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 32 : 8
Chapter 32
| 8 | I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. |
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 15 : 29 - 31
Chapter 15
| 29 | Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. |
| 30 | Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus' feet, and He healed them. |
| 31 | So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. |
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 106 : 1 - 2
Chapter 106
| 1 | Praise the LORD! Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. |
| 2 | Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? Who can declare all His praise? |
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 John the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
John 7 : 10 - 13
Chapter 7
| 10 | But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. |
| 11 | Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?" |
| 12 | And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him. Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people." |
| 13 | However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews. |
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 Galatians .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
Galatians 3 : 5 - 11
Chapter 3
| 5 | Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?-- |
| 6 | just as Abraham "believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." |
| 7 | Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. |
| 8 | And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed." |
| 9 | So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. |
| 10 | For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them." |
| 11 | But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith." |
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 3 : 2 - 11
Chapter 3
| 2 | Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. |
| 3 | And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. |
| 4 | Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. |
| 5 | And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. |
| 6 | Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. |
| 7 | Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. |
| 8 | He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. |
| 9 | Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. |
| 10 | In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. |
| 11 | For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, |
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 5 : 12 - 20
Chapter 5
| 12 | And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's Porch. |
| 13 | Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. |
| 14 | And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, |
| 15 | so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. |
| 16 | Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed. |
| 17 | Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation, |
| 18 | and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison. |
| 19 | But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, |
| 20 | "Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life." |
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 20 : 5 - 6
Chapter 20
| 5 | We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions. |
| 6 | Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand. |
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 6 : 47 - 56
Chapter 6
| 47 | Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. |
| 48 | I am the bread of life. |
| 49 | Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. |
| 50 | This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. |
| 51 | I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." |
| 52 | The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?" |
| 53 | Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. |
| 54 | Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. |
| 55 | For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. |
| 56 | He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. |
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.