Restoration of The Son

The father initiates the restoration of the son by running to the son, falling on his neck, and giving him the kiss of reconciliation.

Jesus' description of the father's actions is a portrait of complete and total grace, of unconditional love that comes to us in the Father sending his Son in the incarnation. Christ chooses those who stand. Here is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

He who hears you pondering in the secret places of the mind runs to you. When you are still far away, He sees you and runs to you. He sees in your heart. He runs, perhaps someone may hinder, and He embraces you.

His foreknowledge is in the running, His mercy in the embrace and the disposition of fatherly love. He falls on your neck to raise one prostrate and burdened with sins and bring back one turned aside to the earthly toward heaven.

Christ falls on your neck to free your neck from the yoke of slavery and hang his sweet yoke upon your shoulders.

St. Ambrose 

The Virtue of Gentleness

Gentleness was one of the most outstanding virtues in the life of H.H. Pope Kyrillos VI.  Fr. Raphael Ava Mina told us this incident that showed his great gentleness. It happened one day that the Patriarchate received a letter that has had words against H.H.  Fr. Raphael was the one who read the letter to H.H. He opened that letter but quickly hid it. 

His Holiness noticed that and asked him: "Why did you hide this letter?"  So Fr. Raphael answered: "Your Holiness, one has a sharp tongue and is also swearing!"  But H.H. insisted on reading the letter.  After he read it, H.H. said to him: "Is that what you call swearing?"  Fr. Raphael was amazed and said: "Of course, your Holiness, all these sharp words!"  But H.H. with all gentleness, said: "Do not worry about it, my son. May be God will look at me and save me!"

The sender of that letter was known to them. One of his relatives passed away and H.H. sent one of the bishops to offer Condolences on behalf of H.H.  It was the custom at that time that whoever receives courtesy from the Pope would come to the Patriarchate and record a few words of thanks in the visitor register.  So this man came and Fr. Raphael asked him if he would like to meet the Pope personally. The man was embarrassed, apologized and left in a hurry.

In the evening, H.H. heard that this man came to the Patriarchate.  H.H. asked Fr. Raphael: "Why didn't you tell me that this man came today?!"  Fr. Raphael explained what happened, so H.H. replied: "You should have left him and came to me immediately so I could have went down and reconciled with him."

This is the gentleness of Pope Kyrillos VI who never met evil with evil but defeated evil by doing good, as it is said in the Holy Bible.  This story was told by Fr. Raphael Ava Mina himself.

May the blessing of Pope Kyrillos VI be with us all Amen. 

What Do I Love When I Love You?

It is not with doubtful but with assured awareness, O Lord, that I love you. Your Word struck into my heart and from that moment I loved you. Besides this, all about me, heaven and earth and all that they contain proclaim that I should love you, and their message never ceases to sound in the ears of all humankind, so that there is no excuse for any not to love you. But, more than all this, you will have mercy on whom you will have mercy and will show compassion to whom you show compassion (Romans 9:15). But if it were not for your mercy, heaven and earth would cry your praises to deaf ears.


But what do I love when I love you? Not the beauty of body nor the gracefulness of temporal rhythm, not the brightness of light so friendly to the eyes, not the sweet and various melodies of songs, not the fragrance of flowers and ointments and spices, not manna and honey; not limbs receptive to bodily embraces. It is not these I love when I love my God. 

And yet, when I love him, I do love a kind of light, melody, fragrance, food, embrace; for he is a light, a melody, a fragrance, a food, an embracement in my inner self – where that light shines into my soul which no place can contain, and where that voice sounds which time does not sweep away, and where that fragrance breathes which no wind scatters, and where that flavour is relished which eating does not diminish, and where that embrace is felt which is not severed by fulfilment of desire.

This is what I love when I love my God. 

~ ST.  AUGUSTINE