Benefiting from the Nativity Fast (part1)

Benefiting from the Nativity Fast (part1)

As our Church prepares us for the great mystery of Incarnation, so we should use this time of the year wisely to live this season.

As Fr. Athanasius Farag would recommend, you should be reading the following books:
1-      On the Incarnation by St. Athanasius
2-      The apostolic preaching by Irenaeus
3-      The Scandal of the Incarnation: Irenaeus Against the Heresies
4-      Scholia on the incarnation of the Only-Begotten by St. Cyril of Alexandria

Also the book of Keyhak ( Coptic month) Psalmody contains beautiful Coptic Epsalies and exegesis, I encourage you to go through the parts which are not familiar, like Psalies before  the canticle, exegesis after the canticle,   let me share with you some of these hidden treasure 

The exegesis (Tarh in Arabic) on the first hoos ( Exodus 15) gives us beautiful resemblance of the Moses Rod

“Moses struck his wooden rod upon the Red Sea and the waters parted. For us, this is a symbol to the wood of the Cross, upon which they crucified my Lord, The Second Adam”

It sees the Rod which parted the Red Sea in eyes of the believer now ; the Rod of the Cross 

The Exegesis for Thursday Theotokia, contains many fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies

“Barachiah, the prophet, and the righteous prophets, direct the intercessor , towards the East. The Bush is the Virgin, the Theotokos, and the ire in its branches, is the Fire of His Divinity. Paradise was shut, through their evil deeds, but through the Virgin Mary, it was opened for us once again. He was born of the Virgin, in Latter times, and sat upon His throne, on the right hand of Greatness. He was also named, Jesus our God, because He is the Pre-eternal: Son of God”

Epsali on the Third Canticle, it names the miracles which our Lord did: raising the dead, walking on the sea, opening the eyes of the blind, healing the crippled, deaf, lepers, exorcised those possessed by demonic legions, blessed five loaves to feed the multitude, accepted repentance of the adulteress, blessed the children, changed water into wine, at the end verse it says

“The Pre-eternal, Saviour of the world, had compassion on His people, and freed them”

In summary it brings the scope of Incarnation, the Shepard came to had compassion on His Sheep who were tempted by the sin, and corruptibility. The Incorruptible has to come to save the Creation.

In the next few days blogs, I shall continue discussing the hidden treasure in Keyhak Psalmody. 




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