I Am He

Whose Reality Counts? (With all respect to my Professor Robert Chambers who titled one of his books as the title for this post) [i] It is very hard when you meet with people who are defeated by the devil’s power, people who seek the division of their houses. A husband married to a very beautiful woman leaves her to be attached to another one and leave his children behind him. A family whose main concern is to abuse the system and get the maximum benefit even if they do not deserve it. Parents who know nothing about their kids, children who hate their parents etc. The result of all this? Tears, broken hearts,  injuries, hurt, anger, hatred, psychological stress … the list goes on. Why does this happen? The answer is the ABSENCE OF GOD. I remember one time my professor said to me, “You know those simple villagers who wear a robe (galapia) and returns to their homes, sitting on benches and smelling the fresh air of the farm land, his wife preparing tea for him and his ki...

A Homily of our Father Abba Shenouda the Archimandrite may his blessings be with us. Amen. Let me inform you of two matters. Those for whom the heaven rejoiced for because of their repentance on earth will not suffer sadness or pain in the pace they are destined to inherit. As for those whom heavens did not rejoice for because they did not atone for their sins and did not repent for their inequities on earth, they will find neither joy nor comfort in that place. Because those who revel in pleasures and delights will enjoy neither happiness nor comfort in Heaven. Have you not heard his saying “Blessed are those who mourn because they shall be comforted.” Also those who do not rejoice on earth shall rejoice in heavens or have not you read, “Woe to you who laugh now for you shall weep and mourn. “Isn’t this the time when the meek is vested with power. And he who is not strong will say “I am strong” when he yields his heart to the written Word. As the prophet says, “Many are t...

Do not label me Labeling is a crippling method which brings no benefit to our lives, especially our spiritual lives and growth. I have heard brothers and sisters who say, “we just do not read this author,” or “we do not even listen to this person’s sermons,” or, in other words, we have blocked this channel from our receivers (our minds). Labeling, my beloved, is a grave action that harms yourself, not others. I want you to review in your mind, how many people you labeled, only to discover your label was completely incorrect. One lady asked a priest known by his seriousness, “are you Fr. Abd El Masieh?” He said “yes I am.” The woman continued saying, “No way, it must be wrong. A long time ago I was on my way to attending this church, but someone met me and said never go to this church, you will hate your life, but today I was in heaven in this liturgy.” Another story I just read was narrated by Fr. Tadros Malaty. He said that a priest was sent to one church to pray the...

Holies for those who want to be holy (part 3 of many) Sexual temptations are curable, even if you think they are not. The consistent spiritual advice in our church through the ages is to focus on God's grace more than focusing on the sin. This shift in thinking is the key answer to how you can overcome these temptations. See if you talk about the sin more than talking about how God is accepting and uplifting you and helping you to add to the edification of the church. There is a famous story narrated by Metropolitan Kallistos Ware [i] concerning this monk who was asked what does he do in the monastery? He answered, "I am falling and rising up."   Our life is a wave of falling and rising up by the God of resurrection. The great saint of the Russian Church St. Seraphim of Sarov [ii]  used to greet people regularly by saying "Christ is Risen." How powerful is that? Flee from the situation that motivates you to sin; scatter your thoughts as St. Anto...