Well the school year is pretty much up for all high schoolers throughout the country, so I thought it would be a good time to share some of my experiences with you, especially Seniors who have just graduated, and give some advice.
Life is going to start moving very quickly now that you are finished with high school. The atmosphere that we have been used to as high schoolers: a place filled with young people, seeing many of our friends everyday, same teachers throughout the year, being dependent on mom and dad, this is all going to change.
Whether you decide to go to college or decide to go to work, or any other path within or outside of these, that atmosphere is going to change. That vibrant, life-filled environment that we were once in (high school) will disappear. I remember after my graduation (in 2008), life quieted down tremendously. Graduation was like a movie coming to its climax and resolution toward the end. I remember a student who was in front of me in the line said as we entered the stadium for the ceremony that she felt like she was on a really high roller coaster about to go down the track really quickly. Commencement was like one of those big musical scores at the second to last scene of a movie, where the entire orchestra holds a note (fermata) and then fades away.
I haven’t seen the majority of my class since graduation; the same is true for many other graduates. I remember a couple of weeks after graduation I was sitting with two of my closest friends from high school at a Starbucks we often used to go to during our Junior and Senior years, and we were talking about friendship and if we didn’t see or talk to each other after high school, then was that friendship a Christian friendship, or was it just because we happened to be in the same geographic location for a while? This is one example of a question we should ask ourselves.
Afterward we saw a student we had known from high school, same class, and she also remarked that “everybody disappeared” after graduation.
It makes us think, why do we have friends? Is it just because we don’t want to be called loners and we want to run with a pack or be included in a circle? If these are the reasons, maybe that’s why this country is getting spiritually sick, because there is no real basis as to why this friendship exists other than a fear of exclusion (a type of selfishness). And these “circles of friends” become major influences in our life whether good or bad.
Our Lord Jesus Christ gave us the example of friendship; He Himself called us His friends in the Gospel of John (15:14-16). We see from His example that He gave us what He had. This brings up the reminder that love always gives. The type of friendship we should offer, as Christians, should be like that of our Lord Jesus, we should give, and not just take. And just like His friendship is lasting, we should try to make our friendships last. With the advent of such facilitators as e-mails, cell phones, text messaging, and facebook, we can make our friendships last better even if our friends are far away from us. Most importantly we should be very concerned with the salvation of our friends as our Lord Jesus was with us.
About a month and a half before my graduation, I started thinking a lot about the future. I started thinking long about things I had only given a couple of seconds at a time in the past such as my future career, marriage, and having children. I started thinking about marriage a lot more than any other subject. I had not really contemplated on the subject until this wave of thinking started.
Marriage is not a small thing, it is very important in the Church; it is one of the Seven Sacraments. Someone was arguing with me about Monasticism and Marriage, and accusing the Church of glorifying monks more than married people, and I answered him, “Marriage is a Sacrament; Monasticism is not.” Also there would be no monks without marriage. I also listened to a set of sermons delivered by Father Anthony Messeh about marriage to high schoolers and he said something very profound, he said that the time to start preparing for marriage is not during the engagement, but it is now. He said this because if we start thinking about this VERY IMPORTANT subject now, then we will prepare better for marriage. These thoughts of the future then are a blessing.
But we shouldn’t dwell on it as our Lord Jesus said, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 5:34). His advice for us concerning life is simple “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 5:33). If we do this, then we will be led by Him.
I feel safe to assume that while in high school these sorts of thoughts never really cross the minds of students on a profound level such as this.
Some things, however, will not change in life. There will still be groups of people you will hang out with, people who will cause drama, people who will become really good friends of yours, and people who will hate you, people who will like to show off, and people who will cause you to change for the better.
Always remember that your faith is the most important thing.
Focus on God this summer (both graduates and non-graduates alike). Thank God, glorify Him, pray, read your Bibles, go to Church, grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ, and enjoy the beauty of the wonderful creation of God.
Let us also take St. Augustine’s advice, "Pray as if everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you."
God will do what He knows is best for you.
I will leave you with the words of this following quote, let it be a guiding principle, and a source of encouragement, “Don’t worry about tomorrow; God is already there.”
Glory be to God forever. Amen.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
The First Day of the Week
Happy Feast of Pentecost!
Has anyone ever wondered why we as Christians worship on the first day of the week, on Sunday?
One of the reasons we worship on Sunday is because God began His work within this universe on the first day of the week. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth… so the evening and the morning were the first day” (Genesis 1:1, 5).
Another of the reasons we worship on Sunday is because the Resurrection, our hope, also happened on the first day of the week. (Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:2, Luke 24:1, John 20:1). Jesus Christ rose from the dead on this day, bringing eternal joy to us, and the hope that we will follow Him. As God began the original creation on the first day of the week, He also began the new creation on the first day of the week. It is the new beginning of humanity, and it is sometimes called the Eighth Day (the number of eternity), because for us it is our entrance into eternity.
The Pentecost, which we are celebrating today, was seven weeks after the Resurrection, making it a Sunday. This is the day that the Promise of the Holy Spirit was fulfilled. The Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles in the likeness of tongues of fire. And the end of days began. As St. Peter the Apostle preached quoting Joel the Prophet, “‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams… And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved’” (Acts 2:17, 21). As such Pentecost then is the birthday of the Church, because all that was promised for the Church to start its mission was fulfilled.
The Apostles also from the beginning began to meet on Sunday for fellowship and this tradition carried on to the rest of the Church by the will of God, as St. Luke the Apostle records in the Acts emphatically, “On the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread” (Acts 20:7).
Therefore let us as Christians following in the Holy Tradition of the Lord and His Apostles keep the first day of the week as the day we as the Body of Christ meet and have fellowship.
Glory be to God both now and ever and unto the age of all ages. Amen.
Has anyone ever wondered why we as Christians worship on the first day of the week, on Sunday?
One of the reasons we worship on Sunday is because God began His work within this universe on the first day of the week. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth… so the evening and the morning were the first day” (Genesis 1:1, 5).
Another of the reasons we worship on Sunday is because the Resurrection, our hope, also happened on the first day of the week. (Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:2, Luke 24:1, John 20:1). Jesus Christ rose from the dead on this day, bringing eternal joy to us, and the hope that we will follow Him. As God began the original creation on the first day of the week, He also began the new creation on the first day of the week. It is the new beginning of humanity, and it is sometimes called the Eighth Day (the number of eternity), because for us it is our entrance into eternity.
The Pentecost, which we are celebrating today, was seven weeks after the Resurrection, making it a Sunday. This is the day that the Promise of the Holy Spirit was fulfilled. The Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles in the likeness of tongues of fire. And the end of days began. As St. Peter the Apostle preached quoting Joel the Prophet, “‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams… And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved’” (Acts 2:17, 21). As such Pentecost then is the birthday of the Church, because all that was promised for the Church to start its mission was fulfilled.
The Apostles also from the beginning began to meet on Sunday for fellowship and this tradition carried on to the rest of the Church by the will of God, as St. Luke the Apostle records in the Acts emphatically, “On the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread” (Acts 20:7).
Therefore let us as Christians following in the Holy Tradition of the Lord and His Apostles keep the first day of the week as the day we as the Body of Christ meet and have fellowship.
Glory be to God both now and ever and unto the age of all ages. Amen.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
St. Patrick
We just had the feast day of St. Patrick the Bishop of Armagh and the Enlightener of Ireland, and it might be that not many people know the story of this saint, so I have decided to write a little about Patrick’s life based off his own work, The Confession.
St. Patrick was born in Britain to Calpurnius the deacon, and his grandfather, Potitus was a priest. At the age of sixteen, pirates captured Patrick and took him to Ireland where he became a slave. He had not really known the true meaning of Christianity and had not had a relationship with God when he was captured. One day as he was shepherding his sheep he came to believe. From that day on he began to pray long hours of the day and also in the night. He sat on mountains that were filled with snow and under freezing rain when he prayed.
One day, he heard of a ship going back to Britain, and he decided to board it. He ran away from his master whom he had served for six years. When Patrick arrived, the sailors didn’t want to take him. He turned aside and prayed, and when he came back they asked him to board the ship. After three days they arrived on land, but it was uninhabited. They kept wandering for twenty-eight days and ran out of food then they started asking Patrick that if his God was all powerful why he was leaving them to die. Patrick told them that if they believed, God would save them. He turned aside and prayed and then they received food and ate until they were filled. When they ran out of food the second time, it happened to be that they finally reached inhabited land.
Patrick went back to his family in Britain with his Christian faith. One day, as he was asleep, he received a vision: “And, of course, there, in a vision of the night, I saw a man whose name was Victoricus coming as if from Ireland with innumerable letters, and he gave me one of them, and I read the beginning of the letter: ‘The Voice of the Irish’; and as I was reading the beginning of the letter I seemed at that moment to hear the voice of those who were beside the forest of Foclut which is near the western sea, and they were crying as if with one voice: ‘We beg you, holy youth, that you shall come and shall walk again among us.’ And I was stung intensely in my heart so that I could read no more, and thus I awoke.” Now, God speaking to him to go preach to the Irish, Patrick became a Bishop and went back to Ireland.
Patrick is most famously known for using the Shamrock or the Three Leafed Clover to teach the Irish about the Trinity. The Shamrock, even though it has three leaves, has one stem and is one plant. Patrick, in his work the Confession, always gives glory to God the Trinity. In his icons, he is usually holding the Shamrock in his right hand. Here is something that Patrick wrote concerning evangelism, “According, therefore, to the measure of one’s faith in the Trinity, one should proceed without holding back from danger to make known the gift of God and everlasting consolation, to spread God’s name everywhere with confidence and without fear.”
Overall, Patrick is a good example of prayer, obedience, and evangelism. He prayed regularly and whenever he was in trouble, instead of just being discouraged. Even though he loved his home country of Britain and wanted to travel abroad to Gaul (France), he obeyed when God in a vision told him to go and preach to Ireland. This is a prayer that Patrick said that we should all share in and say, “I pray God that he gives me perseverance, and that he will deign that I should be a faithful witness for his sake right up to the time of my passing.” Let us learn from this saint’s example.
May his prayers be with us and glory be to God both now and ever and unto the age of all ages. Amen.
St. Patrick was born in Britain to Calpurnius the deacon, and his grandfather, Potitus was a priest. At the age of sixteen, pirates captured Patrick and took him to Ireland where he became a slave. He had not really known the true meaning of Christianity and had not had a relationship with God when he was captured. One day as he was shepherding his sheep he came to believe. From that day on he began to pray long hours of the day and also in the night. He sat on mountains that were filled with snow and under freezing rain when he prayed.
One day, he heard of a ship going back to Britain, and he decided to board it. He ran away from his master whom he had served for six years. When Patrick arrived, the sailors didn’t want to take him. He turned aside and prayed, and when he came back they asked him to board the ship. After three days they arrived on land, but it was uninhabited. They kept wandering for twenty-eight days and ran out of food then they started asking Patrick that if his God was all powerful why he was leaving them to die. Patrick told them that if they believed, God would save them. He turned aside and prayed and then they received food and ate until they were filled. When they ran out of food the second time, it happened to be that they finally reached inhabited land.
Patrick went back to his family in Britain with his Christian faith. One day, as he was asleep, he received a vision: “And, of course, there, in a vision of the night, I saw a man whose name was Victoricus coming as if from Ireland with innumerable letters, and he gave me one of them, and I read the beginning of the letter: ‘The Voice of the Irish’; and as I was reading the beginning of the letter I seemed at that moment to hear the voice of those who were beside the forest of Foclut which is near the western sea, and they were crying as if with one voice: ‘We beg you, holy youth, that you shall come and shall walk again among us.’ And I was stung intensely in my heart so that I could read no more, and thus I awoke.” Now, God speaking to him to go preach to the Irish, Patrick became a Bishop and went back to Ireland.
Patrick is most famously known for using the Shamrock or the Three Leafed Clover to teach the Irish about the Trinity. The Shamrock, even though it has three leaves, has one stem and is one plant. Patrick, in his work the Confession, always gives glory to God the Trinity. In his icons, he is usually holding the Shamrock in his right hand. Here is something that Patrick wrote concerning evangelism, “According, therefore, to the measure of one’s faith in the Trinity, one should proceed without holding back from danger to make known the gift of God and everlasting consolation, to spread God’s name everywhere with confidence and without fear.”
Overall, Patrick is a good example of prayer, obedience, and evangelism. He prayed regularly and whenever he was in trouble, instead of just being discouraged. Even though he loved his home country of Britain and wanted to travel abroad to Gaul (France), he obeyed when God in a vision told him to go and preach to Ireland. This is a prayer that Patrick said that we should all share in and say, “I pray God that he gives me perseverance, and that he will deign that I should be a faithful witness for his sake right up to the time of my passing.” Let us learn from this saint’s example.
May his prayers be with us and glory be to God both now and ever and unto the age of all ages. Amen.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
The Olympics
Well, today’s article has been inspired by my watching the Olympics these past two weeks. I love the Olympics, it is thrilling just to watch these athletes compete in the various events and I look up to them as role models because I myself take interest in athletics. It has also been an interesting two weeks, A LOT of things have happened.
A few hours before the opening ceremony our Orthodox Christian brother Nodar Kumaritashvili of Georgia was killed after a practice run at the luge track where he reached a speed of almost 90 miles per hour and flew off the track hitting a steel post. The opening ceremonies of the XXI Winter Olympic Games were dedicated to his memory. The Georgian team wore black armbands and left a space for him in their march. The flags also flew at half staff with a minute of silence for him.
Also I don’t think I have seen as many crashes in the Olympics as I have in these games, practically all the events I have watched in these Olympics from Alpine Skiing to Speed Skating all have had big crashes.
And I have enjoyed watching my favorite Olympic athlete Apolo Anton Ohno speed skate in his third Olympics.
Anyway aside from the details of the games I wanted to write about the analogy of the athlete.
This analogy of the Christian being an athlete was used a few times in the Bible and I would like to expand on that.
First of all, athletes train, they don’t just sit around and expect to become Olympians. They train long and hard. So we too as Christians need to train ourselves through praying to God, reading the Bible, spiritual books, going to church, serving, showing love to others, controlling ourselves, and practicing the rest of the virtues.
When athletes train their bodies burn because of the acids secreted in their muscles. If you have ever tried to run a long time without stopping you know what I mean. But the athletes don’t give in to these feelings they keep going, they have a strong will and their will is stronger than the discomfort they feel in their bodies. We too have to have a strong will, especially in times like these when we are fasting. When we see, smell, or think of a hamburger, or chicken, or eggs, or whatever other type of food that is not permitted for fasting, we have to control ourselves and make our will stronger than our desires. And also not only in fasting but when an opportunity comes for us to sin, we don’t. We should be able to say no to these types of things when they come up in front of us to tempt us.
Training also increases endurance. This takes time, nobody can exercise one day and expect to become superman tomorrow. This process takes time, and sometimes a long time at that. Same with us, we can’t all of a sudden want to pray all the hours of the Book of Hours, memorize several psalms, finish the Bible quickly, and most importantly (and dangerously) want to instruct others in Christ. All this has to be done gradually. If we want to pray the Book of Hours, we should start praying one psalm in the beginning. If we want to memorize several psalms, how about we start with one verse. If we want to finish the Bible, how about we start by reading a couple of chapters at a time instead of an entire book. And if we want to instruct others in Christ, we should have spent a long time in the faith and in practicing virtues, so we can teach being both doers and hearers of the word (James 1:22). This is why patience is a virtue because we wait on God to work in us until we clearly see the end result, when we become likened to His Son Jesus Christ.
Training however, especially in the level of the Olympics, requires coaches. Coaches, firstly, are athletes themselves, and specifically to the sport they are coaching. So they know very well how the sport works, and most importantly they see things that you don’t. For example, figure skaters might be happy with their performance, but their coach might see that they land in an unsafe way so he advises them to do it another way. Even though it might be a little change in landing form for the figure skaters, it might be much more physically challenging on them. But if the skaters take the advice, they are safe now, and are perfected in their technique. Because of these qualities, coaches are able to guide their athletes to the highest of levels. For us our spiritual coaches are our Fathers of Confession. They see things we don’t, and they advise us on how to change (repentance), even though it might seem hard on us, it will perfect us in the end. This also requires humility to achieve, which the athletes have, because sometimes our Fathers of Confession might tell us things we don’t like or even want to hear, but if we are humble, we will see that what they are saying is true and we will obey.
Athletes also have a strict diet, so they can maintain their weight and maintain their performance ability. We should have a strict diet both with physical eating and with spiritual food. Physically eating too much is a sin in itself (or having a strong uncontrollable desire for food), gluttony. Even if one is thin, and doesn’t gain weight after eating too much, this is still gluttony. Fasting helps us exercise control over gluttony, and if one breaks a fast (unless they have a reason pertaining to health or another reason absolved by the Father of Confession), this is gluttony, even if it’s one small piece of food, because one’s desire for food was stronger than the desire to fast and spend time with God. With spiritual food we have to take in as much as helps and this differs between believers, not all believers are on the same spiritual level of progression. Maybe when we read the Bible we read an entire book at a time, but do so once in a long time. But one who reads three chapters a day from the Bible everyday for a year will finish the Bible in one year. It’s like the story of the Hare and the Turtle. The hare got into a race with the turtle, which is a very slow animal, and to show off the hare used to run much farther ahead of the turtle then rest for a while, but the turtle had patience and never stopped moving until the hare lost focus after his many runs and rests and the turtle won. So we should have a spiritual diet where we are constantly growing and becoming stronger.
The final point, and the one that I think to be most important, is that the athletes know themselves. They know who they are, their sport, their abilities, their weaknesses, their strategies, routines, and their goals. We too have to know ourselves, if we don’t we can’t continue in the faith. We must know our abilities so we can know how to serve God and the Church. We must know our weaknesses so we don’t do something that tempts us or causes us to fall into sin. We must know God, the Bible, our Church and goals, otherwise we will be easily shaken. We must know how to grow, going back to the patience and temperance. As St. Paul says, “Everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
Therefore we should learn from the analogy of the athletes and start during this Holy Fast to spend more time with God, and we should do everything as our Church prescribes, because the Church is our Mother and She brings us to Christ. So let us be athletes: “If anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules” (2 Timothy 2:5).
And glory be to God both now and ever and unto the age of all ages. Amen.
Monday, February 8, 2010
The Great Lent
The Great Lent is the holiest time of year, and also the longest fasting period of the Church. We should then make the season holy by devoting whatever time we can to God, through prayer of course, almsgiving, and service to Him.
St. Athanasius called the Great Lent, “The Holy Season,” and again it is a period full from start to finish with fasting. We should consecrate the fast, as we should for other fasts, for something we need or would like to do in our spiritual life. If we need to pray more often, let’s consecrate the fast to pray more often; if we need to read the Bible more often, let’s consecrate the fast to read the Bible more often.
In the Bible sacrificial worship is described in three contexts; Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving.In the Great Lent, these are meant to be united, not only in our spiritual life at once, but also by the Church altogether so our will would be one.
When Bishop Serapion was at St. Demiana Coptic Orthodox Church, on the eve of the beginning of Jonah’s Fast in 2008, he said something that started to make the church think about the way we organize things. He said, “In the Old Testament they had the Law, (and they obeyed it), and in the New Testament we have the organization, so let us be of one mind and all of us would fast together from the beginning of the Great Lent.”
In the Early Church, in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, it said of the Church, “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” -Acts 2:44-47
So we should be of one accord during the Great Lent, and if we work we should give, because if it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t receive anything. So we should have all things in common, most importantly our accord (our oneness in mind). Just as our examples, the Apostles and the early Christians were.
Finally we should consecrate this time to God, and the only way to do that is through prayer, because it is only through prayer that we speak to God. Although don’t get it confused as to what prayer is, prayer is not just one activity, it is a variety. The degree of prayer that most people are familiar with is when you say “Our Father,” or recite Psalms, or to ask God for something, but prayer really covers much more than that. Prayer is a life, and if you make your life with God, your life is a prayer life. You can pray by reading the Bible, you can pray by doing what your supposed to do as the Book of Sirach speaks of those who hold various jobs, says, “And their prayer is in the practice of their craft.” –Wisdom of Sirach 38:34. You can pray by singing hymns and spiritual songs, you can pray by reading spiritual books. There is more to prayer, but I won’t get into that now. But keep your thoughts lifted up, as it said in the liturgy, “We have them [our hearts] with the Lord.” St. Ephraim the Syrian said, “Virtues are formed by prayer,” and St. Isaac the Syrian said, “Prayer is superior to all other virtues.” And as Solomon says, “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come.” -Ecclesiastes 12:1
So let us set aside all our excuses (because there can be no excuse when talking to the Creator) and remember our Creator and make Him the focus of our lives. We might complain because of certain things, but remember, you wouldn’t even be here to complain about those things if he hadn’t given us the gift of life.
So let us make Him our focus, and pray.
And glory be to God both now and ever and unto the age of all ages. Amen.
St. Athanasius called the Great Lent, “The Holy Season,” and again it is a period full from start to finish with fasting. We should consecrate the fast, as we should for other fasts, for something we need or would like to do in our spiritual life. If we need to pray more often, let’s consecrate the fast to pray more often; if we need to read the Bible more often, let’s consecrate the fast to read the Bible more often.
In the Bible sacrificial worship is described in three contexts; Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving.In the Great Lent, these are meant to be united, not only in our spiritual life at once, but also by the Church altogether so our will would be one.
When Bishop Serapion was at St. Demiana Coptic Orthodox Church, on the eve of the beginning of Jonah’s Fast in 2008, he said something that started to make the church think about the way we organize things. He said, “In the Old Testament they had the Law, (and they obeyed it), and in the New Testament we have the organization, so let us be of one mind and all of us would fast together from the beginning of the Great Lent.”
In the Early Church, in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, it said of the Church, “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” -Acts 2:44-47
So we should be of one accord during the Great Lent, and if we work we should give, because if it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t receive anything. So we should have all things in common, most importantly our accord (our oneness in mind). Just as our examples, the Apostles and the early Christians were.
Finally we should consecrate this time to God, and the only way to do that is through prayer, because it is only through prayer that we speak to God. Although don’t get it confused as to what prayer is, prayer is not just one activity, it is a variety. The degree of prayer that most people are familiar with is when you say “Our Father,” or recite Psalms, or to ask God for something, but prayer really covers much more than that. Prayer is a life, and if you make your life with God, your life is a prayer life. You can pray by reading the Bible, you can pray by doing what your supposed to do as the Book of Sirach speaks of those who hold various jobs, says, “And their prayer is in the practice of their craft.” –Wisdom of Sirach 38:34. You can pray by singing hymns and spiritual songs, you can pray by reading spiritual books. There is more to prayer, but I won’t get into that now. But keep your thoughts lifted up, as it said in the liturgy, “We have them [our hearts] with the Lord.” St. Ephraim the Syrian said, “Virtues are formed by prayer,” and St. Isaac the Syrian said, “Prayer is superior to all other virtues.” And as Solomon says, “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come.” -Ecclesiastes 12:1
So let us set aside all our excuses (because there can be no excuse when talking to the Creator) and remember our Creator and make Him the focus of our lives. We might complain because of certain things, but remember, you wouldn’t even be here to complain about those things if he hadn’t given us the gift of life.
So let us make Him our focus, and pray.
And glory be to God both now and ever and unto the age of all ages. Amen.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Martyrdom
“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” -Tertullian the Scholar
Zakaria Toma, Mina Helmy Said, Bishoy Farid Labib, Boula Atef, Ayman Zakaria Hanna, and Abanoub Kamal.
Martyrdom is the highest form of love one can offer to God. This is so because, the Savior Himself says, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you” (John 15:13-14).
Life is the most precious thing that we have, and if we give that to God as an offering for witness (“martyr” is a Greek word meaning “witness”), then we have given God the most precious thing we could have given.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, in His Humanity, was a Martyr, because He gave His life to God for us, His friends. As He said, “Greater love has no than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” and we are His friends. So if we lay down our lives for Him, then we have shown the greatest love. We believe that martyrs are the closest people to God in the Kingdom of Heaven, because they have given the greatest love.
St. Clement of Alexandria clarified, "We call martyrdom perfection, not because the man comes to the end of his life as others, but because he has exhibited the perfect work of love."
Martyrdom also likens us more to Our Lord Jesus Christ because He Himself was martyred, and He referred to this as a baptism. He said to His disciples, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” (Mark 10:38). And also, “But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!” (Luke 12:50). This baptism, as it is referred to in the writings of the Church Father is called the Baptism of Blood. Even if there was a catechumen who was not baptized and died as a martyr, this baptism saved them, and they went to Heaven.
The Martyrs hold a very high place in the Church, they are venerated as the greatest of Saints. Martyrdom is something that has been there since the beginning of the Church, in fact the Church began with a Martyrdom, that of Our Lord Jesus Christ, when water and blood ran from His side at the same time (John 19:34-35). This is why Tertullian made the observation that, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” His observation is also an observation of a paradox; that when Christians are killed for their faith, Christianity grows, not decreases.
St. Augustine records the situation at his time, and this situation is still the same in the Orthodox Church, “Now, who hasn't heard of martyrs, or in what Christian mouth does the word "martyrs" not daily dwell? (And would that it might also dwell in our hearts such that we may imitate the martyrs' sufferings and not trample them underfoot!)”
Eleven out of the Twelve Apostles died as martyrs to show us this example because Christianity is not ideas, but it is a life, and these martyrs show us that this life can be lived. One example after the Apostles is St. Cyprian of Carthage who used to write a lot in praise of the martyrs, he himself was martyred, and here is one account of his martyrdom,
“The proconsul Galerius Maximus ordered Cyprian to be brought to him…
Galerius: Are you Thascius Cyprianus?
Cyprian: I am.
Galerius: Do you appear as the pope of these impious men? [The word ‘pope’ was used of all bishops down to the fifth century. It means ‘father’]
Cyprian: I do.
Galerius: The most sacred emperors have commanded you to conform to the Roman rites.
Cyprian: I refuse.
Galerius: Take heed of yourself.
Cyprian: Do as you are bid; in so clear a case I may not take heed.
Galerius, after briefly conferring with his judicial council, with much reluctance pronounced the following sentence: ‘You have long lived an irreligious life, and have drawn together a number of men bound by an unlawful association, and professed yourself an open enemy to the gods and the religion of Rome; and the most pious, most sacred and august Emperors, Valerian and Gallienus, and the most noble Caesar Valerian, have endeavored in vain to bring you back to conformity with their religious observances; - whereas, therefore, you have been apprehended as principal and ringleader in these infamous crimes, you shall be made an example to those whom you have wickedly associated with you; the authority of law shall be ratified in your blood.’ He then read the sentence of the court from a written tablet: ‘It is the sentence of this court that Thascius Cyprianus be executed with the sword.’
Cyprian: Thanks be to God.”
Christians are martyred because of persecution, and persecutions happen because people hate the Truth and don’t want to change. Even in this country there is a saying that is said many times, and all of us have heard it at least once, it is, “You can’t handle the truth.”
Martyrdom is not something of the past, it is still occurring, and a very recent example of this is what happened in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, on January 7, 2010 (Coptic Orthodox Christmas). The names mentioned in the beginning of this article are the names of the martyrs of Nag Hammadi. What happened was, it was Christmas Eve in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, and the Bishop of Nag Hammadi, Bishop Kyrillos, received threats that a group of Muslims were going to attempt something against him and his church. So he let the service out two hours earlier than usual for Christmas, between 10:00 to 10:30. A group of youth as they were exiting the church, were gunned down by three Muslims with machine guns. These six were martyred and others were injured.
A group of youth martyred, because of openly practicing their faith and confessing Christ.
What an example!
“Can the lover of the martyrs ever have enough of their memory?” -St. Basil
May their prayers and their holy blessing be with us all and glory be to God both now and ever and unto the age of all ages. Amen.
Zakaria Toma, Mina Helmy Said, Bishoy Farid Labib, Boula Atef, Ayman Zakaria Hanna, and Abanoub Kamal.
Martyrdom is the highest form of love one can offer to God. This is so because, the Savior Himself says, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you” (John 15:13-14).
Life is the most precious thing that we have, and if we give that to God as an offering for witness (“martyr” is a Greek word meaning “witness”), then we have given God the most precious thing we could have given.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, in His Humanity, was a Martyr, because He gave His life to God for us, His friends. As He said, “Greater love has no than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” and we are His friends. So if we lay down our lives for Him, then we have shown the greatest love. We believe that martyrs are the closest people to God in the Kingdom of Heaven, because they have given the greatest love.
St. Clement of Alexandria clarified, "We call martyrdom perfection, not because the man comes to the end of his life as others, but because he has exhibited the perfect work of love."
Martyrdom also likens us more to Our Lord Jesus Christ because He Himself was martyred, and He referred to this as a baptism. He said to His disciples, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” (Mark 10:38). And also, “But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!” (Luke 12:50). This baptism, as it is referred to in the writings of the Church Father is called the Baptism of Blood. Even if there was a catechumen who was not baptized and died as a martyr, this baptism saved them, and they went to Heaven.
The Martyrs hold a very high place in the Church, they are venerated as the greatest of Saints. Martyrdom is something that has been there since the beginning of the Church, in fact the Church began with a Martyrdom, that of Our Lord Jesus Christ, when water and blood ran from His side at the same time (John 19:34-35). This is why Tertullian made the observation that, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” His observation is also an observation of a paradox; that when Christians are killed for their faith, Christianity grows, not decreases.
St. Augustine records the situation at his time, and this situation is still the same in the Orthodox Church, “Now, who hasn't heard of martyrs, or in what Christian mouth does the word "martyrs" not daily dwell? (And would that it might also dwell in our hearts such that we may imitate the martyrs' sufferings and not trample them underfoot!)”
Eleven out of the Twelve Apostles died as martyrs to show us this example because Christianity is not ideas, but it is a life, and these martyrs show us that this life can be lived. One example after the Apostles is St. Cyprian of Carthage who used to write a lot in praise of the martyrs, he himself was martyred, and here is one account of his martyrdom,
“The proconsul Galerius Maximus ordered Cyprian to be brought to him…
Galerius: Are you Thascius Cyprianus?
Cyprian: I am.
Galerius: Do you appear as the pope of these impious men? [The word ‘pope’ was used of all bishops down to the fifth century. It means ‘father’]
Cyprian: I do.
Galerius: The most sacred emperors have commanded you to conform to the Roman rites.
Cyprian: I refuse.
Galerius: Take heed of yourself.
Cyprian: Do as you are bid; in so clear a case I may not take heed.
Galerius, after briefly conferring with his judicial council, with much reluctance pronounced the following sentence: ‘You have long lived an irreligious life, and have drawn together a number of men bound by an unlawful association, and professed yourself an open enemy to the gods and the religion of Rome; and the most pious, most sacred and august Emperors, Valerian and Gallienus, and the most noble Caesar Valerian, have endeavored in vain to bring you back to conformity with their religious observances; - whereas, therefore, you have been apprehended as principal and ringleader in these infamous crimes, you shall be made an example to those whom you have wickedly associated with you; the authority of law shall be ratified in your blood.’ He then read the sentence of the court from a written tablet: ‘It is the sentence of this court that Thascius Cyprianus be executed with the sword.’
Cyprian: Thanks be to God.”
Christians are martyred because of persecution, and persecutions happen because people hate the Truth and don’t want to change. Even in this country there is a saying that is said many times, and all of us have heard it at least once, it is, “You can’t handle the truth.”
Martyrdom is not something of the past, it is still occurring, and a very recent example of this is what happened in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, on January 7, 2010 (Coptic Orthodox Christmas). The names mentioned in the beginning of this article are the names of the martyrs of Nag Hammadi. What happened was, it was Christmas Eve in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, and the Bishop of Nag Hammadi, Bishop Kyrillos, received threats that a group of Muslims were going to attempt something against him and his church. So he let the service out two hours earlier than usual for Christmas, between 10:00 to 10:30. A group of youth as they were exiting the church, were gunned down by three Muslims with machine guns. These six were martyred and others were injured.
A group of youth martyred, because of openly practicing their faith and confessing Christ.
What an example!
“Can the lover of the martyrs ever have enough of their memory?” -St. Basil
May their prayers and their holy blessing be with us all and glory be to God both now and ever and unto the age of all ages. Amen.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Auld Lang Syne
“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done. There is nothing new under the sun.” -Ecclesiastes 1:9
Well, today is December 31, 2009, and it’s that time of year of again, New Year’s Eve. At this time of year it’s always good to reflect about the entire year and what we did in it.
As for me, it just makes me think that one year ago I was on a retreat with the youth in my diocese, and we were coming back to Pomona in the mid afternoon, then I was going to take a bus back home, which is very far from Pomona, and the busses ended up being full so I became stranded in Pomona. However, back at the church where we arrived there were many activities going on and a midnight liturgy, so glory be to God, I had a place to stay and it was an excellent way to start the New Year. I remember many choir groups went up and presented, and we sung Christian songs, and then the senior priest of the church led us in a heartfelt prayer starting a few minutes before midnight until about midnight, then I saw the date turn on my cell phone from December 31, 2008, to January 1, 2009. I liked seeing the number 2008, it was the year that I graduated from high school, but everything has its time, and we must use time wisely because we can never get it back. So we ended 2008 in prayer and started 2009 in prayer, and it was quite an event at the church, some churches aren’t even as packed on Easter as that church was on New Year’s.
Now comes the time for reviewing what actually went on in 2009. The first six months of 2009 were relatively peaceful, at least to me, and quiet, which is the ideal of the Christian life. Not many things went on there was just a good opportunity to focus on the Lord. But the last six months were horrible and it made me think about many of the problems in the world such as the recession in this country. All the problems we have in the world, especially this country, are because of a lack of virtue, specifically love towards God and towards people. The funniest thing I hear in this world is that people want peace and all the Christian virtues, but without Christ Himself. To want virtue without the One who made it is like wanting a light bulb to light up without electricity; it’s not going to happen. In order to have virtues like peace and love, we must know Jesus, otherwise, don’t expect to get the virtues. The recession in this country came as a result of people not really knowing Jesus and loving God, but by loving money. Greed is what caused this recession, greed on all parts, from many of the buyers and sellers of houses, to the CEO’s of big corporations, and banks lending people on interest only loans which is essentially gambling. These are just a few to name who are behind the problem, there are many, many more. But the fact that greed is one of the seven deadly sins has become fully realized to us in this past year.
What’s going on now reminds me of what Jesus said, “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:9-12). And this exactly is what’s going on, the world hates us Christians, for no reason, even though it’s because of Christ, and Christians doing what He commanded, that we live the way we live today, in civilization. And the biggest problem in this country is that people fear each other with pathological fear, this is why many “will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.” So many people in this country have a weekly cycle of sin, go to work, cuss, gossip, complain, go home do it ten times more than at work because they feared those at work, get off on Friday and drink and do drugs, then on Saturday night party, and so on. Many people in this country don’t naturally love other human beings as they should, there is hatred and malice, the world is becoming a very dark place to live in, even in our own homes, this is what is meant when our Lord Jesus Christ said, “And because lawlessness [sin] will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” Essentially, most people in this country don’t love one other, they only think “what will I get out of it,” which is selfishness, before doing any act appearing to be of love. This is why the number of spouses divorcing each other has become so high, the common statistic I have heard is 51%, but I have heard studies that suggest it might have climbed to 66%. Truly the world has become a much darker place and people are still playing in their sins, instead of repenting and turning to God.
But our Lord and Savior tells us right after, “But he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13), and He also tells us, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Jesus Christ is our Hope, and in Him we are complete, without Him we are like a body without a head, we are useless that is, and can’t do anything.
Let us start following Him sincerely starting next year, or I should say tomorrow, and not even tomorrow, let us start following Him today, now, from this moment on. As St. Ignatius said, “It is fitting, then, not only to be called Christians, but to be Christians.” If we do what this saying says, many of the troubles that we are in will end, and we will start preserving the creation of God, as is our responsibility, and we will bring many to Christ. Let us not be Christians by name, but by truth, faith, and deed.
Please Lord Jesus Christ, the afflictions of our hearts have been widened, bring us out of all our distresses.
So let us have our Joy and Peace restored to us in Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Joy and Peace. “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
And glory be to our God and Savior both now and ever and unto the age of all ages. Amen.
Well, today is December 31, 2009, and it’s that time of year of again, New Year’s Eve. At this time of year it’s always good to reflect about the entire year and what we did in it.
As for me, it just makes me think that one year ago I was on a retreat with the youth in my diocese, and we were coming back to Pomona in the mid afternoon, then I was going to take a bus back home, which is very far from Pomona, and the busses ended up being full so I became stranded in Pomona. However, back at the church where we arrived there were many activities going on and a midnight liturgy, so glory be to God, I had a place to stay and it was an excellent way to start the New Year. I remember many choir groups went up and presented, and we sung Christian songs, and then the senior priest of the church led us in a heartfelt prayer starting a few minutes before midnight until about midnight, then I saw the date turn on my cell phone from December 31, 2008, to January 1, 2009. I liked seeing the number 2008, it was the year that I graduated from high school, but everything has its time, and we must use time wisely because we can never get it back. So we ended 2008 in prayer and started 2009 in prayer, and it was quite an event at the church, some churches aren’t even as packed on Easter as that church was on New Year’s.
Now comes the time for reviewing what actually went on in 2009. The first six months of 2009 were relatively peaceful, at least to me, and quiet, which is the ideal of the Christian life. Not many things went on there was just a good opportunity to focus on the Lord. But the last six months were horrible and it made me think about many of the problems in the world such as the recession in this country. All the problems we have in the world, especially this country, are because of a lack of virtue, specifically love towards God and towards people. The funniest thing I hear in this world is that people want peace and all the Christian virtues, but without Christ Himself. To want virtue without the One who made it is like wanting a light bulb to light up without electricity; it’s not going to happen. In order to have virtues like peace and love, we must know Jesus, otherwise, don’t expect to get the virtues. The recession in this country came as a result of people not really knowing Jesus and loving God, but by loving money. Greed is what caused this recession, greed on all parts, from many of the buyers and sellers of houses, to the CEO’s of big corporations, and banks lending people on interest only loans which is essentially gambling. These are just a few to name who are behind the problem, there are many, many more. But the fact that greed is one of the seven deadly sins has become fully realized to us in this past year.
What’s going on now reminds me of what Jesus said, “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:9-12). And this exactly is what’s going on, the world hates us Christians, for no reason, even though it’s because of Christ, and Christians doing what He commanded, that we live the way we live today, in civilization. And the biggest problem in this country is that people fear each other with pathological fear, this is why many “will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.” So many people in this country have a weekly cycle of sin, go to work, cuss, gossip, complain, go home do it ten times more than at work because they feared those at work, get off on Friday and drink and do drugs, then on Saturday night party, and so on. Many people in this country don’t naturally love other human beings as they should, there is hatred and malice, the world is becoming a very dark place to live in, even in our own homes, this is what is meant when our Lord Jesus Christ said, “And because lawlessness [sin] will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” Essentially, most people in this country don’t love one other, they only think “what will I get out of it,” which is selfishness, before doing any act appearing to be of love. This is why the number of spouses divorcing each other has become so high, the common statistic I have heard is 51%, but I have heard studies that suggest it might have climbed to 66%. Truly the world has become a much darker place and people are still playing in their sins, instead of repenting and turning to God.
But our Lord and Savior tells us right after, “But he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13), and He also tells us, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Jesus Christ is our Hope, and in Him we are complete, without Him we are like a body without a head, we are useless that is, and can’t do anything.
Let us start following Him sincerely starting next year, or I should say tomorrow, and not even tomorrow, let us start following Him today, now, from this moment on. As St. Ignatius said, “It is fitting, then, not only to be called Christians, but to be Christians.” If we do what this saying says, many of the troubles that we are in will end, and we will start preserving the creation of God, as is our responsibility, and we will bring many to Christ. Let us not be Christians by name, but by truth, faith, and deed.
Please Lord Jesus Christ, the afflictions of our hearts have been widened, bring us out of all our distresses.
So let us have our Joy and Peace restored to us in Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Joy and Peace. “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
And glory be to our God and Savior both now and ever and unto the age of all ages. Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)