help but give thanks for. We give glory to God, for He is the Provider of all good things.

Searched for the Lord until she found Him

When Christ was twelve years old, St Mary and St Joseph searched for Him for three days and eventually found Him in the temple. Do we search for the Lord? Do we keep searching until we find Him? We know that we will only find Him in His home; His church. We are joined with Him in the altar. We find Him in the small churches of our homes and in our hearts. The Holy Spirit resides within us. We need to search for Him and His Word. Keep searching until you find Him, and then never let Him go.

St Mary did not demand action from the Lord, but trusted in His response

At the wedding of Cana of Galilee, St Mary only needed to say, “they have no wine,” and knew the Lord would take care of it. St Mary shared her feeling with the Lord and then left the solution up to Him.

It could almost be assumed that Mary and Martha learnt from St Mary. They say to the Lord, “the one whom You love is sick,” (John 11:3) and nothing more. They didn’t say come immediately or just say a word and he will be healed. They knew the Lord would do the best. Do we do the same? Do we put our problems before the Lord and allow Him to do as wishes?

Are we open to hearing no from the Lord? Our Mother Mary showed us how to live the way of holiness, to be godly, through submission and acceptance of all that comes from the Lord. Sharing our lives with Him, whether it is joy, a request or our needs. We are always in communication with the Lord, then truly we will be sons and daughters of the Lord and be able to have joy with Him in all until the very last days where, “there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

Glory be to God forever, Amen.

Return: A Contemplation on the Prodigal Son

Translated from a sermon by Fr Daoud Lamei

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I only want one thing from you, to return. Return without saying anything. Don’t think that there is punishment for your past, it will be wiped away.

Yet don’t think that there aren’t any consequences. There are still consequences. I can’t take back the heartbreak. I can’t take back the money that was lost. I can’t take back the disrespect. I can’t take back your lapse in judgement.

Regardless of it all, it doesn’t change My Love for you. I only want one thing – for you to return and enjoy the pleasures of being My child.

Nothing displeases the heart of the Lord more than knowing that you are upset or uncomfortable. There is only one way out – to return to His loving embrace.

And you still rebel from the Lord, and it only leads to a downward spiral from there. So many parents can relate to this with their own children. Do you think a parent can bare to see their children as slaves of the world? They are slaves to cigarettes, to alcohol, to sexual desires. They even allow themselves to become slaves to their job and the love of money.

Our God is very rich and gives openly to His children, so then why be a slave to the world? Who can hear you like God? Who can give you like God can? You’re sitting at home tired and stressed, but it all comes down to one thing. Return.

Everyone thinks that when they do return, they will be met with harsh discipline and condemnation for their mistakes. There is nothing of this with the Lord.

The first thing that breaks the heart of God is when we were in His church, in His house, serving His people, and yet, we have moments of weakness when we fight with Him and treat Him as if He were oppressing us. Isn’t that what the older brother did to his father? He says, “these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time.”– Luke 15:29.

We are just like the older brother. I have been serving you so many years and I pray to You. Why is this happening to me? How could YOU give me tribulation?

Alas, trials are love and benevolence from the Lord. Sometimes man has the audacity to accuse God of being harsh and oppressive. We think He is not just. Sometimes the religious man accuses God of displaying favouritism toward the non-religious. He questions that maybe he should’ve gone down the wrong path so that God would be with him.

In reality, This is a favour from our Lord. The day that God comes to give you a crown of blessing, you can no longer stand the discomfort? You yell at God and you make Him out to be harsh. You think that He doesn’t understand. You accuse God of wrong doing. Sometimes you accuse God that He isn’t even there.

God replies that He has always been by our side. You don’t have any right to accuse God of any wrongdoing. All rights belong to God. All the wisdom is with God.

Yet God remains silent. As if He were the One in the wrong. He is the accused. He is guilty. God is always right in what He does. As the psalmist said,

“That You may be found just when You speak,
And blameless when You judge.” – Psalm 51:4.

Everything He says is truth. Nothing can sadden God more than the heart that is hardened.

The brother of the prodigal son questioned his father. How could his father accept his son after he had hardened his heart against him? He questioned his father’s judgement and authority, he was not moved by love in the same way his father was.

God tells us that we should be happy when those that once dwelled in sin return. Sometimes, it is almost like we wanted to see those that were once far from God suffer for their sins. This is not in the nature of God. He asks us, “why can’t you take after Your Father and forgive as I forgive you?”

Sometimes many Christians are waiting to see the day sinners are repaid for their wrongdoing. God looks at their hearts and says, “where did you get this harshness from? It doesn’t come from Me! I am waiting for the day that they repent.”

God waits for all of them to return, and see heaven. But why are our hearts hardened toward the sinners? If the one does wrong to you once, we wait for the day that they are repaid for their wrongdoing.

Why all this enmity? God answers us quite simply, “your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.” – Luke 15:32.

We should be joyful at the return of a sinner. God is saddened by the harshness of our hearts that we cannot even withstand wrongdoing done against us. Every time someone does something wrong against you, think of yourself as a child of God. In this sense, they have not wronged you but they have wronged God.

Yet God remains silent, the same way He is when we do wrong. Why are we so vocal? Your heart is different to the heart of God. How sad is God’s heart when He sees those that think they know Him, but their hearts are not like His. They are hearts of stone and unforgiving.

This was about your ultimate return. On the day that your brother returns, come and be joyful with God. Don’t break the heart of God on the day of His greatest joy. Come and be joyful with the Lord, and do not retain the sins against you, “for your brother was dead and is alive again.”