ORTHODOXY AND PRACTICAL LIFE 1

Bishop Moussa
 

In order to know how we can live as an orthodox person in today's society, we must understand two important things:

Orthodox life & Orthodox Calendar

Orthodox Life is based on three important pillars: * Repentance * Nutrition * Service.

Orthodox Calendar consists of: * Orthodox Day, * Orthodox Week, * Orthodox Month * Orthodox Year.

ORTHODOX LIFE

- In order to lead an orthodox life, we need to have repentance, nutrition and service. No one can consider him/herself orthodox if they do not repent, if they are not nourished spiritually, and if they do not serve and help others.

Repentance - the meaning of repentance is to turn away from your sins in order to live a holy life with the Lord. In our Orthodox Church, repentance is based on four important things:
- I must REGRET committing the sin
- I must INSIST on staying away from sin
- I must BELIEVE in the Blood of our Lord to cleanse me
- I must CONFESS my sins in the presence of a priest

We must confess to the priest because he is the servant of the sacrament of confession and the Holy Spirit works through the priest in order to give the Absolution of sins, and a Solution to our problems. This is orthodox repentance. We must have a confession father, we must be regular in confession and we must be obedient to the guidance of our confession father. If we do not practice these things, then our repentance is not orthodox.

Nutrition - Confession is good because it helps us on our path to salvation, but confession alone is not sufficient if we do not nourish ourselves spiritually.

After confessing our sins, we must nourish ourselves through prayer, reading the Bible, receiving Holy Communion, attending youth meetings and church services, and reading spiritual books. If we do not nourish ourselves in this way after confession and at all times, we will return to our sin once again.

Service - The orthodox person must be a caring person, sharing his/her spiritual gifts with others, and when you are older, you must all be members of the Servant Preparation class so that you can be future Sunday School servants in the church.
We must always serve others because we are all members in the body of Christ and we all belong to the family of orthodoxy.
Some ways in which we can serve is to encourage others to come to church, clean the church, be deacons if you are boys, visit the sick and the elderly and the lonely.

ORTHODOX CALENDAR

An orthodox person must have an orthodox day, an orthodox week, an orthodox month and an orthodox year.
Some of the things an orthodox person can do daily are: pray, read the bible, read from the Sinixarium of saints, read the sayings and Scriptures of the day from the Coptic Calendar, and read from the Agbia. The word 'Agbia' means hour, and in the Agbia, there are seven prayers:

Morning Prayer at 6am, commemorating the Lord's resurrection;
3rd Hour Prayer at 9am, commemorating the Holy Spirit's descent on the Apostles on the day of Pentecost.
6th Hour Prayer at 12pm, in remembrance of our Lord's crucifixion;
9th Hour Prayer at 3pm, remembering when our Lord died;
Sunset Prayer at 5pm, in remembrance of our Lord being taken off the cross;
Prayer Before Sleep (Compline) at 6pm, remembering when our Lord was laid in the tomb.
Midnight Prayers at 12am.

An orthodox person must pray as much as they can.

Some of the things an orthodox person can do weekly are: Attend the Holy Mass and receive the Holy Communion, and fast every Wednesday and Friday.

Some of the things an orthodox person can do monthly are: Confess, remember the commemoration days of St. Mary on the 21st and 29th day of every month, and the Archangel Michael on the 12th day of every month.

Some of the things an Orthodox person can do yearly are: Take part in the holy fasts of our church - Advent (Christmas Fast), Jonah's Fast, Lent, the Apostles' Fast and St. Mary's Fast. We must also rejoice with the church on feast days - Christmas, Epiphany, Palm Sunday, Easter, Apostles Feast, St. Mary's Feast, and El Nayrooz.

If we follow the orthodox calendar and live and take part in the events of the orthodox calendar, then we will live orthodox lives, and will always abide in the spirit of orthodoxy.

ORTHODOXY AND PRACTICAL LIFE 2

Bishop Moussa

"Beloved I pray that you may prosper in all things, and be in health, just as your soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, as you do walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth" (3 John 1:2-4).

It is important for us to have an integrated personality, and by this we mean being successful in all areas of human nature. The human personality is the combination of a person and society. Human beings consist of five important components : the SPIRIT with which we communicate with God, the MIND with which we study, think and analyse, the PSYCHE with which we feel, have desires and instincts, the BODY, and the RELATIONS which we have with those around us.

The outcome of these components = your personality.

If these five ingredients are not satisfied in the right way, then there will be a disturbance and imbalance in the personality. The Orthodox personality is one that has all these five components functioning together in harmony.

SPIRIT : with the spirit we communicate with God and with the metaphysical, and if we come into contact with God and possess God, then we will be divine human beings, just as Pope Athanasius once said, "One with God is the majority". The spirit is the most important component in a personality, because it adds infinity to you and adds God Himself to your life, and through prayer you are going to open your small heart to the heart of God, and your limited life to the life of the Lord, and your finite being to the infinite God. Sometimes we may feel weak, but we must never forget that God is with us, and just as St. Paul the Apostle wrote, "...when I am weak, then I am strong..." (2 Cor. 12:10). By this he meant that in weakness I am going to ask for the power of God to help me and strengthen me. We can obtain this power through reading the Bible, reading spiritual books, receiving the Holy Communion, praying from the Agbia as well as free prayer, and through repeating over and over, "My Lord Jesus Christ have mercy upon me!" This small prayer is called the 'arrow prayer' because it pierces the heavens and reaches the Lord, and we receive a reply on the spot. Do not neglect your spirit or else it will be atrophy - you must nourish your spirit.

MIND : human beings differ from animals because they have a mind and a spirit as well as a body and psyche, whereas animals only have body and psyche. Therefore we must utilise our mental ability through reading and studying and thinking, or else our mind will stop functioning and will be completely void of general knowledge. Sometimes, due to the age of technology and media, our thinking becomes redundant because all our thinking is done for us. But this is very dangerous because eventually our minds will become stagnate and will not be willing to think. The orthodox personality is prosperous both spiritually and mentally, just as St. Peter says, "...grow in grace and knowledge..." (2 Peter 3:18 ), otherwise our life will not be balanced.

PSYCHE : The biggest problem with instincts and emotions is how to control them. Sexual desires are heavenly and holy because through them you are going to receive the sacrament of marriage and then bear children; thereby increasing the number of saints on earth as well as in heaven. Also, the desire to eat is important because without this desire, you will die. Likewise, curiosity is very important because without it we would not have been able to discover or invent. Emotions are also important for expressing and experiencing love for your family and friends. But one thing is required in all these things : CONTROL.

BODY : These days there is total lack of self control over our eating habits. If you take a typical day, consider how many times we eat : breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack, supper, pizza! Yes we must feed the body, but have self control through fasting. And it is also important to keep the body healthy by doing sports and activities and having enough sleep, and abstaining from drinking, drugs and smoking.

RELATIONS : It is important for us to lead a happy life: at home with our family, at church through being an active and participating member, and in society, where we must have a sociable personality that can socialise without being lost - interacting with strong flexibility and always being a good example.

"...add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control; perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and do abound, they keep you from being either barren or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:5-7)

FAMILY

I ran into a stranger as he passed by. "Oh excuse me please" was my reply. He said, "Please excuse me too; I wasn't watching for you." We were

very polite, this stranger and I. We went on our way and we said good-bye.

But at home a different story is told, how we treat our loved ones, young and old. Later that day, cooking the evening meal, my son stood beside

me very still. When I turned, I nearly knocked him down. "Move out of the way," I said with a frown. He walked away, his little heart broken. I didn't

realize how harshly I'd spoken.

While I lay awake in bed, God's still small voice came to me and said, "While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use, but the children you

love, you seem to abuse. Go look on the kitchen floor, you'll find some flowers there by the door."

"Those are the flowers he brought for you. He picked them himself; pink yellow and blue. He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise, and you

never saw the tears that filled his little eyes."

By this time, I felt very small, and now my tears began to fall. I quietly went and knelt by his bed;
"Wake up, little one, wake up," I said. "Are these the flowers you picked for me?"
He smiled, "I found 'em out by the tree."
"I picked 'em because they're pretty like you. I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."
I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today; I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."
He said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay. I love you anyway."
I said, "Son, I love you too, and I do like the flowers, especially the blue"

Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left

behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives

And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our own family, an unwise investment indeed, don't you think?

So what is behind the story?
Do you know what the word FAMILY means?

FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER, (I), (L)OVE, (Y)OU

Work to do

A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and the Lord appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin.

The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. This the man did day after day. For many years he toiled from sunup to sundown, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, Pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore, and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain. Since the man was showing signs of discouragement, the devil decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man's weary mind:

"You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn't budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it."

Thus, giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man.

"Why kill myself over this?" he thought. "I'll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough."

And that is what he planned to do, until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the
Lord. "Lord," he said, "I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?"

The Lord responded compassionately, "My friend, when I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it.
Your task was to push. And now you come to me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back is sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure,
and your legs have become massive and hard.

Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven't moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This you have done. I, my friend, will now move the rock."

At times, when we hear a word from the Lord, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what the Lord wants is just simple obedience and faith in Him....

By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still the Lord who moves the mountains. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes ... Romans 1:16

When everything seems to go wrong ... just P.U.S.H.!
When the job gets you down ... just P.U.S.H.!
When people don't react the way you think they should just P.U.S.H.!
When your money looks "gone" and the bills are due ... just P.U.S.H.!
When people just don't understand you ... just P.U.S.H.!

P.U.S.H. = Pray Until Something Happens!!!!!

“ Pray without ceasing.( 1 Thessalonians ) “

“ But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer( 1 Peter 4:7 ).”

“ And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer [it] with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.(revelation 8:3 )
“ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.(Romans 1:16 )”

"So, you would like to interview me?" God asked.

"If you have the time," I said.

God said with a smile, "My time is eternity. What questions would you like to ask me?"

"What surprises you most about man-kind?"

God answered, "That they get bored with childhood. They rush to grow up, and then long to be children again."

"That they lose their health to make money, and then lose their money to restore their health."

"That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live in neither the present, nor the future."

"That they live as if they will never die, and die as if they had never lived."

God’s hand took mine, and we were silent for awhile. Then I asked, "As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons you want your children to learn?"

God replied with a smile, "To learn they cannot make anyone love them. What they can do is let themselves be loved."

"To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others."

"To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least."

"To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love, and it takes many years to heal them.."

"To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness."

"To learn that there are persons who love them dearly, but simply do not know how to express or show their feelings."

"To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it differently."

"To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others, but that they must forgive themselves."

"And to learn that I am always here."

A PRAY FOR LOVE , found with Pope's Kyrillos handwriting :

LORD , God and savior Jesus Christ ,

who knows what's in everyone's heart and kidneys, who gives love and implants it in the heart so that we feel it and understand its value, even if we apart from each other . Yes LORD, this is a great heavenly gift, You give it to people who unite in one heart, always asking in their prayers and supplications saying " O LORD plant the tree of pure love in us. " We ask You O God to keep the tree growing more and more to give its fruits thirty, sixty and a hundred .

Christ of God who is rich in mercy, protect us with Your powerful hand from the evil one, who makes our souls grim with anger in an instant, without us noticing. He can also make us say things that can hurt others, while when we think it over again on our own we regret it. And, as You know, O Master, that we are powerless against his tricks, make us victorious over him, and control him so that he can't come over us. Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watching over the door of my lips. Make us able to consider the insults from others to our benefits, to feel humble. Hold us with Your right hand and protect us by the shadow of Your wings, and guide our steps on the path of righteousness. Glory, honor, dominion and worship are due to You together with Your Father and the Life - Giving and consubstantial Holy Spirit , now and forever.

" Amen ."

Everyone has Problems

A mother who had lost her only son went to the man of religion in her village and said: "Is there anything you can give me to reduce the pain that I feel?"

"Yes," he said. "There is a wonderful thing you can do. I want you to go and get me a mustard seed from a home that has no roblems. Such a mustard seed can ward off all problems. When you find it, bring it to me and I will use it to relieve your pain." So the mother started out and came to a big mansion. Nothing could possibly be wrong here! She knocked on the door, told what she was looking for, and they answered, "You've come to the wrong house." And then they told her all their problems.

As she was listening to their problems, she thought, "I know something about problems... Maybe I can help these people with theirs." So she listened to them; and this helped people.

She kept on searching for her magic mustard seed. But no matter where she went, she could not find that seed. Everyone everywhere had some kind of troubles.

But she really did find the magic mustard seed, because in trying to help others solve their problems, she forgot all about her own.

Dear God

I promise I will never waste my food no matter how bad it tastes and how full I may be.
I pray that You will protect this little boy, guide and deliver him away from his misery.
I pray that we will be more sensitive towards the world around us and not be blinded by our own selfish nature and interests. AMEN.

I hope this picture will always serve as a reminder to us for how fortunate we are and that we must never never take things for granted.

On this good day, how about we make a prayer for the suffering, anywhere else around the globe?

May all of us get His blessing. Think & look at this...when you complain about your food.
 

A TRICK

A young man, a student in one of our universities, was one day taking a walk with a professor, who was commonly called the students' friend, from his kindness to those who waited on his instructions.

As they went along, they saw lying in the path a pair of old shoes, which they supposed to belong to a poor man who was employed in a field close by, and who had nearly finished his day's work.

The student turned to the professor, saying: "Let us play the man a trick: we will hide his shoes, and conceal ourselves behind those bushes, and wait to see his perplexity when he cannot find them."

"My young friend," answered the professor, "we should never amuse ourselves at the expense of the poor. But you are rich, and may give yourself a much greater pleasure by means of the poor man. Put a coin into each shoe, and then we will hide ourselves and watch how the discovery affects him."

The student did so, and they both placed themselves behind the bushes close by.

The poor man soon finished his work, and came across the field to the path where he had left his coat and shoes. While putting on his coat he slipped his foot into one of his shoes; but feeling something hard, he stooped down to feel what it was, and found the coin.

Astonishment and wonder were seen upon his countenance. He gazed upon the coin, turned it round, and looked at it again and again. He then looked around him on all sides, but no person was to be seen. He now put the money into his pocket, and proceeded to put on the other shoe; but his surprise was doubled on finding the other coin.

His feelings overcame him; he fell upon his knees, looked up to heaven and uttered aloud a fervent thanksgiving, in which he spoke of his wife, sick and helpless, and his children without bread, whom the timely bounty, from some unknown hand, would save from perishing.

The student stood there deeply affected, and his eyes filled with tears. "Now," said the professor, "are you not much better pleased than if you had played your intended trick?"

The youth replied, "You have taught me a lesson which I will never forget. I feel now the truth of those words, which I never understood before: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"
 

The History of The 12 Days Of Christmas

There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me. What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the
partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a
catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit-Prophecy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit- Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness,Gentleness and Self Control.
The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.
The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

May God grant you peace and happiness throughout this Christmas Season. here is the song ....

The Twelve Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me
A partridge in a pear tree.

On the second day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me
Two turtle doves

On the third day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me
Three french hens

On the fourth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me
Four calling birds

On the fifth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me
Five golden rings

On the sixth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me
Six geese a-laying

On the seventh day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me
Seven swans-a-swimming

On the eighth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me
Eight maids a-milking

On the ninth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me
Nine ladies dancing

On the tenth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me
Ten lords a-leaping

On the eleventh day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me
Eleven pipers piping

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me
Twelve drummers drumming

Bag of Cookies

A woman was waiting, At an airport one night With several long hours, Before her flight. She hunted for a book in the airport gift shop, Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to sit and wait.

She was engrossed in her book, but happened to see that the man sitting beside her, as bold as could be, Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between, Which she tried to ignore, to avoid a scene.

So she munched the cookies, and watched the clock as the gutsy cookie thief, Diminished her stock. She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by thinking: "If I wasn't so nice, I would have blackened his eye."

With each cookie she took, he took one too when only one was left. She wondered what he would do. With a smile on his face, and a nervous laugh, he took the last cookie and broke it in half.

He offered her half, As he ate the other. She thought: "Oh, brother!" This guy has some nerve, and he is also rude. Why didn't he even show any gratitude!

She sighed with relief, When her flight was called. She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate, Refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate. She boarded the plane, and sank in her seat. Then she sought her book, which was almost complete. As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise. There was her bag of cookies, In front of her eyes. If mine are here - she moaned in despair - the other was his and he tried to share.

Too late to apologize, she realized with grief that she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief!

How many times have we absolutely known that something was a certain way only to discover later that what we believed to be true .. was not!

DON'T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS! YOU MAY BE WRONG!!
 

Please take a moment to relax your mind and humble your heart to focus on Christ. Allow God, to be the only person on your mind while you read this prayer. If we can take the time to read long jokes, stories, etc., we should give the same respect to this prayer. Friends that pray together, stay together.

Dear Lord, I thank You for this day. I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to you. I ask now for Your forgiveness.

Please keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each and every day to clear my mind so that I can hear from You.

Please broaden my mind that I can accept all things.

Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over. Let me continue to see sin through God's eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, let me repent, and confess with my mouth my wrongdoing, and receive the forgiveness of God.

And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus' example-to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can't pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do Your will.

Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak. Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those that are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those that are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who don't know You intimately. I pray for those that will delete this without sharing it with others. I pray for those that don't believe. But I thank you that I believe.

I believe that God changes people and God changes things. I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For each and every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met.

I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than God. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight. I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them willingly.

This is my prayer.
In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Just repeat this phrase and see how God moves!!
Lord I love you and I need you, come into my heart, please.

God Bless!

The Star of Bethlehem

"…There ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the Child was." (Matthew 2:9)

In the Holy Gospel of St. Matthew, the Magi appear as "wise men" guided by a star from the East to Jerusalem where they sought out the new born King of the Jews. Coming from the East denotes the magi are outside of Israel. Scholars seem to think the Magi perhaps came from the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates, where astronomy was cultivated early by the Chaldeans.

The Israelites seem to have devoted little study to astronomy. Many Israelites it is thought believed the study of stars would encourage idolatry of star worship. Therefore there was no abundance of knowledge related to the study of stars among the Israelite culture. Regular patterns of travel of the stars and planets were sufficiently known to produce a calendar with the dates of holy days and festivals.

The star appearing in the days of Herod the Great of Judea (37-4BC) was a new star appearing for the first time. And only this one time did it appear. Frequently called "the Star of Bethlehem," this star was definitely an unusual brilliant celestial body that captured the attention of those who followed it.

Bethlehem was a town some five or so miles south of Jerusalem. By the time of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, Bethlehem the once famous City of David, had become an obscure village. Bethlehem is first mentioned in the Holy Bible as being located near the burial place of Rachel and was called Ephrath (Genesis 35:19). Bethlehem was the home of Boaz who married Ruth. It was home to Jesse, David's father (I Samuel 16). It was prophesied in the Old Testament that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). Herod the Great's priests reminded him of this prophecy and the wise men were sent to look for the Child in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1-8).

Origen the Scholar states, "The star that was seen in the east we consider to have been a new star, unlike any of the other well-known planetary bodies…Yet, it had the nature of those celestial bodies that appear at times, such as comets…It has been observed that, on the occurrence of great events, and of mighty changes in earthly things, such stars are apt to appear, indicating either the removal of dynasties or the breaking out of wars…There is a prophecy of Balaam recorded by Moses to this effect: 'There will arise a star out of Jacob, and a man will rise up out of Israel."

In the Old Testament Balaam was one of the Magi predecessors, a Gentile who also anticipated the coming of a King among the Jews.

Why would wise men follow this most famous star seeking to worship a King not from among their own religion but instead from among the Jews? The answer may lie in the fact that the religion of the wise men was similar to the Jews. Originating from Persia, the magi believed in one God, did not worship idols, and worshiped light as symbolic of God. It was expected from the ancient of times that a great king would rise up out of the Jewish population. A child from Heaven would come who would restore the golden age to the Jewish nation. This expected child documented in ancient literature would take away all sin.

The prophet Daniel was a prince and chieftain among this particular class of magi or wise men. Through the Holy Book of Daniel, Daniel's prophecies and calculations of when the Lord Jesus Christ should be born were made known to the wise men that followed the star.

Origen stated the "star was not any of the constellations existing in the sky that was made to be the star of the East. Rather, it was something of another order, appointed for this purpose and in the service of the knowledge of Jesus."

The Holy Gospel of St. Matthew further alludes to the Old Testament prophecy that "a star shall come out of Jacob and a scepter shall rise out of Israel." (Numbers 24:17) The reference to a star in ancient time signified a god or deified king.

What exactly did the Bethlehem star signify? It signified the extraordinary importance of the birth of the Christ Child. The star followed by the wise men was a sign of the Messiah Himself, signifying the true light He was certain to shed upon the world.

St. Ignatius of the first century tells us regarding the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, "How, then was He manifested to the world? A star shone forth in Heaven above all the other stars. The light from this star was inexpressible, and its uniqueness struck men with astonishment."

"When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him." (Matthew 2:10-11)

The worship of the infant Lord Jesus Christ following His Holy birth by the Magi was symbolic of the Church. As it has often been said, the Church, the true Israel determines its membership by faith and not by ethnic lineage.

The wise men received knowledge of the newly born Lord Jesus Christ through observation of a star. It is interesting to note that the chief priests of the temple in Jerusalem including the high priest who alone can enter into the Holiest of All (Hebrew 9:7) had no idea that the Messiah had been born and where. God in His infinite wisdom revealed His Truth to those with a noble and good heart earnestly seeking to worship Him.

The Lord Jesus Christ found by an astoundingly brilliant star that would appear only one time from the East was to become our everlasting bright and morning star (Revelation 22:16).

May the faith of the three who followed the star from the East abide in us all,

His Grace Bishop Youssef
Bishop, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States

A young lady named Sally, relates an experience she had in a seminary class, given by her teacher, Dr. Smith. She says that Dr. Smith was known for his elaborate object lessons.

One particular day, Sally walked into the seminary and knew they were in for a fun day.

On the wall was a big target and on a nearby table were many darts.

Dr. Smith told the students to draw a picture of someone that they disliked or someone who had made them angry, and he would allow them to throw darts at the person's picture.

Sally's friend drew a picture of who had stolen her boyfriend. Another friend drew a picture of his little brother. Sally drew a picture of a former friend, putting a great deal of detail into her drawing, even drawing pimples on the face. Sally was pleased with the overall effect she had achieved.

The class lined up and began throwing darts. Some of the students threw their darts with such force that their targets were ripping apart. Sally looked forward to her turn, and was filled with disappointment when Dr. Smith, because of time limits, asked the students to return to their seats. As Sally sat thinking about how angry she was because she didn't have a chance to throw any darts at her target.

Dr. Smith began removing the target from the wall.

Underneath the target was a picture of Jesus.

A hush fell over the room as each student viewed the mangled picture of Jesus; holes and jagged marks covered His face and His eyes were pierced.

Dr. Smithsaid only these words... "In as much as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto Me. "Matthew 25:40."

No other words were necessary; the tears filled eyes of the students focused only on the picture of Christ.

This is an easy test; you score100 orzero. It's your choice.

If you aren't ashamed to do this, please follow the directions.

Jesus said, "If you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you, before My Father."

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