“I will praise you with my whole heart; Before the Gods (angels) I will sing praises to You.” (Psalms 138:1)
The Lord Jesus Christ said: “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming” (Matthew 25:13). Following this commandment from the Lord our beloved Church arranged the Midnight praises. In the litanies of the First Watch of the Midnight Prayers we say: “Behold, the Bridegroom is coming at midnight, blessed is the man whom He finds watching” Praise teaches us how to prepare ourselves from inside to receive Christ the King when we partake of the Holy Communion. Our Orthodox Church has arranged rites and prayers to allow us to offer praise, such as:
The Church fathers described our weekends like a race; we begin the race at Church on Saturday night by attending Vespers, then Midnight praises, then we go home to sleep, then return to Church very early on Sunday morning to attend the Divine Liturgy. In every race, there is always a winner. When we partake of the Holy Communion, we are the winners! Receiving the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is our prize. The Praises in our Orthodox Church come from: o The Holy Bible o The Book of Psalms o The teachings of the fathers of the church (accurate and deep theological understandings) The Midnight Praises The Midnight praises include these hymns: 1. First Canticle (Hoos): It is the praise of the Israelites lead by Miriam, Moses’ sister after crossing the Red Sea, they thanked God for saving them from the Pharaoh and his army. 2. Second Canticle (Hoos): We sing Psalm 135 which says, “O Give thanks to the Lord for He is good and His mercy endures forever” 3. Third Canticle (Hoos): Which is the praise of the three saintly children in the fiery pit. 4. Fourth Canticle (Hoos): We invite the whole creation to join us in praising the Lord. 5. Lobsh: It means explanation, it is a hymn that we sing at the end of every Canticle. 6. Psali: A song or glorification to our Lord Jesus Christ 7. Theotokias: Glorifications for St. Mary (The Theotokos) 8. Doxologies: Glorifications to one of the saints or feasts 9. Commemoration of the saints: We remember all the saints and ask God to forgive our sins through their intercessions. The beauty of praises is that its tunes change based on the season:
The Midnight praises is a symphony of beautiful tunes that we offer to our God carrying our praise, prayers and supplications. The month of Kiahk: The Midnight Praises during the month of Kiahk are very special. during the Nativity Fast. The Church takes this opportunity to glorify St. Mary and commemorate the incarnation and birth of our Lord Jesus Christ We call the month of Kiahk the Mary month as we celebrate St. Mary’s role in our salvation. We pray Tasbeha (Midnight Praises) in a very special tune, called the Kiahk Tune.
When we attend the Midnight praises, we should: 1. Come to Church on time to attend the praises from the beginning 2. There should be no talking or unnecessary movements. Those who are chanting are doing the same job as the angels 3. Sing the hymns with a clear and loud voice 4. Focus on the words of the hymns and contemplate on them 5. Encourage others to attend the Midnight Praises Praising will be our only work in Heaven. Our church gives us the opportunity to start praising here on Earth. May the blessings of the month of Kiahk and the Nativity Fast be with us all Amen!
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St. Athanasius the Apostolic
As Pope….
St. Timothy
St. Theophilus
St. Cyril the Great- “The Pillar of Faith”
Pope Dioscorus
Lessons we learn from our fathers who defended the faith:
This month let’s talk about 4 very memorable Popes in the history of our church!
Pope Demetrius – The Vine Dresser (12th Pope)
Pope Heraclas (13th Pope)
Pope Dionysius (14th Pope)
Pope Peter I – The Seal of the Martyrs (17th Pope)
May the prayers of our fathers the patriarchs, Pope Demetrius, Pope Heraclas, Pope Dionysius, and Pope Peter I be with us all Amen. Learning about our Church history is very important. We see God’s Hand in protecting our Church even until today. Throughout the years our Faith has been protected and handed down to us. The more we learn about our Church History the more we are proud of our Church and its traditions. “In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt” Isaiah 19:21
What does Coptic mean?
The Holy Family visited Egypt for about 3 years.
And will come into Egypt; The idols of Egypt will totter at His presence, …. In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border.” (Isaiah 19:1, 19) When did our beloved Coptic Church begin AND by who?
Titles of St Mark:
St Mark’s achievements:
Our Church even though it is Ancient Church, it is still fruitful even until today! May the Lord bless our beloved Church. Throughout the year, our Coptic Orthodox Church has many days of Fasting; everyone in our Church should be fasting during these special days. Fasting is when you don’t eat certain foods. The Holy Bible gives us many examples of fasting and how important it is for ALL OF US to fast together. “So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer.” Ezra 8:23 The people of Nineveh fasted After Jonah was saved from the BIG fish, God told him to go to a place called Nineveh. Jonah obeyed and told all the people that if they don’t start obeying God the city will be destroyed. The people believed Jonah, so they all fasted and asked God to forgive them. God heard their prayers and saw that they weren’t doing bad things anymore and forgave them. (Jonah 3:5-10) The people of Nineveh were saved by their prayer and fasting. Queen Esther and the people fasted In the Holy Bible, there is a story about Queen Esther; she had a problem that needed to be solved. She told all the people to fast and pray. “Fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise” (Esther 4:16). Everyone obeyed and fasted with her, she did not fast alone. By their prayer and fasting the problem was solved! Fasting is something that God commanded us to do and Jonah and Queen Esther show us how powerful fasting is. Every fast in our church has a reason. Did you know that throughout the year our Church fasts every Wednesday and Friday (except for 50 days after the Resurrection Feast)? It was on Wednesday when Judas betrayed our Lord Jesus Christ and on Friday, our Lord Jesus Christ was on the cross. This is why we fast on these days every week. In the church history also, we know this famous story about the move of the “Mokkatam Mountain” by fasting & prayer: there once was a ruler who challenged the Pope with the verse in the Bible that by faith, we can move mountains. The Pope asked the WHOLE congregation to fast and pray for three days and the miracle happened, the mountain has moved & the sun rays were seen from underneath. Other examples of people who fasted are found in the Holy Bible:
1- Moses fasted for forty days & forty nights before he received the Commandments from God (Deuteronomy 9) 2- Elijah also fasted for forty days &forty nights before he had a revelation from God (I Kings 19) 3- Daniel & the 3 Young Youths fasted in the King’s Palace (Daniel 2) 4- Our Lord Jesus Christ fasted forty days & forty nights to teach us to fast (Matthew 2) Should fasting be only in secret? Fasting can be in secret if it’s an individual fast which means the person decided upon the guidance of his/her father of confession to offer a fast before an interview or before making a major decision in life. There is another kind of fast that can be revealed and be known by everybody which is called corporal fast or church fast or congregational fast. This kind of fast the believers practice it together. For example, Great Lent, Apostles fast, etc. There are many examples of the congregational fast in the Holy Bible; 1- God’s people fasted in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. “Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth and with dust on their heads” Nehemiah 9: 1 2- God’s people fast in the days of Joel the prophet. "Even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, and call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.” Joel 2:12&15 3- The apostles fasted together. “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.” Acts 13:2-3 Here we how important for the apostles to fast together before laying of hands of the apostleship. Corporal or congregational fasting is evident and biblical teaching. It demonstrates unity of the members of the Body of Christ. During this fast nobody is more distinguished than the other, but everyone still keeps the depth and the level of his fast in secret. Orthodox Christians have fixed times for fasting. Each time has a significant spiritual meaning. Having fixed times for fasting is a biblical teaching "Thus says the Lord of hosts: 'the fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, And the fast of the tenth, Shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.” Zechariah 8:19 Here we find God has assigned fixed times every year to be for certain celebrations. Orthodox Christians have a fasting system that is biblically supported In our Orthodox church, we abstain from eating for a certain time then after which the person eats vegetarian food (void of animals’ fats). What are the biblical references to eating vegetarian during fasting? 1- The food which God gave Adam and Eve in Paradise was vegetarian. “Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food”. Genesis 1:29 2- Meat was only allowed to be eaten after the flood and coming out of Noah’s Ark. “Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.” Genesis 9:2 3- In The wilderness of Sinai, God gave His people vegetarian food. ‘The manna”. “The manna was like coriander seed and looked like resin. The people went around gathering it, and then ground it in a hand mill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into cakes. And it tasted like something made with olive oil.” Numbers 11:7-8 God did not allow them to eat meet except when they wailed and groaned and were low in spirit. 4- Daniel and the three youths ate vegetarian, God blessed those foods so their health was better than all the kings’ servants. The Orthodox Christians do not abstain from eating meet and its product during fasting as unclean foods but as an ascetic (disciplined) practice. The Orthodox Church ABSTAINS from eating animal products only during fasting but The Church does NOT PROHIBIT it. Who have the authority to regulate the fasting and its time and length? The Church (the Holy Synod consisting of the patriarch and the Bishops) is given full authority to make these decisions decide. Who gave the church that authority? The Lord Jesus Christ Himself when He said "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 18:18 * What foods we should and should not eat during the fast? Even kids can fast, talk about fasting with Abouna so he can tell you how you should fast. WE SHOULD ALL FAST TOGETHER!! Following the Great Lent (Fast) our Orthodox Church celebrates a very important feast. This feast is called the Resurrection Feast. “He is not here, but is risen!” Luke 24:6 On Good Friday our Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross. Then He was placed in a tomb and a BIG stone was placed in front of the cave so no one could take His body. To be safe they even placed a guard in front of the tomb to make sure our Lord Jesus Christ cannot get out. After 3 days, very early on Sunday morning, it was still dark, the sun didn’t even come up yet, a woman named St. Mary Magdalene and some other women went to the tomb. St. Mary Magdalene was a woman who loved our Lord Jesus Christ very, very much, she loved to learn from Him and spend a lot of time with Him. She had a lot of faith and our Lord knew that her faith was strong and how much she really loved Him.
Our Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross but He raised Himself from the dead, He Resurrected!! Can anyone do this? NO, only our Lord Jesus Christ can do this, because He is our Lord, our God, and He saved us and because He resurrected we will be able to be with Him in Heaven Our Lord Jesus Christ is alive!! He is here with us and sees everything we do and HE loves us more than anyone in the world, He created us and He died for us. We as witnesses to our Lord, preach His resurrection from the dead; just like we say during the Holy Liturgy: “Your death O Lord we proclaim, and Your Holy Resurrection and Ascension we confess” Furthermore, St. Paul, in his 1st epistle to the Corinthians is telling us that our faith would be empty and our preaching empty if Christ is not risen. Why was it necessary for Christ to rise? 1- In Him was life: He who has life in Him cannot remain dead. He said to Martha “I am the resurrection and the life.” John 11:25. Also, in the book or revelation, He says: “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.” Rev 1:18. For these reasons, the angel of the resurrection rebuked the women saying “Why for you see the living among the dead?” Luke 24:5 2- He Himself raised many others from death with a mere command: He is the raiser of dead; it was not difficult for Him to rise. “For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.” John 5:21. He who gives life to others can for sure raise Himself. 3- He fulfilled the prophecies: He told His disciples about the things that will happen to Him. After the transfiguration, He instructed them saying “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.” Matt 17:9 He also said to His disciples in Galilee “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” Matt 17:22,23 4- To prove that He was not a common man: His immediate resurrection proved His divinity especially because He rose by Himself without help from anyone 5- His divine nature was never separated from His human nature: Our Lord Jesus died as a human. His spirit was separated from the body, but His divine nature was never separated from the spirit or the body. In His death, the Spirit united with the divine nature went to Hades to preach the imprisoned spirits, while His body remained in the tomb united with His divine nature. Thus, it was necessary for that body united with the divine nature to rise and not remain dead. 6- By His death, He exterminated the power of death: to proclaim His victory over death and to announce to all peoples that death would have no sting “O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” 1 Corinthians 15:55. 7- His resurrection was under His own influence and authority: He died by His own will and has power over His life, as He said “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” John 10:17,18 This is how we should greet each other when we celebrate the Resurrection Feast & during the 50 Joyful Days after the Resurrection:
Ekhristos anesti! Alithos anesti! Pikhristos aftonf! Khen omethmi aftonf! Christ is Risen, Truly He is Risen!! |
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