Saturday, August 14, 2021

In the eyes of many men; you did not deserve the dignity of the papacy having received the lowest number of votes. But in the eyes of God, you were the chosen one, the beloved of generations past and to come. In the eyes of many men, you were considered ignorant at best, and at worst, a sorcerer and charlatan. But in the eyes of God, you were the living Gospel and the ambassador of His power and strength among a weak generation. In the eyes of many men, you wasted your time in repetitive praises, empty liturgical rites, and desert escapism. But in the eyes of God, you knew how to secretly and quietly procure divine grace from all its hidden sources. In the eyes of many men, you lacked the human capacity for planning, organising, and managing the Church's affairs. But in the eyes of God, by your limitless humility, you provoked Him to act on your behalf, accomplishing what was impossible by mere human effort. In the eyes of many men, you relied on superstitious invocations of saints and angels as a deflection of your own insufficiency. But in the eyes of God, you were the beloved of those in Heaven, and they eagerly supported and defended their friend. In the eyes of many men, you mumbled repetitious prayers from ancient texts and anointed with oil the sick who were desperate for more modern solutions. But in the eyes of God, your prayers called down fire from heaven, healing the body and the soul, changing hearts, and inflaming a hopeless generation with zeal and love for God and His Church. In the eyes of many men, you died like all men die, confirming the vanity and futility of earthly life. But in the eyes of God, your death was the moment of a new, truer, and more potent life, an eternal partnership with Him Who makes all things new. Amen... (Tribute to St. Pope Kyrillos VI).



Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits. He forgives all your iniquities and heals all your diseases, he redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with loving kindness and compassion, who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle... (Psalm 103:1-5)


 

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper... (Psalm 1:1-3)


 

Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it... (Proverbs 22:6)


 

سَلاَمًا أَتْرُكُ لَكُمْ. سَلاَمِي أُعْطِيكُمْ. لَيْسَ كَمَا يُعْطِي الْعَالَمُ أُعْطِيكُمْ أَنَا. لاَ تَضْطَرِبْ قُلُوبُكُمْ وَلاَ تَرْهَبْ


 

كُنْتُ فَتىً وَقَدْ شِخْتُ، وَلَمْ أَرَ صِدِّيقًا تُخُلِّيَ عَنْهُ، وَلاَ ذُرِّيَّةً لَهُ تَلْتَمِسُ خُبْزًا -- I was once young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken nor their children in need (Psalm 37:25)


 

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.. (Matthew 16:25)


 

Saturday, August 7, 2021

THE 21ST CENTURY CHURCH - It was said that Christ came in disguise as a poor man and went preaching to a particular Catholic church. After listening to him, they rejected his teachings and said to him, "We don’t need you, we have the saints to teach us". So, they threw him out and closed the door of the church. Then Saint Paul went in disguise to an Orthodox church and he too began preaching about the need to repent and warned them about Christ’s second return. Not heeding his word, they too threw him out and said, “We don’t need you, we have Christ to save us!” Then both Christ and Saint Paul dressed as two beggars and went to a particular protestant church. After spending hours preaching and trying to convince them of the truth, they too said “We don’t need your preaching, we have the bible to teach us”. So indeed they threw both out and closed the door of the church...


 

The Cost Of Rebellion...

For unless you repent, you will all likewise perish... (Luke 13:3)