وجبـــــــة روحيـــــ(†)ــــــــــة يوميـــــــــة

[Mary Naeem]

What beauty awaits us ..

Ah, if you could only see a little bit of paradise, if you could only hear for a few seconds the chanting of the sweet angels who shine with heavenly light and emit paradisiacal fragrance! Oh, what beauty! Unfortunately, we are in the dark about all these things.

There everything shines with limitless bliss. And what does the throne of Christ tell you? Christ the Master sits upon a throne, and due to His light no one can discern His sacred and most sweet face. Oh, what sweetness and beauty! What is more beautiful than this? This is truly paradise: to behold the face of our Jesus! Glory to Thy Cross, O Lord, and to Thy Resurrection!

O depth of the wisdom of God! O mysteries of the three sun Deity! Blessed is he who humbles himself like a child, obeying all commands with a guileless soul for the love of God! And woe to him who will hold on to his egotism, like me; how many divine gifts does he deprive himself of!

My children, run with humility to reach the Lord Who humbled Himself for our sake—our sweetest, beloved Christ, the light of our poor souls.

See what beauty awaits us! If you could only see how beautiful it is! You would disregard everything; you would even become like trash to be stepped on, just as long as you would not be deprived of everything that the sweet love of Jesus has prepared! These are the kinds of things my Elder used to tell me, and I am conveying them to you so that you may be sweetened. I am done—forgive me!

From Counsels from the Holy Mountain: Selected from the Letters and Homilies of Elder Ephraim of Arizona

[Mary Naeem]

Find an excuse

Please do not criticize each other, because this is full of ego and pride. But find an excuse for your brother’s error which is a testimony of humility and love. The person who does this will find a lot of grace from God. However the person who criticizes and scandalizes other people, should know that not only will not find any grace from God, but even if has some will lose it in order to learn the lesson of humility through falling.

Archimandrite Efraim Filotheitis of Arizona

[Mary Naeem]

Clean yourself

A young man asked an Elder in the Holy Mountain: “Elder, how I can see Christ?”

The Elder responded: “To see Christ my child, first you need to clean yourself. If you are expecting a visitor, then you clean your house. If you are expecting a guest, then you clean the room he will stay. The same thing you need to do for Christ, when you want to see Him, when you want Him to come inside you. You need to clean yourself. ”

Personal Testimonies to Dr. Nick Stergiou

[Mary Naeem]

Victims of our own mentality?

Ηe, who suppose to be a Christian, even if he doesn’t become a true Christian, he will be driven heather and yon by his own “keel”. In any case, each person has his own state of mind, and yet his state of mind can be quite burdened by an unhealthy state. All of us are led, are carried, by our state of mind, our mentality, and certainly when it’s ill.

Each person, then, is a victim of his mentality, his “keel”, and is led and carried about by his own self. Does your state of mind take you toward hermetic isolation? You go towards it. Does it move you to behave in a supposedly humanitarian way, toward acting supposedly social, toward a give and take relationship with others? You go toward it. We have to examine ourselves well and the way we present ourselves. We should wonder: This thing that we are doing, is it enough or does it conceal some self-interest?

One is eager to serve others. Does it proceed from virtue or is something else lurking there? One is eager to love flight, isolation, lack of community, which sometimes matches him quite well. We say: “What a neptic he is! What a hesychast!” But is this virtue or his weakness? We should always seek to learn this, to examine it. Certainly, a person will again be fooled, will again be seduced. The best way for someone to flee either the one extreme or the other, and more precisely, the best way for someone to overcome himself—because this is what must happen—is obedience.

Aug. 4, 1984

Holy Hesychasterion “The Nativity of Theotokos” Publications.

Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos

[Mary Naeem]

The Nativity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

With special skills and grace the hymn-writers of our Holy Orthodox Church exalt the event of the Divine Economia through the sacred hymns of today’s great feast, that of the Incarnation of the Word and Son of God, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
The event of the Incarnation of God the Word consisted of a unique and unrepeated event. For it proclaimed not only the beginning of the salvation of mankind, but, simultaneously, it expressed the infinite Love of the One and Only True God, the Holy Trinity, towards His creation, man.

The Angels in Heaven rejoice; they glorify together with the shepherds of the humble village of Bethlehem. The whole Universe leaps with joy. The Earth offers the Cave; the desert the Manger; the heavens the Star; the Magi the presents; and we, the logical creatures of God the Creator, Who as an Infant is born today and is raped in swaddling-clothes and is placed in a Manger of the horses, offer ourselves, our hearts and souls to the Divine Infant.

Man, from the beginning of his creation, was gifted with many charismata and wisdom. God honoured man to be the king of all and became the crown jewel of all Creation. Unfortunately, Satan envied this honour and glory with which God vested man, so that through deception and craftiness he deceived the first-created.

The disobedience of the Divine Commandment became the starting point of mankind’s sufferings. Adam and Eve in their desperate situation, they attempted to cover their nakedness. This nakedness does not refer to the nakedness of their body, but to the spiritual nakedness of being deprived from God’s Divine Grace, which abandoned them at the moment when they had abandoned God and gave their trust to the Serpent.

Man’s mind and conscience were darkened. The first-created remained unrepentant. They did not take advantage of the three opportunities which God offered them for forgiveness. The one throws the responsibilities to the other, and the worst of all was that Adam, who benefited more than any other creature, throws the blame of his fall to God Himself.

This ungratefulness of Adam and the insult against God is what is called as the Original Sin. Henceforth, this sin is inherited by all men, as being Adam’s offspring. This sin is forgiven only through the Holy Sacrament of Baptism.

The Fall of the first-created was great, as great as were the benefits which they had received from God. God, granted them all Nature and placed one only rule to keep. They had everything and, yet, they wanted to steel deification; they attempted illegally to become ‘gods’ as their Creator, but without the Grace of their Creator. God wanted them to become perfect through obedience to His Divine Will, but they wanted to achieve this perfection and deification without struggling. The results was catastrophic not only for Adam, but for all his descendants. Fear, cowardice, accusing of one another, lies, slander, hatred, envy, murder, mortality and finally death replaced man’s conditions which he had in Paradise.

Man, from king of all Creation, became a slave to sin and death. Any attempt to restore his relationship with God was in vain. His mind was darkened so much that instead of worshipping the True God, he turned and worshipped the elements of nature. Idols replaced the Holy Trinity and man was led from one error to another.

But, the Love of God did not abandon the creation of His Hands deserted and unprotected. As a caring Father, He prepared the path of salvation. God through His Prophets proclaimed the Good News concerning the mission of His Elect, His Son and Word. The Messiah, the Saviour of the world, will come from the Virgin Mary, who through her holiness pleased God and proved that man is capable to conquer sin and to become a chosen vessel. God the Word will be born from the Holy Spirit and of the Virgin Mary and will become Man similar to us, but without sin. His mission will be one, to save His people from the slavery of sin and the tyranny of death.

Moses, in the Holy Spirit, sees the flaming but not burning Bush. Jacob dreams about the Ladder which united Haven and earth. Jezekiel sees the Eastern Gate through which the Lord God shall pass and it will remain shut. Isaiah sees the Virgin Mary from whom Jesus was born, the one Who is called Christ, which in Greek is translated Emmanuel and means that God is with us.

Truthfully, when the fullness of time came, God send His Son, Who is born from the Virgin Mary and as an Infant was wrapped in swaddling-clothes and circumcised. As an Infant, He is persecuted by the insane Herod. As a perfect man, He dwelt amongst men and taught the people. He is false accused by the Jews as a seductive person. He is arrested and condemned unjustly as a Thief. He is crucified as Criminal and faced death; and on the third day, as God Almighty, He rose from the dead. He suffered all these things in order to restore Adam and all his descendants.

The Nativity of the Son and Word of God is the fulfillment of Divine Promise given in the Garden of Delight concerning man’s salvation, and which begins with the birth at Bethlehem and leads to the Crucifixion on Golgotha, the glorious Resurrection, the Ascension in Heaven and the Enthronement on the right hand of God the Father. Through this Divine Economia, the Son and Word of God ended the rule of Satan who held mankind under the bondage and tyranny of death. Christ grants to all those who will believe in Him eternal Life.

Christ’s Nativity gave to mankind the Light of the True Knowledge of God. Man, free from the darkness of not knowing God, can know the True God through the Light of the Holy Gospel and His Holy Orthodox Church. Freed from the falsehood of idolatry, man is able to worship the One and Only True God, the Holy Trinity. He knows the way, which leads him to conquer virtues and holiness. As a free person, man can walk on the path of salvation.

God leaves Heaven and comes down on earth. He becomes a perfect Man, in order to raise man to the heights of the Deity. The One Who is without flesh, takes up flesh. The One Who is Bodiless, receives body. He, Who cannot be contended by the Universe, is restricted in the boundaries of human nature, and simultaneously fills all things with His Presence.

God and Man. Two Natures and two Wills, which remain unmixed and unconfused, united in the One Person of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

“And the Word became flesh”, not that man became god, neither that man ascended into Heaven, but that God the Word out of love towards man took up all the human nature in order to sanctify and save it. God the Word, with His birth, overcame sin and freed mankind from mortality and death. Without this Divine Economia, no one could have inherited the eternal Kingdom of God.

God the Word reveals Himself to man and invites everyone to become a member of His Kingdom. He invites all men to enter through the narrow path. He does not want anyone to be lost. Everyone can become ‘sons’ of God by adoption and Grace and co-heirs of Christ.

The Nativity of our Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ, the Incarnated Son and Word of God the Father, addresses us, today and sends us an important message and one special invitation:

Let us follow the Star, which guides us to Bethlehem of Judaea. Let us kneel with the humble shepherds before the Creator of all. Let us become co-travelers with the three Magi and let us offer to the Divine Infant our tears of repentance. Let us open our hearts and souls in order to welcome within us the Divine Infant which was born by the Holy Spirit and of the Virgin Mary. Let us abandon the sinful pleasures of this world of vanity. Let us receive with the simplicity of our hearts the angelic message, that “today a Saviour has been born, who is the Lord Christ” and let us sing “glory to God in the highest and on earth peace amongst men according to God’s Good Will”. Amen.

Orthodox Newsletter of St Theodore, Lanham

By His Eminence Metropolitan PANTELEIMON of Antinoes

[Mary Naeem]

Saint Basil the Great

Saint Basil the Great ( 329 or 330[5 , was the Greek bishop of Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia, Asia Minor. He was an influential theologian who supported the Nicene Creed and opposed the heresies of the early Christian church, fighting against both Arianism and the followers of Apollinaris of Laodicea. His ability to balance his theological convictions with his political connections made Basil a powerful advocate for the Nicene position.

In addition to his work as a theologian, Basil was known for his care of the poor and underprivileged. Basil established guidelines for monastic life which focus on community life, liturgical prayer, and manual labour. Together with Pachomius he is remembered as a father of communal monasticism in Eastern Christianity. He is considered a saint by the traditions of both Eastern and Western Christianity.

Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa are collectively referred to as the Cappadocian Fathers. The Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches have given him, together with Gregory of Nazianzus and John Chrysostom, the title of Great Hierarch. He is recognised as a Doctor of the Church in both Eastern Orthodoxy and in the Roman Catholic Church. He is sometimes referred to by the epithet “Ουρανοφαντωρ”, “revealer of heavenly mysteries”

[Mary Naeem]

A miracle of St. Nicholas in Kozani

A miracle of St. Nicholas in Kozani (amateur translation from a talk by Metropolitan Augoustinos Kantiotis of Florina, of blessed memory) «Some say: “‘At that time!’ You make us crazy with this. We constantly hear ‘at that time’, ‘at that time’, ‘at that time’ [a miracle occurred]”. These are not correct, however. It was not only back then that miracles occurred. The power of Christ remains inexhaustible; yesterday and today and tomorrow, and until the close of the age, until the setting of the sun and the rivers cease to flow and the stars cease to shine in the heavens, the power of Christ and of His Saints will work wonders. Do you want an example? From 1943-1945 I was in Kozani, the capital of Western Macedonia. Those were terrible days for our nation. The rebels seized over 300 people from Kozani, innocent people, and they locked them in prison in Kozani, where they were awaiting their fate. There was great agony throughout the city. The morning of December 6th was the day on which Kozani celebrates St. Nicholas as their patron in their beautiful and historic church of St. Nicholas, Kozani. It was a feast day therefore in Kozani, but the Christians however were so saddened and worried, that that day tears were running from their eyes. Then I was a preacher of the city, and so I ascended the ambo, and moved by sacred emotion, I said the following few words: “Today St. Nicholas of Kozani celebrates. Today St. Nicholas is in mourning and weeps, for innocent men are in the prisons. As those glorious soldiers were in the prisons and were saved by Nicholas, thus today also, in the prison of Kozani there are these innocent men.” Continuing, in danger of my life, I called out drammatically to the rebels, towards the Captain Marko Vafeiadi, who ruled the region during that time and was an untamed terror. I told them: “In the name of the Nazarene, in the name of the righteous one, in the name of humanity, you must, on this holy day of St. Nicholas, free these innocent men.” Thus I spoke. And though I was addressing hard hearts, through these the Saint appeased the most relentless characters. As the sun melts wax, thus his intervention melted the hearts of those men. The same evening, before the sun set, the 300 people of Kozani were freed and on the streets of Kozani! And no wonder why the miracle with the three soldiers is especially moving. He saved the three soldiers when he was in Lycia bodily, he saved the three in Constantinope when he was in heaven, and he saved 300 people of Kozani in our days.»

[Mary Naeem]

The virtues are in the middle

The cardinal virtues are four: courage, prudence, discreetness, and fairness. There are eight other moral states that either go beyond or fall short of these virtues. Spiritual people consider them as vices, but non-spiritual people consider them many times as virtues. For courage going beyond is audacity while falling short is timidity. For prudence going beyond is deceitfulness while falling short is ignorance. For discreetness going beyond is licentiousness while falling short is foolishness. For fairness going beyond is greed while falling short is inequity and injustice. The virtues are in the middle, and not only the cardinal and natural, but the ones who are superior of any exaggeration and shortcoming, the ones that are also practical.

St. Gregory the Sinaitis (from Philokalia and his 137 chapters On Commandments and Doctrines, Warnings and Promises; on Thoughts, Passions and Virtues)

Translated by Dr. Nick Stergiou

[Mary Naeem]

يسوع هو انتصاري

كل شخص في هذه الدنيا عنده بطل أو مثال يأخذه كنموذج لمسيرته في الحياة، فمنهم من يكون بطله لاعب كرة القدم أو زعيم سياسي أو قائد عسكري، وربما رجل وهمي غير موجود يضع صفاته

في قلبه ويتخيل أنه بطله.

أما في المسيحية فبطلها معلم بين ربوة "طلعته كلبنان. فتى كالأرز. حلقه حلاوة وكله مشتهيات. هذا حبيبي وهذا خليلي يا بنات أورشليم" (نشيد الأنشاد 16:5و17).

هو يسوع حبيبي الذي فيه أنتصر وبه أرتفع فوق كل الظروف الصعبة التي تحيط بي فهو رجائي الذي تحت خوافيه أحتمي وفي ظل حمايته أنا دائما أفتخر، فهو كصخرة لي أركن عليه في وقت الضيق، فيشعرني بأنني محمول على غمام السلام وعلى أجنحة النسور محلقا في أرجاء الكون الفسيح مطمئنا وعالما بمن آمنت وموقن أنه قادر أن يحفظ وديعتي "كما يحرك النسر عشه وعلى فراخه يرفّ ويبسط جناحيه ويأخذها ويحملها على مناكبه. هكذا الرب وحده اقتاده وليس معه اله أجنبي " (تثنية 32:11).

عندما أتبحر في صفحات الكتاب المقدس من التكوين السفر الذي يتكلم عن الخلق إلى رؤيا يوحنا ذلك السفر الرائع الذي فيه ينهي الله كامل قصة الحياة على الأرض فينقلنا بعدها إلى الأمجاد السماوية. لا أجد في المقدمة سوى المسيح الذي يترأس على كل شيء فهو البطل الذي سحق رأس الحية حيث كتب عنه الروح القدس حين أخطأ آدم وحواء في جنة عدن "وأضع عداوة بينك وبين المرأة وبين نسلك ونسلها. وهو يسحق رأسك وأنت تسحقين عقبه" (تكوين 3: 15)

ومن ثم أنتقل إلى كل اسفار العهد القديم حيث أجد أكثر من 333 نبوة تتكلم عن يسوع بطل قصة الغفران والخلاص لللإنسان الخاطىء، ومن هناك أجد روعة المسيح في ولادته من مريم العذراء حيث نزل وأخلى نفسه فصار جسدا مثلنا من دون خطية، نعم في تجسده وضعفه كان ذلك البطل الرائع الذي رأينا فيه مثال التواضع والمحبة ونكران الذات "وإذ وجد في الهيئة كإنسان وضع نفسه وأطاع حتى الموت موت الصليب. لذلك رفعه الله وأعطاه اسما فوق كل اسم" (فيليبي 2: 8و9).

وماذ أقول عن يسوع رئيس السلام الذي دخل إلى أورشليم على جحش ابن اتان ولم يبقى أحد لم يصرخ لذلك الملك الداخل بتواضع مدهش ".. مبارك الملك الآتي باسم الرب. سلام في السماء ومجد في الأعالي" (لوقا 19: 28). وهذا الملك المكلل بمحبته للخطاة وجه نظره إلى الصليب وهناك علق على خشبة العار ليحمل خطايانا ولم يتوانى جند الرومان في كتابة لوحة على الصليب مكتوب عليها يسوع الناصري ملك اليهود.

وهو نفسه لم يستطع الموت أن يمسك هذا الملك وهذا البطل العظيم وهذا الإله الذي تجسد فقام في اليوم الثالث ظافرا منتصرا على أعظم عدو وهو الموت "أين شوكتك يا موت. أين غلبتك يا هاوية" (1 كورنثوس 15: 55). نعم يسوع هو انتصاري وهو ملكي والهي وهو ربي المتربع على عرش حياتي فممن أخاف وممن أهرب. تعال وتعرف عليه فتحيا إلى الأبد مع هذا الملك المميز والإله الذي لا مثيل له.

[Mary Naeem]

شاب بلا تفكير (1)

عبارة قالها ملاك لملاك آخر في سفر زكريا (2: 4)؛ ولم يكن موضوع الكلام للغلام عن الخلاص، فالبشارة ليست من اختصاص أو عمل الملائكة، لكنه عمل المؤمنيين الذين تمتعوا بالخلاص الذي عمله الرب يسوع المسيح على الصليب. فملاك في يوم من الأيام كلّم كرنيليوس وقال له: >ارسل إلى يافا رجلاً، واستدعِ سمعان الملقَّب بطرس، وهو يكلمك كلامًا به تخلص أنت وكل بيتك< (أعمال11: 13 ، 14). فلم يستطع الملاك أن يكلم كرنيليوس كلامًا به يخلص، لكن هذا يستطيع أن يفعله بطرس وأنت وأنا، لذا فالصوت لنا أجر وكلم هذا الغلام (الشاب).



والشاب الذي نكلّمه اليوم هو الشاب الذي يفرح في حداثته ويسرّه قلبه في أيام شبابه، ويسلك في طرق قلبه (أي يتبع أهواء قلبه وكل ما تراه عيناه)، لكنه لا يعلم أنه بسبب هذه الأمور يأتي الله به إلى الدينونة (جامعة11: 9). ولمثل هذا الشاب نقول:

1. الحداثة والشباب باطلان؛ فأيام الإنسان أشبار، والعمر كلا شيء، إنما نفخة كل إنسان قد جُعل، كخيال يتمشي الإنسان، والعمر يمضي ويزول. والحكيم، في أصحاح12 من سفر الجامعة، يوصي الشاب أن يذكر خالقه في أيام شبابه، لأن الحياة ماضية إلى الشيخوخة، سواء أراد الإنسان أو لم يُرد، والأشياء التي يعيش معظم الشباب لأجلها تفقد أهميتها مع تقدّم العمر.

1. احذر من أفراح العالم؛ فالعالم والشيطان يقدِّمان للشباب أفراحًا زائفة خادعة، يعطيان الفرح بالخطية لوقت قصير جدًا ومحدود، ثم بعد ذلك يكتشف الإنسان الخدعة، فالأفراح والمسرّات العالمية الشيطانية تُبعد الإنسان عن الله >يحملون الدف والعود ويطربون بصوت المزمار... فيقولون لله اُبعُد عنا، وبمعرفة طرقك لا نُسَرّ. من هو القدير حتى نعبده؟ وماذا ننتفع إن التمسناه؟< (أيوب21: 12-15).
2. احذر من أن تسلك في طرق قلبك؛ فقد حذر الرب شعبه قائلاً لهم: >ولا تطوفون وراء قلوبكم واعينكم التي أنتم فاسقون وراءها< (عدد15: 39). لماذا؟ لأن >القلب أخدع من كل شيء، وهو نجّيس. مَن يعرفه؟< (إرميا17: 9). فقد قال الرب يسوع: >لأنه من الداخل، من قلوب الناس، تخرج الأفكار الشرير: زنى فسق قتل... جميع هذه الشرور تخرج من الداخل وتُنجّس الإنسان< (مرقس7: 21 ، 22).
3. لا تنخدع بالمظاهر؛ آه عندما يذهب القلب وراء العينين >لهم عيون مملوة فسقًا، لا تكُفّ عن الخطية... لهم قلب متـدرِّب فـي الطمع (الشراهـة في الشهوة)< (2بطرس2: 14)، فأمور العالم تبدو كرسومات جميلة جذابة، لكنها على قطعة من الثلج الذي يذوب رويدًا رويدًا، فالعالم يمضي وشهوته، فهو زائل وسيذهب كله إلى غير رجعة، ولا يقدر أحد أن يحتفظ به، سواء كان في صورة غنى أو جاه أو مركز أو سلطان أو متعة أو ما شابه ذلك.

1. المسيح يقدِّم الفرح الحقيقي؛ فإذا أردت أن تحصل على الفرح الحقيقي فيجب أن تطلبه من مصدره الصحيح الوحيد، وهو الرب يسوع نفسه. وتأكد أنك إذا استبعدته من حياتك ولم تقبله كمخلِّص شخصي لك، فعبثًا تطلب الفرح. واسمع هذه الكلمات من سجين مُقيَّد، ظروفه تحني النفس، لكن قلبه ممتلئ بالفرح الحقيقي: >افرحوا في الرب< (فيلبي3: 1). إن جئت إلى الرب يسوع، الآن، تائبًا مؤمنًا به، تختبر الفرح في غفران خطاياك، ثم بعد ذلك في الشركة معه، وفي الاثمار له >جعلت سرورًا في قلبي أعظم من سرورهم...< (مزمور4: 7).
2. احذر من أن تستهين بغنى لطفه وإمهاله وطول أناته؛ فدينونة الله في بعض الأحيان قد تتأنى، وذلك دلالة على صلاح الله وصبره، فمع أنه يكره الخطية جدًا لكنه يحبك جدًا، وهو لطيف معك جدًا، فلا تُفسر لطفه بشيء آخر لكن ثق أنه إنما يقتادك إلى التوبة، فهو لا يشــاء أن يَهلِكَ أناسٌ، بل أن يُقبل جميع الناس إليه عن طريق الوسيط الوحيد الذي هو المسيح.
3. يوم الدينونة قادم؛ فهذا أمر يقيني أعلنه الكتاب المقدس؛ فالمخلِّص الآن، هو الديان غدً. واعلم أنه >مخيف هو الوقوع في يدي الله الحي< (عبرانيين 10: 31). فبعد أن تنتهي سنة الرب المقبولة سيبدأ >يوم انتقام لإلهنا< (إشعياء61: 2). واسمعه يقول عن خرافه التي تسمع صوته: >ولن تهلك إلى الأبد< (يوحنا10: 28).