Being disappointed and dissatisfied with life can be caused by a myriad of things. But for many of us, these are symptoms that we have focused too much on ourselves and are angry with life. We have forgotten to count our blessings, neglected giving thanks to God, become silent in our praise to our Father, and have quit helping those around us. Thinking of others is how Christ lived. When we follow his example, our actions make a difference in the lives of those we bless and we also find ourselves immensely blessed as well. Let's get our focus off ourselves and look to bless our neighbors!
Day 15 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 Fifteenth Day of the Blessed Month of Bashans
Martyrdom of St.Simon the Zealot, the Apostle known as (Simon the Canaanite)
On this day, St. Simon the Zealot, the apostle of our Lord (Whose name also is Nathanael,Jn 1:45-55), was martyred. He was born in Cana of Galilee, and was expert in the Law and books of the prophets. He had a fervor zeal, so he was called the Zealot, and he was righteous, pious, and did not show favor to anyone. So when Philip the Apostle said to him: "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote; Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!" Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." Nathanael, who realized that He knew the hidden secrets, answered and said to Him: "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" It was said that when he was a young man, he quarrelled with a man, killed him, and buried him under the fig tree, and no one knew about it. It was also said that at the time of the slaughter of the children of Bethlehem by Herod, his mother hid him under a fig tree that was in her house. She nursed him during the night and hid him during the day, and continued to do so until the persecution of Herod died down. His mother did not tell him about this until he was fully grown and he never told anyone about this. When Jesus revealed that to him, he realized that He was the omniscient God, bowed before him, and was obedient to Him. He believed, followed Him, and became one of His twelve disciples. After he had received the grace of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, he spoke with tongues, enlightened the world with his evangelism, and returned many to the faith in the Lord Christ. He preached in Africa, and in the country of El-Bejah which extended from Aswan to the Red sea. He also preached in the island of Bertanah, which was probably one of the islands by the shore of the Red sea. He preached there with the Name of Christ, and many tribulations befell him, but God added to his courage and strength. God manifested on his hands many signs, and finally he was martyred, crucified on a tree, and he received the crown of martyrdom.
May his intercession be with us. Amen.
Martyrdom of 400 martyrs in Dandara (Denderah)
On this day also, four hundred Saints were martyred in Dendera, after they had suffered many tortures. This was at the end of the reign of Emperor Diocletian.
May Their prayers be with us. Amen.
Commemoration of St.Mina the Deacon
On this day also, is the commemoration of Deacon Mina the anchorite.
May his prayers guard us, and glory be to our God forever. Amen.
Effortlessly,
Love flows from God into [humans]
Like a bird
Who rivers the air
Without moving her wings.
. . . Thus we move in [God’s] world
One in body and soul, . . .
Though outwardly separate in form.
As the Source strikes the note,
Humanity sings—
The Holy Spirit is our harpist,
And all strings
Which are touched in Love
Must sound.
—Mechthild of Magdeburg (1207–c. 1282/1294) [1]
Protestant theologian Jürgen Moltmann grew up in a secular home in Hamburg, Germany, and was drafted into the German army at age eighteen to fight in World War II. As a prisoner of war, he began reading the Bible and encountered God in the midst of suffering. Moltmann’s theology is hopeful and practical. Here are some of his thoughts on the Spirit:
We continually experience the Holy Spirit as both a divine counterpart to whom we call, and a divine presence in which we call—as the space we live in. There is nothing extraordinary about this. As children we experienced our mothers as both too—as a presence surrounding us and a counterpart calling us. The response to the plea for the Holy Spirit is the Spirit’s coming and remaining, its outpouring and its indwelling. . . .
The astonishing thing is that here the Holy Spirit is seen not just as a divine Person but as a divine element too. The Spirit is “sent” and “comes” like a tempest; it spreads itself out over all living things, like the waters of a flood, pervading everything. If the Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit and the special presence of God, then when God’s Spirit is poured out, “all flesh” will be deified. All mortal flesh will be filled with the eternal life of God, for what comes from God is divine and eternal like God. . . .
In “the outpouring of God’s Spirit,” God opens [God’s self] and becomes what the mystic and poet Mechthild of Magdeburg calls “the outpouring and flowing Godhead.” In the source, the river and the lake, the quality of water is the same, but its flow is graduated. The transition from the Spirit itself to the Spirit’s many different energies . . . is as fluid as an emanation. The divine becomes the all-embracing presence in which what is human—indeed everything that lives—can develop fruitfully and live eternally.
References:
[1] Mechthild of Magdeburg, “Effortlessly, / Love flows from God into man,” Women in Praise of the Sacred: 43 Centuries of Spiritual Poetry by Women, ed. Jane Hirshfield (Harper Perennial: 1995), 93. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers.