Vol: 8 Issue: 7
Abib 1730 / July 2014
Use Your Talents By: St Shenouda the Archimandrite A man was building a place he needed. There were many stones in front of him, some big, some small. He saw many he was unable to carry. When he had built it and touched none of them, he thought to himself, 'Is this not madness? Why did I not carry the light ones?' I said to them, 'There are three loads of goods lying next to each other, like the one about which the Lord said, 'My load is light.' These are lighter than each other, as is written in the Gospel. For He said, 'One gave a hundred, one sixty and one thirty.' Is it not a shame for us if we are able to take the first and the second and neglect the third ? The two parables furthermore are one. There is nothing of God difficult for those who love Him. But I say this, that if we cannot be a virgin, let us keep to marriage, appointed and purified by God. If we are unable to bear the cross and follow the Lord, let us be merciful to the poor as long as we have them. If we are unable to pray without stopping, let us pray according to our ability. If we cannot observe all the laws and righteousness and are unable to do everything that is good, let us act according to our ability and give joy to the Lord through His mercies giving fruit according to our ability so that He may rejoice about us. If we do this, we will not be distant from life but we will be in the kingdom of Christ and all His saints and the just and the ancients who spent their long lives in a state of perfection and truly pleasing God. See how the Word says to the one who doubled his five talents, 'Go inside to the joy of your Master.' He said to the one who doubled his two talents, 'Go inside to the joy of your Master. For it is the same zeal, even if only the amount entrusted was different.' See what sort of grace happened to those of the eleventh hour, whose excuse was, 'Nobody hired us.' These words are the words of all who repent when they are taught.
They are especially true of pagans: 'nobody hired us', that is, ' called them' until their Creator comes, the One who had mercy on them, the One who said, 'They come from the east and the west, the north and the south and they will lean back and recline in the kingdom of heaven.' ‌ We also, what will we say? We have been called not only by the servants of God, but by the Lord of servants. Who will not run to follow the perfume of his ointments, as it is written? The interpretation of these things, who will neglect to do his utmost to forget the one who buried his talents and put the mna in the napkin? God forbid. For we will give a hundredfold. The one of thirty will not be distant from the one of sixty. And the one of sixty will not be distant from the one of hundred in the kingdom of heaven according to the Gospel of the One who called us to it, the philanthropic Saviour God and the Son of God. If He did not refuse to give Himself for us, how much more (will He give us) His goods.' (Translated by: Anthony Alcock from: www.alinsuciu.com)
La te st Bible Prophecies Fulfilled Pu bl ic at io n Despite its many books of the Bible which were written over many centuries, these many books are in harmony with one another, starting from the book of Genesis to the book of Revelation, nothing else is more important in the Bible than the topic of the first coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and His second coming. This booklet in your hand is a testimony of the Prophets who prophesied about our Lord in the Old Testament and how the prophecies were fulfilled in the New Testament. Page 2
Congrats to Fr Karas, a newly ordained priest for the Diocese of Sydney spending the 40 days at the monastery. This photo was taken with his family during his first liturgy
Youth from Canberra spending the weekend at the monastery
St Abraam Youth at the monastery
Year 9 boys from Archangel Michael Church Page 3
St Shenouda’s life in Christ By: One of The Youth Many of us would dream of seeing and speaking with Christ in person. Indeed those people such as the apostles, who lived during His time were truly blessed to receive His teachings in His presence. There are some who claim to experience the presence of God in visions or dreams also, but there is one person who met and spoke with Christ hundreds of years after His life on earth. This great saint who was born in a humble village called Senalolet near Akhmim was seen worthy by God to meet and speak with Him on several occasions. This is none other than the great Abba Shenouda, the righteous and holy father. Pure and honest as a boy, Abba Shenouda’s righteous life did not begin overnight, rather from a young age he dedicated his days to spiritual and ascetic practices. From the time his parents cared for him, he would pray for many hours on his own before returning home on a daily basis. His fingers would illuminate and radiate light when he prayed and when his parents heard, his father thought to take him to get the blessing of the holy father, Abba Pigol who was Shenounda’s uncle. Upon arrival to receive Abba Pigol’s blessing, instead of blessing him he took his hands and put them on his head saying, “bless me oh Shenouda”. Shenouda did not remain with his parents long but instead went and joined Abba Pigol in the monastery where he was seen as an angel, and a source of comfort and protection to all around him. He strived in the anchoritic life, increasing his prostrations, limiting his food so that his body became feeble and dry like Elijah the Tishbite and keeping awake in vigil, only sleeping enough to sustain his body to be able to continue in prayer not just 7 times a day as David the prophet says, but 12 times with sweat, tears and great intensity. It is easy to see why he was worthy to see and speak with Christ, for his heart was wholly dedicated to Him as he guided the monastery and less experienced monks out of his love for Christ. The relationship Abba Shenouda held with Christ in person was comparable to that of every day close friends who could see each other and chat for hours about anything and everything. We see the relaxed natured of his encounters with Christ on many accounts, one being while they were talking out in the desert Abba Shenouda spoke of his desire to see a ship sail by, so Christ vanished and filled the place with water, took the form of the captain with angels taking the form of the assisting sailors. Abba Shenouda joined Him on-board and asked the Saint to tie the rope to hold the ship in place. According to the Lord’s instructions, he pierced a rock with the rope to tie the ship and that rock remained a monument to that miracle. It also showed us the level of love, trust and friendship between the two. On another occasion, Abba Page 4
Shenouda met with Christ and sat and was speaking with Christ. When his disciple Wissa heard, he ran and wanted to meet Christ too, however He immediately vanished. Only because of Abba Shenouda’s love for his disciple and the friendship he had with Christ he arranged for Wissa to come the next day. However, Christ vanished when Wissa knocked on the door, leaving him disappointed, however, through Abba Shenouda, Wissa was granted the blessing of hearing the Lord’s voice. These are only a couple of accounts of the meetings of Abba Shenouda with Christ in person from which we learn true friendship with our God. Abba Shenouda had many gifts and talents, understanding theology, prophesying and writing just to name a few. He was also completely reliant on God, that God will provide for him and on every occasion, he did. Due to his knowledge and zeal, Abba Shenouda was requested by Abba Cyril to attend the Council where he is known for defending the faith against Nestorius. Upon conclusion, Abba Cyril boarded a ship to sail back while Abba Shenouda was prevented from boarding, being relatively unknown and simply dressed. God did not leave him without means to return home; through Abba Shenouda’s supplications, the Lord sent a cloud which took him and his disciple back to the monastery, the very same day, which Abba Cyril saw fly over the ship. On another occasion the Lord provided Abba Shenouda a cloud to transport him to the king’s palace where he spoke with and met with the king the very same day he had been summon by the king’s messenger who was unreasonably forceful toward the righteous father. We can see and learn that through a simple and righteous life with the Lord, which can take years to establish, whenever we lean on Him and ask of Him, He will provide for us in ways we may not even imagine.
St Dyminan Church Group
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Some Extracts from Canon 8 By: Anne Boud’hors let us look at an extract from the beginning of the first sermon: "So listen, O you who have friendship for the man who is discouraged, and look at his affliction when he says, 'Behold, Lord, I am tormented, my heart has become disturbed, and my heart has turned within me because I am in anger, yes, in anger. Indeed, this sickness has robbed me of my strength and subjected me to an increase of suffering so that I do not wish my garment, and my garments , to touch‌ If it were possible, l would throw them away so as not to wear them." Shenoute often speaks of himself in the third person, referring to himself as "the man" or "this man." This procedure enables him to introduce smoothly a citation of Lamentations 1:20, where he substitutes himself for Jerusalem in the first person pronoun "l" Like many texts of Christian literature, the sermons of Shenoute are literally stuffed with biblical citations and allusions, though few authors make such extensive use of the Prophets. From the very beginning of this sermon, the two dominant themes of Volume 8 are clearly in view. The theme of sickness is susceptible to two readings. On the one hand, it is possible that Shenoute was actually ill with a chronic disease, probably a skin disease that made him subject to unbearable itching, which he sometimes describes with realistic exactitude. On the other hand, the human body was a commonplace metaphor for the Christian community, mainly inspired by the epistles of Paul, and particularly apt for describing a monastic community. As head of the body, the leader of the federation feels the effects of all weaknesses and suffering. Associated with this image of the body is the image of the garment. Just as the monastic habit is the outward sign of a monk, the monks are the finest visible expression of the community, that is, the garment of the monastic body. If this body is ill, it can no longer endure contact with garments. Here too the image is coupled with an allusion to reality: Shenoute's garments are obviously a sensitive issue in the life of the congregation. (From: Christianity and monasticism in Upper Egypt page 17)
Year 10 boys from St Marks Church Page 6
Happy St Shenouda Feast
St Marks Church Priests and Youth praying the liturgy with Anba Daniel at the
Saturday 12/7/2014.
Feast of the Apostles & Feast of St. Shenouda.
8:00 am
12:00
12:00pm
2:00 pm
Lunch.
2:00 pm
3:00 pm
Procession around the Monastery.
4.00 pm
New Project Presentation and update at the Church Hall.
5:00 pm
6:30 pm
Vesper Prayers.
11:00pm
3:00 am (Sun)
Vigils, Hymns, Midnight Praises.
3.00 pm
Sunday 13/7/2014
The Lakkan Prayers & The Holy Liturgy.(Then Giving of Presents).
Feast of St. Shenouda cont.(Actual Day Monday 14/7/2014).
3:00 am
6:00 am
The first Holy Liturgy.
9:30am
12:00pm
The second Holy Liturgy. ( Giving of Presents).
12:00pm
1:00 pm
Lunch
5:00 pm
5:30 pm
Sunset prayers at the Church.
Now you can listen to ASAPH TUNES
first album on these internet radio stations Page 8