YOU ARE GOD’S BEAUTIFUL WORLD! From time to time a person feels that his life is empty and meaningless, similar to the rugged land “without form,” void of splendor and beauty, a useless life, surrounded by “darkness” (Gen. 1:2). Or like a debased life which deserves to fall under God’s wrath, such as in the time of the flood, from which no one was saved, except Noah and his family in the ark, and when – …

In our community, some believe that organization in ecclesiastical matters leads to loss of blessings. When a person is asked to organize a project, one of the answers commonly given is, "Don’t worry, leave it and it will be blessed." Usually, when a project is proposed, it is required to lay out a plan and estimate the cost. Yet some respond by saying, "God will bless it without the need to think and plan"; it – …

Just look at the brain and how it works, its relation with all other organs; if the brain is damaged, no physician can fix it no matter how genius he is!! If we observe the heart and how it works, its relation with the brain, and the relation of each the heart and the brain with life! Or if we watch the precise performance of kidneys or liver, of the nervous system in the human – …

Crossing the sea is baptism, the second birth. When a child is born, it does not mean he will live. Indeed, he needs a care program, of feeding (Manna- the body of the Lord), water (the side of Christ- the rock), guidance and leadership (the Holy Spirit) and faith that God is always present. Such a spiritual atmosphere provides the newborn child with continual growth, till he reaches Canaan. The child also needs to be – …

In the thirteenth chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, known as the "Chapter of Love," Saint Paul the Apostle presents to us the attributes of love or the virtues that a loving person should adorn himself with. Amongst these virtues is patience or longsuffering, "Love suffers long" (I Cor.13:4). What it the meaning of longsuffering? Longsuffering means having a spirit that is patient and slow to anger. A person who loves another should – …

All strife against sin and its desires is to be preceded by ‎fasting, especially if one is combating inward sin…Fasting is the ‎strengthening of all virtues, the beginning of the struggle, the ‎beauty of virginity and sanctity, the preservation of chastity, the ‎beginning of the way of Christianity, the father of prayer…, for as ‎soon as man begins to fast his mind will be desirous of intercourse ‎with God. Fasting is a storehouse of all – …

Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.” After he had cast down their spirit, mark how again he refreshes it, saying, “as ministers of Christ.” Do not then, letting go the Master, receive a name from the servants and ministers. “Stewards;” he says, indicating that we ought not to give these things unto all, but unto whom it is due, and to whom it is – …

As we look at the Church in the Apostolic age, we find that She was characterized by the communal life; they had one accord with unity of heart, soul, and thought (Acts 2: 42-47; 4:32-37). Whenever a dispute arose, the apostles would discuss it, and then they resolved the problem by agreeing on one decision (Acts 6: 1-26; 15: 1-29). This was achieved through the Holy Spirit, Who preserved the one accord and the one – …

Lots of people, in their spiritual life, fight on their own, without letting God in with them to ask Him strength and assistance, forgetting the Lord’s saying: ” for without Me you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5). Those people, they don’t ask God to be with them in whatever they do. On the contrary each one of them depends only on his own thinking or on someone else’s, not putting in mind God’s work in – …

As we stand at the door of the new millennium, adhering to the Scriptures, the Apostolic Tradition, the Church’s dogmas, and the patristic teachings, all may seem unreal and even “primitive” or archaic. The Orthodox Church has a reputation for incessantly clinging to Tradition, and that She has no message to bring to contemporary society. But as Orthodox Christians, how do we deal with such claims? How do we deal with a society, which can – …

Our Church celebrates two feasts for the Cross. One is on Parmhat 10th (March 19th), which always falls during Great Lent. The other is on Tout 17th (September 27th), which falls at the end of our celebrations of the The Coptic New Year (The Feast of Nairouz), and this latter Feast of the Cross is celebrated for three days. Our celebration of the Cross is actually a celebration of Christ’s victory over Satan and conquering – …

The Letter to the Romans “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good, acceptable and perfect.” (12:2). “Let your love be without hypocrisy.” (12:9). “Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse them” (12:14). Live in harmony with one another. Do not be arrogant, but associate with those who are – …