Humility is not our culture's most valued asset or most desired character quality. But, humility is what is demanded — not so much because it's commanded (though that would be enough), but because we've "earned" our need of it. Every year brings another wave of major failures in morality, character, and spirituality. Even on our best days, we all fall short of God's holiness. Rather than progressing culturally, we find ourselves slipping. Our need to approach God with humility is "earned"! So let's be humble and call upon the Lord, throwing off our sin and seeking after him!
Day 2 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Bashans, may God make it always received, year after year, with reassurance and tranquility, while our sins after forgiven by the tender mercies of our God my fathers and brothers.
Amen.
The Second Day of the Blessed Month of Bashans
Departure of the righteous Job
On this day the righteous Job departed. He was a righteous man in his generation and upright in his time, as the bible testified about him: "... there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?" (Job 1:8) The devil envied him and asked God to allow him to harm Job and to destroy his wealth. God allowed that, because of His foreknowledge of the patience and perseverance of Job and that he would be an example and a model for those who come after him as the bible said: "You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord" (James 5:11). In one day, Job lost his sons and daughters, his cattle, and all his wealth. In addition, the evil one also stricken his body with a Leprosy from his head to his feet. In all this Job offered thanksgiving and praise to God, and never murmured or grumbled against his Creator. All what he said was: "May the day perish on which I was born" (Job 3:3). He said also about the loss of his children: "The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." ( Job 1:21) "In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong" (Job 1:22). The thing that hurt Job the most, was the harsh words of his wife and his friends. His wife advised him to blaspheme, but Job refused, and rebuked her saying: "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips" (Job 2:10). Job remained sick for 30 years until he was purified as gold is purified with fire. At last the Lord spoke to him from the clouds and healed him from his sickness and doubled the wealth he had and gave him other sons and daughters. He lived to a good old age and departed in peace.
May his prayers be with us. Amen.
Departure of St.Tadros (Theodore), the Disciple of St.Pachomius
On this day also St. Tadros (Theodore) the disciple of St. Pachomius, the father of the spiritual monastic communal life (Coenobitic system), departed. He became monk at a young age under the guidance of Anba Pachomius and showed great asceticism, with extraordinary obedience, so that St. Pachomius loved him and he delegated him to preach to the brethren. When St. Pachomius departed, St. Tadros replaced him. He was a good example in meekness and patience. When he completed his course, and finished his strife, he departed to the Lord whom he loved.
May his prayers be with us. Amen.
Martyrdom of St.Philothaos
On this day also, St. Philothaos was martyred. He was from the people of "Doronka" in the province of Assuit. He was tortured without denying his faith and finally he received the crown of martyrdom in the year 1096 A.M.
May his intercession be with us and glory be to God forever. Amen.
Vespers
Vespers Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 56 : 6
Chapter 56
| 6 | They gather together, They hide, they mark my steps, When they lie in wait for my life. |
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Vespers Gospel
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint Matthew the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Matthew 18 : 6 - 7
Chapter 18
| 6 | "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. |
| 7 | Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes! |
And Glory be to God forever.
Matins
Matins Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 57 : 1,5
Chapter 57
| 1 | Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, Until these calamities have passed by. |
| 5 | Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let Your glory be above all the earth. |
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Matins Gospel
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint Matthew the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Matthew 17 : 20 - 23
Chapter 17
| 20 | So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. |
| 21 | However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." |
| 22 | Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, |
| 23 | and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up." And they were exceedingly sorrowful. |
And Glory be to God forever.
Liturgy Gospel
Paulines Epistle
Paul, the servant of our Lord Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, appointed to the Gospel of God.
A reading from the Epistle of our teacher Paul to the Romans .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
Romans 2 : 8 - 13
Chapter 2
| 8 | but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness--indignation and wrath, |
| 9 | tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; |
| 10 | but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. |
| 11 | For there is no partiality with God. |
| 12 | For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law |
| 13 | (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; |
The grace of God the Father be with you all.
Amen.
Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle 1 of St. John .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
1 John 2 : 18 - 23
Chapter 2
| 18 | Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. |
| 19 | They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. |
| 20 | But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. |
| 21 | I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. |
| 22 | Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. |
| 23 | Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. |
Do not love the world or the things in the world.
The world passes away, and its desires; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Amen.
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of our fathers the apostles, may their blessings be with us.
Acts 4 : 27 - 31
Chapter 4
| 27 | "For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together |
| 28 | to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. |
| 29 | Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, |
| 30 | by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus." |
| 31 | And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. |
The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God.
Amen.
Divine Psalm
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint John the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet, and the Good King.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 7 : 10 - 11
Chapter 7
| 10 | My defense is of God, Who saves the upright in heart. |
| 11 | God is a just judge, And God is angry with the wicked every day. |
Hallelujah.
Divine Gospel
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
John 8 : 12 - 16
Chapter 8
| 12 | Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." |
| 13 | The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true." |
| 14 | Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going. |
| 15 | You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. |
| 16 | And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. |
And Glory be to God forever.
Greatly ought we to rejoice that God dwells in our soul; and more greatly ought we to rejoice that our soul dwells in God. Our soul is created to be God’s dwelling place, and the dwelling of our soul is God. . . . And I saw no difference between God and our substance, but, as it were, all God; and still my understanding accepted that our substance is in God. —Julian of Norwich [1]
I find the “fidget spinner” toy a helpful illustration to understand the Trinity. [2] When still, a fidget spinner clearly has three different lobes; however, when it spins we lose sight of the distinct wings and simply see unbroken movement or flow. Even more significant than the qualities of the individual members of the Trinity is the flow between them. At the Trinitarian level, God is a verb more than a noun, God is a flow more than a substance, God is an experience more than a deity sitting on a throne. And we live naturally inside that flow of love—if we do not resist it.
Infinite love is planted within humans and all of creation. Everything is attracted to everything: life is attracted to life; love is attracted to love; God in you is attracted to God in everyone and everything else. This is what it means for everything to be created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). God placed this alluring attraction of life toward life in everything that God created. Thus, we might say the Trinity is the soul of creation.
Once we allow the entire universe to become alive for us, we are living in an enchanted world. Nothing is meaningless; nothing can be dismissed. It’s all whirling with the same beauty, the same radiance. In fact, if I could name the Big Bang in my own language, I’d call it the Great Radiance. The inner radiance of God started radiating at least 13.8 billion years ago. We must realize that we are the continuation of that radiance in our small segment of time on Earth. We can either allow it and let the Trinitarian Flow flow through us or we can deny it, which is to deny the divine image.
This is nothing I can prove to you. This is nothing I can make logical or rational. It can only be known experientially in the mystery of love when you surrender yourself to it, when you grant subjectivity or a blessed I-Thou relationship to every other thing—a plant, an animal, a single tree, the big blue sky, “Brother Sun, Sister Moon,” as my Father Francis of Assisi put it. The contemplative mind refuses to objectify things. It sees similarity, likeness, symbolism, communion, connection, and meaning everywhere. It becomes a fully symbolic universe. Use whatever words you want, but with this vision you will live in a fully alive and congenial universe where you can never be lonely again.
References:
[1] Julian of Norwich, Showings, Chapter 54 (Long text), trans. Edmund Colledge and James Walsh (Paulist Press: 1978), 285.