Rejoicing With Mary

When the angel revealed his message to the Virgin Mary, he gave her a sign to win her trust. He told her of the motherhood of an old and barren woman to show that God is able to do all that he wills.

When she hears this, Mary sets out for the hill country. She does not disbelieve God's word; she feels no uncertainty over the message or doubt about the sign. She goes eager in purpose, dutiful in conscience, hastening for joy.

Filled with God, where would she hasten but to the heights? The Holy Spirit does not proceed by slow, laborious efforts. Quickly, too the blessings of her coming and the Lord's presence are made clear; as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting the child leapt in her womb, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Notice the contrast and the choice of words. Elizabeth is the first to hear Mary's voice, but John is the first to be aware of grace. She hears with the ears of the body, but he leaps for joy at the meaning of the mystery. She is aware of Mary's presence, but he is aware of the Lord's; a woman aware of a woman's presence, the forerunner aware of the pledge of our salvation. The women speak of the grace they have received while the children are active in secret, unfolding the mystery of love with the help of their mothers, who prophesy by the spirit of their sons.

The child leaps in the womb; the mother is filled with the Holy Spirit, but not before her son. Once the son has been filled with the Holy Spirit, he fills his mother with the same Spirit. John leaps for joy, and the spirit of Mary rejoices in her turn. When John leaps for joy Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit, but we know that though Mary's spirit rejoices, she does not need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Her son, who is beyond our understanding, is active in his mother in a way beyond our understanding. Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit after conceiving John, while Mary is filled with the Holy Spirit before conceiving the Lord. Elizabeth says: Blessed are you because you have believed.

You also are blessed because you have heard and believed.  A soul that believes both conceives and brings forth the word of God and acknowledges his works.

Let Mary's soul be in each of you to proclaim the greatness of the Lord. Let her spirit be in each to rejoice in the Lord. Christ has only one mother in the flesh, but we all bring forth Christ in faith. Every soul receives the Word of God, if only it keeps chaste, remaining pure and free from sin, its modesty undefiled. The soul that succeeds in this proclaims the greatness of the Lord, just as Mary's soul magnified the Lord and her spirit rejoiced in God her savior. In another place we read: Magnify the Lord with me. The Lord is magnified, not because the human voice can add anything to God but because he is magnified within us. Christ is the image of God, and if the soul does what is right and holy, it magnifies that image of God, in whose likeness it was created and in magnifying the image of God, the soul has a share in its greatness and is exalted.

St Ambrose of Milan 

Changed Water in Jars Symbolize Changed Nature in Womb

You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples.
You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled.
Psalms 77: 14 - 16

This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.
John 2: 11

Ⲕⲁⲛⲁ ⲛ̀ⲧⲉ ϯⲄⲁⲗⲓⲗⲉⲁ̀

Why then did our Lord change the nature [of water] in the first of his signs? Was it not to show that the divinity, which had changed nature in the depths of the jars, was that same [divinity] that had changed nature in the womb of the Virgin? At the completion of his signs he opened the tomb to show that the greed of death had no hold over him. He sealed and confirmed these two uncertainties, that of his birth and of his death. For these waters, with regard to their nature, were transformed into the [fruit of the] vine, but without the stone jars [themselves] undergoing change in their nature inwardly. This was a symbol of his body, which was wondrously conceived in a woman, and, without a man, miraculously formed within the Virgin.

He made wine from water, therefore, in order to give proof concerning how his conception and his birth took place. He summoned "six water jars" as witness to the unique virgin who had given birth to him. The water jars conceived in a novel way, not in keeping with their custom, and gave birth to wine. But they did not continue to give birth. Similarly the Virgin conceived and gave birth to Emmanuel, and she did not give birth again. The giving birth by the jars was from smallness to greatness and from paucity to abundance; from water indeed to good wine. In her case, however, it was from greatness to weakness and from glory to ignominy. Those jars were for the purification of the Jews, but our Lord poured his teaching into them, so that he might make it known that he was coming through the path of the Law and the Prophets to transform all things by his teaching, just as he had [transformed] water into wine.

St. Ephrem the Syrian (306-373) 

13 - BE RELEASED FROM THE INFLUENCE OF THE SENSES - By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

13 -  BE RELEASED FROM THE INFLUENCE OF THE SENSES    
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.

13 - BE RELEASED FROM THE INFLUENCE
        OF THE SENSES    

You trust your five senses to a far extent and if your spirit opposes these senses, you reject your spirit.. When will you be freed from the influence of your senses and attain the release of the spirit..

You only believe the thing which you see with your eyes, hear with your ears, or touch with your hands.. You suspect anything else.. What is the reason for this!! The reason is simply that you still live in the flesh and believe in the flesh and its senses.

You look here and there and when you find no one to see or witness you, you commit the fault which you avoid to commit in the sight of others.. But do you think that really no one sees you! There are certain eyes which look on you in compassion and censure.. You do not see those eyes because you still live in the body... It is God who observes you and you do not see Him.. If you are in the Spirit, released from those deficient senses, you will be able to say along with Elijah the Prophet, "As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand... "  (1 Kings 18:15)

Whenever you are encompassed with dangers, you look to the right and to the left and seeing yourself alone, you become afraid and terrified... In fact God is at your right hand that you may not be shaken (Acts 2: 25). You do not see Him because your eyes cannot see everything, for they are material and cannot attain the spiritual matters.. I wish, dear brother, that you would release your spirit from the influence of such bodily senses.. This spirit of yours, to "..searches all things yes, the deep things of God" (1 Cor. 2:10). Let is soar freely to see God at your right hand and whisper joyfully, "... though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me." (Ps. 23:4)

The poor Gehazi, the servant of Elisha was very afraid seeing the great army of the enemy nearby and there was no hope whatever.. But Elisha who lived in the spirit was confident.. He saw with the spirit things which no eye could see and heard what no ears could hear.. He felt pity towards the young man and prayed to the Lord to open his eyes... "Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha" (2 Kings 6:17).. So he was comforted..

Do not trust your senses for they are weak and cannot comprehend the matters of the spirit. The widow of Zarephath of Sidon, saw with her human eye only a handful of flour in the bin and a little oil in the jar.. She thought that was only sufficient to make a cake for her and her son that they might eat it and die... But Elijah, the man of God saw something else with his spirit.. he saw that neither the bin of flour nor the jar of oil would dry whatever she took from them.. This actually happened as we see in 1 Kings 17:14-16

Elisha was standing at the River Jordan. His bodily eyes saw a river were one would drown if one walked through .. But his spiritual eye was not confined to this vision.. He saw the Jordan as a ground fit for walking through. So, Elisha took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him while he went up in the chariot of fire and struck the water. The water was divided and Elisha crossed the river(2 Kin 2:14). The bodily eye would see the mantle of Elijah just as a mantle but Elisha saw it with the spirit as a great power given by God and not a mere garment.

My dear friend, your eyes are deficient even regarding material things.., for there are some substances which you cannot see.. Though they exist, they defy your weak eyes.. You may only see them through a microscope..

If there is not a microscope available, and you cannot see such tiny bodies with your naked eye, would you then deny their existence, merely because you do not see them? If this is the case regarding material things.. what would you say concerning spiritual matters?
With respect to spiritual matters, let your spirit guide you, and do not force it to submit to the body.. Let it soar freely and swim in a world of divine matters as it is said: "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29)

Certainly, my beloved brother, you have heard before of the visions in which the spirit swims in the world of the angels and saints and see things which no mortal can see.. In such cases, the spirit is released from the influence of the body and uses the members of the body merely for its spiritual purposes.. Hence, the senses yield to the spirit and not the spirit to the senses..

One day, someone told me that he had heard that St. George appeared in a certain church but he did not believe. He went to see by himself and to prove that it was only a false superstition and he went and saw nothing..

I do not want to make any comment concerning this story but I only present a point of view ie. such a person and others like him cannot see any visions because of their weak faith. They want to subjugate the spiritual matters to the senses of the body, while God reveals to the simple only the mysteries of His Kingdom.

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

Your Cross

For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, 

that whoever believes in Him shall not 

perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16

Pick up your cross no matter how difficult it may seem.  Rely on God to help you so that you do not try to carry your cross alone. Each time you ask for assistance, believe that God hears your prayers. Believe that God is with you and that you never have to carry your cross alone. Believe and turn to Him and trust in His love and mercy. Ask for guidance in everything that you do. Ask and I promise you, peace and joy will be given, given to you.

Do not wait until your cross becomes too heavy, turn to Jesus now. Rely on God each new day so you have joy no matter what you must go through. God will be by your side if you trust in His love for you

God said, do not try to carry your burdens alone. Have hope and place all your trust and confidence in my Son, Jesus. Surrender your lives completely to Him. Surrender all you have with your heart, to His Will, in prayer. Through prayer and complete trust in God, your lives will surely change.

Those who trust will be able to accept whatever cross God allows. They will have peace in their hearts through all trials and tribulation. They will know how to survive when their material possessions are taken away.

God will not abandon those who trust. God will comfort and console those children who have complete trust in Him.

God will carry your cross however heavy it is.

God have sacrificed His only son on the cross to save you from your sins because He loves you. God has promised those who trust and believe in Him to be saved and will be granted eternal life.

Holding Patterns

Holding Patterns 

Many times, God will allow a painful situation or a painful circumstance in our life to "swallow us up".   In our spiritual growth, this is a holding pattern. We can't move to the left or the right.  All we can do is sit, like Jonah sat in the belly of that great fish, so God can have our undivided attention and speak to us.

God put Jonah in a holding pattern because He needed to speak to his heart. Jonah was all alone. There were no friends to call, no colleagues to drop by, no books to read, no food to eat, no interference, and no interruption. He had plenty of time to sit, think, meditate, and pray.

When we're deep down in the midst of a difficult situation, God can talk to us. When He has our undivided attention, He can show us things about ourselves that we might not otherwise have seen.

A few of God's holding patterns:

1. When you are sick in your physical body and you have prayed but you're not yet healed, .. you are in a holding pattern.

2. When you are having problems with your children and you have put them on the altar, but God has not delivered them yet, .. you are in a holding pattern.

3. When you have been praying for a loved one to return to God, and they have not come back yet, .. you are in a holding pattern.

4. When you are in a broken relationship and you have given it over to God, but it has not been restored yet, .. you are in a holding pattern.

5. When the doors slam shut before you can even knock on them, .. you are in a holding pattern.

When we are deep in the belly of a difficult situation, there are no interruptions.  God has our undivided attention.  All we can do is Sit, Think, Meditate, and Pray.  Like Jonah, we cannot run from God, because there are no mountains that are high enough, valleys that are low enough, rivers that are wide enough, rooms that are dark enough, or places that are hidden from Him.

We must remember to praise Him while we're waiting, and remember three things:

1. The pattern has a purpose.

2. The pattern has a plan.

3. The pattern has a process.

So stop struggling and start listening, praying and trusting.  He'll keep you right where you are until you can clearly hear Him say, "I love you."

Father, forgive my unbelief.  I know you love me and I will come to see the benefit of everything in my life, even this holding pattern, and the manifestation of my Good is assured through You. 

You have planned nothing for me but victories; and I am ready to receive them regardless of how difficult the path.

MILK

A young man had been to Wednesday Night Bible Study.

The Pastor had shared about listening to God and obeying the Lord's voice. 

The young man couldn't help but wonder, 'Does God still speak to people?' After service, he went out with some friends for coffee and pie and they discussed the message. Several different ones talked about how God had led them in different ways.

It was about ten o'clock when the young man started driving home. Sitting in his car, he just began to pray, 'God...If you still speak to people, speak to me.  I will listen.  I will do my best to obey.'
 

As he drove down the main street of his town, he had the strangest thought to stop and buy a gallon of milk. He shook his head and said out loud, 'God is that you?'  He didn't get a reply and started on toward home. But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk.
 

The young man thought about Samuel and how he didn't recognize the voice of God, and how little Samuel ran to Eli.

'Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the milk.'  It didn't seem like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk. He stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started off toward home.  As he passed Seventh Street , he again felt the urge, 'Turn Down that street.'
 

This is crazy he thought, and drove on past the intersection.


Again, he felt that he should turn down Seventh Street.  At the next intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh. Half jokingly, he said out loud, 'Okay, God, I will.'


He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like he should stop. He pulled over to the curb and looked around.  He was in a semi- commercial area of town.  It wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst of neighborhoods either. The businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark like the people were already in bed.


Again, he sensed something, 'Go and give the milk to the people in the house across the street..' The young man looked at the house. It was dark and it looked like the people were either gone or they were already asleep. He started to open the door and then sat back in the car seat.


'Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep and if I wake them up, they are going
to be mad and I will look stupid.' Again, he felt like he should go and give the milk..


Finally, he opened the door, 'Okay God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will give them the milk. If you want me to look like a crazy person, okay. I want to be obedient. I guess that will count for something, but if they don't answer right away, I am out of here.'


He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear some noise inside. A man's voice yelled out, 'Who is it? What do you want?' Then the door opened before the young man could get away.


The man was standing there in his jeans and T-shirt. He looked like he just got out of bed.. He had a strange look on his face and he didn't seem too happy to have some stranger standing on his doorstep.. 'What is it?'


The young man thrust out the gallon of milk, 'Here, I brought this to you.' The man took the milk and rushed down a hallway. Then from down the hall came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen. The man was following her holding a baby. The baby was crying. The man had tears streaming down his face.


The man began speaking and half crying, 'We were just praying. We had some big bills this month and we ran out of money. We didn't have any milk for our baby. I was just praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk.'  His wife in the kitchen yelled out, 'I ask him to send an Angel with some. Are you an Angel?'


The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him and put in the man's hand. He turned and walked back toward his car and the tears were streaming down his face.  

He knew that God still answers prayers.


This is so true. Sometimes it's the simplest things that God asks us to do that cause us, if we are obedient to what He's asking, to be able to hear His voice more clear than ever. Please listen, and obey! It will bless you (and the world). 

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  Phil 4:13

"Have faith in God."


Faith makes ANYTHING possible. Always trust in the Lord.

1st Sunday - Sunday of Faith (Thomas Sunday)‏

Doubting Thomas

CHRIST is Risen- Truly He is Risen 
Khristós Anésti! Alithós Anésti!

Sundays of the Holy Fifties

Meditation on Church reading during the Holy Fifties:

The fathers of the church arranged and named Sundays of the Holy Fifties as they did with the Sundays of the Great Fasting.
The readings of Sundays of the Great Fasting, encourage us on doing the virtues and to repent. After the Passover (Pascha) when we are freed from the chains of sins and bondage, to walk in the Light of the Lord, "We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation".  (Romans: 5: 11)

After our true repentance we shall enjoy our spiritual resurrection on earth " Most assuredly I say to you, the hour is coming and now is when the dead will hear the voices of the Son of God; and those who hear will live". (John: 5: 25)

"But thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1Corinthians: 15: 57).
The Glorified Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ awards us this:  

"For if we have united together in the likeliness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeliness of His Resurrection". 
(Romans: 6: 5)

The reading of the Sundays of the Holy Fifties focus on the rewards we get.

1st Sunday, Sunday of Faith (Thomas Sunday):

Thomas had doubt about the Glorified Resurrection of the Lord. It is a sin not to fully trust in the Words of God.  Satan tempted Eve to fall in this sin by introducing doubt in her thoughts by saying to her: "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree in the Garden'?" "You will not surely die". (Genesis 3:1,4)
This caused humanity to fall in the original sin.

Disciple Thomas also doubted, and today's reading shows us the reward of fully trusting and not doubting.
The Lord allowed His Disciple Thomas to doubt so that the Glorified Resurrection is confirmed to all His sons and daughters. Some fathers of the church prefer to call this Sunday (Sunday of the confirmation or Sunday of Faith).
The Lord Blessed  the true believers; "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John: 20: 29)

Have blessed Holy Fifty days,