The Virgin Birth

It was fitting that the Giver of all holiness should enter this world by a pure and holy birth. For He it is that of old formed Adam from the virgin earth, and from Adam without help of woman formed woman. For as without woman Adam produced woman, so did the Virgin without man this day bring forth a man. For it is a man, saith the Lord, and who shall know him (Jer. 17:9). For since the race of women owed to men a debt, as from Adam without woman woman came, therefore without man the Virgin this day brought forth, and on behalf of Eve repaid the debt to man.

That Adam might not take pride, that he without woman had engendered woman, a Woman without man has begotten man; so that by the similarity of the mystery is proved the similarity in nature. For as before the Almighty took a rib from Adam, and by that Adam was not made less; so in the Virgin He formed a living temple, and the holy virginity remained unchanged. Sound and unharmed Adam remained even after the deprivation of a rib; unstained the Virgin though a Child was born of her.

  

St. John Chrysostom

The Truth In Words

For what profit is it to know the truth in words, 

and to pollute the flesh and perform the works of evil? 

Or what profit can purity of the flesh bring, if truth be not in the soul? 

 St. Irenaeus 

Now, since man is a living being compounded of soul and flesh, he must needs to exist by both of these: and whereas from both of them offenses come, purity of the flesh is the restraining abstinence from all shameful things and all unrighteous deeds, and purity of the soul is the keeping faith towards God entire, neither adding thereto nor diminishing therefrom.
For godliness is obscured and dulled by the soiling and the staining of the flesh, and is broken and polluted and no more entire, if falsehood enter into the soul: but it will keep itself in its beauty and its measure, when truth is constant in the soul and purity in the flesh. For what profit is it to know the truth in words, and to pollute the flesh and perform the works of evil? Or what profit can purity of the flesh bring, if truth be not in the soul? For these rejoice with one another, and are united and allied to bring man face to face with God.

Wherefore the Holy Spirit says by David: Blessed is the man who hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly: that is, the counsel of the nations which know not God: for those are ungodly who worship not the God that truly is. And therefore the Word says to Moses: I am He that is; but they that worship not the God that is, these are the ungodly. And hath not stood in the way of sinners: but sinners are those who have the knowledge of God and keep not His commandments; that is, disdainful scorners. And hath not sat in the seat of the pestilential: now the pestilential are those who by wicked and perverse doctrines corrupt not themselves only, but others also. For the seat is a symbol of teaching.

Such then are all heretics: they sit in the seats of the pestilential, and those are corrupted who receive the venom of their doctrine. Now, that we may not suffer ought of this kind, we must need to hold the rule of the faith without deviation, and do the commandments of God, believing in God and fearing Him as Lord and loving Him as Father. 


St. Irenaeus    

A Monk's Virtues

The brethren once asked Abba Arsenius, "What is the meaning of the words which one of the elders spoke, saying, 'He who dwells with men, because of the commotion of worldly affairs is unable to see his sins; but if he dwell in the silent repose of the desert he will be able to see God in a pure manner?'"



Abba Arsenius said, ‘The virtues which are cultivated in the world, and to which our Lord refers to in the Gospel , are, loving kindness, peace-making and other similar commandments, and it is quite possible for such virtues to be cultivated in the world by certain strenuous persons. But the purity of heart which sees God, and to which our Lord ascribed blessing, saying, 'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God,' cannot be acquired without dwelling in the desert and solitary and silent contemplation. The monk must acquire it in the following way.

First of all a man must go forth from the world, and dwell in a monastery, and after his training in a monastery and having gone into his cell, he must die through contemplation in silence, and through the other labors of his body, and through striving against the passions, and through conflict with devils.

Then through the tranquility of mind (which he will acquire) in silent contemplation, he will remember his sins, and when he learns to hate his passions, and has petitioned for the remission of his sins, and has suppressed his thoughts, and has become constant in pure prayer, and has cleansed his heart from abhorrent thoughts, then shall he be worthy to see in his heart, even as in a polished mirror, the light of the revelation of our Lord (shining) upon it, even as the Fathers say.

"Well, then, did that holy man say to those brethren, 'Visit the sick, reconcile the men of wrath,' for he who cultivates spiritual excellence in the world cannot, by reason of the commotion of the affairs thereof, see his sins; but if he continues in silent contemplation and prayer he shall see God."

From: The Paradise of The Holy Fathers, Vol. II

14 - I WANT NOTHING OF THE WORLD - By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

14 -  I WANT NOTHING OF THE WORLD         

By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

The following is a collection of articles entitled, "The Release of the Spirit" written by HH Pope Shenouda III for the Sunday School Magazine from the year 1951 before starting his monastic life.  

These articles were published in the form of a book in the year 1957 including some of his poems which were published in the magazine as well.. 

It was his first published book and it gained the approval of many and was reprinted many times.

14 -  I WANT NOTHING OF THE WORLD    

This is the first thing which the person ought to say if he likes to attain the release of the spirit.

I want nothing from the world.., for the world has nothing to be desired.. but only temptations for the beginners..

I want nothing of the world, for the world is too poor to give me.. If what I want is available in the world, the world would be a heaven.. But it is still an, earth as I see.. there is nothing in it except material things.. in fact I search for heavenly matters, for the Spirit, for God..

I want nothing of the world, for I am not of the world.. I am not dust as they think, I am a divine breath.. I was with God from eternity, and God placed me on the earth.. But I shall leave it after a while and return to God.. So I want nothing of this earth.. 'I came forth from the Father, and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father"

(John. 16:28) 

I want nothing of the world, all that I want is to get rid of it, to be released from it, from the flesh and from the earth! I want to return to God-as before-to be again a holy breath not defiled by any worldly thing..

I want nothing of the world because I seek eternal immortal things and the world has nothing that is immortal.. All that is in the world is passing away, even the world itself will perish and come to nothing..I do not seek perishable things..

I want nothing of the world .There is He whom I ask to give me.. He who is rich and powerful, in whom I have found satisfaction and nothing is lacked .. He gives me before I ask Him, He gives me what is good and of benefit to me.. Since I have put myself in His hands I need nothing of the world.

I want nothing of the world, for the world does not give me benefit but with purpose to subjugate me.. Those who received what the world gave them became slaves to the world.. It gave them the pleasures of the body and took from them the purity of the spirit.. The world gave them the worldly enjoyment and took from them the blessing of the heavenly Kingdom.. Satan gave them all the kingdoms of the world and their glory to make them fall down and worship him.. He always gives all that he has to make people lose their souls.. As for me, “I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ" (Phil. 3:8) 

This world takes more than what it gives.. It subjects those who desire it... So I want nothing of it.. 

I want nothing of the world, for I am superior to it.. I am a son of God - in the image of God and after His likeness.. I am a temple for the Holy Spirit and a place of dwelling for God.. I am the only creature who partakes of His holy flesh and blood.. I am superior to the world and the world is asking me to give it.. for I have the keys of the heavens and earth.. I, whom God, in His loving-kindness and humbleness, willed to make me the light of the world and the salt of the earth. (Matt. 5:13,14) 

I want nothing of the world, because I want to live as my fathers did; those whom the earth was not deserving to trod on .. They lived so, received nothing of the world. On the other hand they were a blessing to the world.. For the sake of their prayers God sent water on the earth.. and for their sakes God preserved the world till today..

I want nothing of the world, because sin entered it and corrupted it.. In the beginning God saw everything and behold it was very good, as sin had not yet entered the world. Even the great sea creatures were blessed by God to be fruitful and to multiply.. But now, the marvellous picture which God has drawn is scarred. Therefore I reject the world which loves the darkness more than the light and I no longer desire anything of it.

I want nothing of the world, because I want You alone; You who loved me till the end and gave Yourself up for me; You who formed me out of nothing and was not in need of my service but it is rather I who was in need of your sovereignty.. 

Therefore I want to be released from the world and be united to You, who gave me the gift of knowing You.

 The Release of The Spirit

 By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

Also Please Refer To The Following Link: 

http://orthodoxtube.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/h-h-pope-shenouda-iii-i-want-nothing-of.html

12 - BE RELEASED FROM YOUR EARTHLY DESIRES - By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

12 - BE RELEASED FROM YOUR EARTHLY DESIRES  

By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

The following is a collection of articles entitled, "The Release of the Spirit" written by HH Pope Shenouda III for the Sunday School Magazine from the year 1951 before starting his monastic life.  

These articles were published in the form of a book in the year 1957 including some of his poems which were published in the magazine as well.. 

It was his first published book and it gained the approval of many and was reprinted many times.

12 - BE RELEASED FROM YOUR EARTHLY DESIRES   

Do you know what things you ought to escape from? Escape from the interests, the hopes and desires... Escape from all such things if you really want to attain the release of the spirit.

My beloved brother, please let me go a little deep into your heart to talk to you frankly: You have great hopes which you are much concerned about and which occupy part of your heart. They even occupy your imagination and so when you are alone they come to you as daydreams and when you are asleep you dream of them.. You have certain aims which you know most and cannot deny.. You want to be of a great importance, you want to be known by others and venerated by them.. You have hopes regarding fame and good reputation, authority and power, hopes regarding wealth, social positions, knowledge, titles, future, appearances and credit.. You have certain desires concerning residence, food, clothing and various pleasures of the body.. You do not live in the world but in fact it is the world that lives in you, and dominates over your heart, your mind, your imagination and your will.. As for your spirit, it is imprisoned within all this; it desires to be released of the fleshly desires.. as "the flesh lusts against the Spirit."  (Gal. 5:17)

These hopes and interests make you miserable, my beloved brother, because not all of them can be achieved..

This of course makes you discontented.. You long for such things and this longing makes you unhappy.. So, you make your arrangements and seek the means to achieve them: you think, meet certain persons, write down papers, go and come, strive and try hard; then you sit and wait.. You may get bored and tired of waiting and of having hope.. You may get desperate and become anxious or feel afraid of failure. Thus you become unhappy and perhaps your labour and your attempts end for nothing and you do not attain your desire and this makes you more unhappy .

A more dangerous thing is that you may go astray because of such hopes and desires and fall in deceit, beating about the bush, fawning and flattery, lying or what is worse... This is what one of the wise men once said, 'A person will certainly fall in hypocrisy if he wants to hide something within himself.

I know that you feel tired and I pity you.. But when will you live in the fire of hopes! What is amazing concerning such worldly desires is that they make you unhappy even though they are realized. For when you attain what you desire, you will be pleased and such pleasure leads you to seek more.. as the Lord Jesus Christ said: “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again." (John  4:13)  And when one feels thirst one seeks water to quench one's thirst and the more one drinks, the more one will feel thirst and desire for water..

So, my beloved brother, I want to discuss the matter with you calmly.. Why do you hold fast to certain worldly desires while you know that ".. the world is passing away, and the lust of it." (1 John  2:17)  You are-like me-a stranger on earth and the hour will come when you will quit the world and all its possessions .. As you have come naked from your mothers' womb, you will return naked there. (Job 1:21)  You will be forced to leave the world with its glory, wealth and fame and descend into a pit in the ground like any base person.. Whatever authority, pleasures or fame you attain in this world, this will not protect your mortal body against corruption or prevent the worms from feeding on your body leaving nothing of it.. On the day of judgement, you will stand before God destitute of all worldly possessions. You will keep nothing from the world except your works whether they be good or evil.

Therefore, my beloved brother, it is not good for you to confine your interests and hopes to this earth. Do you not remember that this earth brought forth to you thorns and thistles! It had once accepted the blood of Abel the Righteous.. and the cisterns hewn in it can hold no water. (Jer. 2:13)

Take the example of the father saints who lived on the earth before us and whom the earth was not deserving to be trodden on with their feet.. Those holy fathers did not attain that holiness except when they emptied their hearts of the love of the world and the worldly things.. They had no longer any desire or lust, nor any possession in the world.. And because they did not hold to anything in the world, it was easy for them to quit it and they even longed for that..

As for you, my beloved brother, you still have some worldly desires and, ".. where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matt. 6:21)  Your heart clings to the dust and its glory, so, the spiritual matters lose their value in your sight.. This is the same temptation with which the devil tried to tempt the Lord of glory, ".. the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”  (Matt. 4: 8-9) 

Now, consider, if you do possess all such things and lose your soul which you imprison in a golden cage of desires, what will this avail you? Your soul wants to be set free...

 The Release of The Spirit

 By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

11 - YOUR SELF IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD - By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

11 - YOUR SELF IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD 

By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

The following is a collection of articles entitled, "The Release of the Spirit" written by HH Pope Shenouda III for the Sunday School Magazine from the year 1951 before starting his monastic life.  

These articles were published in the form of a book in the year 1957 including some of his poems which were published in the magazine as well.. 

It was his first published book and it gained the approval of many and was reprinted many times.

11 - YOUR SELF IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD 

Again, my beloved brother, I want to talk to you about your 'self; that which you sometimes love and trust more than God... Unless you deny yourself, you will never enjoy the beauty of the release of the spirit. 

As love is the first commandment in Christianity, self-denial is the main path leading to love.. You cannot love God and people as long as you are concerned only about yourself and your pleasures.. So, be released first from this self, for the Lord glory be to Him says, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."  (Mark. 8:34) 

Thus, the Lord made self-denial the first requirement.

My beloved brother, let your aim be to conceal yourself in God so as not to have an independent existence separate from Him.. Say along with St. Paul the Apostle, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me."  (Gal. 2:20) 

If you ever wish to have glory, let your glory be from God and in God's sight.. and repeat always the verse which says, "O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself." (John 17:5)  Do not seek glory in the worldly things because".. the world is passing away, and the lust of it" (1 John 2:17)  But you, who are the son of God.".. you are the temple of God and.. the Spirit of God dwells in you.." (1 Cor. 3:16)  You are born,"..  not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:13)  That soul of yours is from God, a breath of His mouth.. In every Mass, you partake of the Holy Flesh and Blood of God to be one with Him and abide in Him as He wants.. Why then do you neglect such a great glory to seek another in the dust? 

Why are you concerned about what others say of you and why do you become pleased when they praise you and defend yourself when they attack you? Why do you beg their approval by talking about yourself My brother, I am afraid you still love the dust and the glory of it! Is your self still an idol which you give sacrifices and offerings to? Deny yourself, my dear, and give all your love to God alone.. Say along with John the Baptist, "He must increase, but I must decrease."  (John 3:30) 

I hear you grumbling, 'I do not want to decrease'.. Know then that you will not lose except the dregs that spoil your purity, and the worldly glory which is the dust that sticks to you.. You have to remove yourself of such glory to return clean as God has created you and as He wants you to be always. 

That concerns your relations with the others.., but I want to talk to you concerning your look towards yourself and how you ought to stand in the presence of God.. If you want the release of your spirit, stand before God as nothing.. Deny any knowledge or wisdom you have.. deny your intelligence and experience.. Stand in God's presence as an ignorant person who knows nothing.. But I do not mean that you feign ignorance or pretend this because God cannot be deceived and does not like those who pretend.. 

What I mean is to be convinced-in every matter-that your self must be concealed so that the Lord Jesus Christ may appear, not only before people, but also before yourself.. Say to Him, 'O Lord, I judge according to the appearances.. I am weak and cannot resist the devils.. The results of any work are in Your hand.."  Ask God to intervene and guide you, or to dwell in you and work through you.. Then, when the required thing is performed, thank God because it is He who did it not you.. And when people come to praise you do not boast or pretend to be humble but seize the opportunity and chant to them the psalm which says, "If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, let Israel now say-If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive... Then the waters would have overwhelmed us, the stream would have gone over our soul."  (Ps. 124: 1-4) 

When you are fought with a certain sin, do not trust your power nor depend on your past triumph because sin, "..has cast down many wounded, and all who were slain by her were strong men." (Prov. 7:26).. But, be sure that victory is the Lord's and if He does forsake you in the slightest sins, you will be like the people of Sodom.. Chant then that beautiful psalm which says, " .. You knew my path. In the way in which I walk they have secretly set a snare for me. Look on my right hand and see, for there is no one who acknowledges me. Refuge has failed me; no one cares for my soul.. I cried out to You, O Lord: I said, 'You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living... Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are stronger than I... (Ps. 142: 3-6)  

My beloved brother, you are nothing, and you have to admit this before God and before yourself.. Whenever you think that you are able to do something, come to your self and say: "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt? " (Ex. 3:11) 

However, if God convinces you that He will be your mouth and will speak through your tongue and that you will be just an instrument, then proceed on your way. Though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you will fear no evil; and though an army encamps against you, you will be confident in this.. At such time remember me, the unclean dust, so that we may meet together.. there..

 The Release of The Spirit

 By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

1- THE RELEASE FROM THE KNOWLEDGE OF SIN - By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

1- THE RELEASE FROM THE KNOWLEDGE OF SIN
By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

The following is a collection of articles entitled, "The Release of the Spirit" written by H.H. Pope Shenouda III for the Sunday School Magazine from the year 1951 before starting his monastic life.

These articles were published in the form of a book in the year 1957 including some of his poems which were published in the magazine as well..

It was his first published book and it gained the approval of many and was reprinted many times.

1- THE RELEASE FROM THE KNOWLEDGE OF SIN

If we start to talk about the release of the spirit we shall be faced with the following question :

What is to be released from the spirit ?

The answer is that the spirit, while on earth, strives to be released from many things which this book will tell you about..

However, there is something else on earth which I think the spirit cannot be released from however it tries! .. To be released of this thing is a joy only to be attained in the eternity.. But what is this thing?

It is the release from the knowledge of sin:

When God created man, He created him simple, pure, no knowledge of sin at all and not even the details or the names of sin.. That was before he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.. He was as innocent as a child and perhaps more.

Therefore, when Eve was tempted by the serpent she had no knowledge.

The serpent lied and said to her "You will not surely die" “..you will be like God" Gen. 3.-5 But as Eve knew nothing about lying she believed the serpent. She did not suspect the truth of its words because she knew nothing about doubt.

Adam and Eve knew nothing but good. They did not know evil. But when they ate of the tree they began to know it..

A new knowledge entered the life of the man ie. the knowledge of sin..

This and other knowledge as well disturbed the natural purity of mankind. This proves true the words of the Wise Solomon, "..he who increases knowledge increases sorrow" (Eccl. 1:18) 

Perhaps the first thing which Adam knew was being a man and Eve a woman... Sexual knowledge began to penetrate his mind, then his feelings.. He recognised that sex is something shameful and so he began to cover himself.. Then he knew fear and tried to hide himself behind the trees..

As the time passed, man knew many sins..

Such knowledge was implanted in his mind and waged spiritual wars against him from time to time. Even when he did not fall in such sins, he condemned the others for them.. He now lives in the dualism of good and evil', things permitted and others forbidden..

I wonder when will he get rid of this dualism? When will he restore the purity of his mind? When will the knowledge of evil quit his mind whatever its source was, through the mind itself or through experiencing and practising it.? When will man get rid of 'the memory of the evil that entails death'?

I do not think that this may take place on earth at all but in eternity as St. Paul the Apostle-being already poured out and the time of his departure at hand-said to his disciple St. Timothy, "Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness.." (2 Tim. 4:8) 

Finally, man will be crowned with righteousness.. that righteousness which commits no sin and knows no sin.. He will be crowned with the holiness without which no one can witness the Lord.. But when will this take place? The apostle gives the reply saying, ".. the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will give to me on that day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing".

This crown of righteousness is the desire which the spirit longs to attain..

While on earth, we sin everyday and everyday we need to repent. There is no person without sin even though if his life on the earth is one day only..

When shall we be actually released from the knowledge of sin? When shall we know nothing but God alone and the light surrounding Him, the light which has no darkness . This will happen when we spit the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil which our forefathers ate at that time.

Only then we shall restore our previous rank.

In eternity, we shall rather be in a state better than that of Adam in the Paradise.. Adam and Eve were in a state of righteousness but liable to fall.. but in eternity we shall have the crown of righteousness, which righteousness is not subject to falling..

If we shall be in a better state than that of the first man before the fall. Then, at least, we shall be like him in innocence, purity, simplicity and knowing no sin..

We shall forget sin with all its forms, details and memories.

There will be nothing in our minds except the active spiritual life, God's love, contemplating on the heavenly matters which no eyes have even seen nor ears have ever heard nor have occurred to the heart of man..

Then it can be said that the spirit is completely released..

As for the spirit while one earth, the utmost thing it can attain is to be released from the domination of sin, material and flesh.. In this case it can live freely "..delivered ,from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." (Rom. 8:21)

Do you feel that your spirit has attained this liberty? 

This liberty is the release of the spirit - its release from any bandage which may hinder its way to God.. But how can this be achieved?

At this point I shall leave you with the meditations which I wrote most of in the early fifties before starting my monastic life..

 The Release of The Spirit
 By H.H. Pope Shenouda III