The unity of faith based on the Apostolic faith (the Apostolic doctrine), the life of holiness based on continuous repentance and abiding in the Lord through the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and a life of continuous prayers between man and God, all lead to strengthening the feeling of the Church’s children that they are one Body. Thus each person cares for the other as he cares for himself. Consequently, the needy and poor will not feel neglected or not cared for.

The generosity on the offerings of the Church’s children doesn’t depend on their material goods and possessions, nor does it depend on our ability to convince them to contribute by giving them incentives, e.g. raffle prizes. Actually, it depends largely on their generosity of giving their hearts and lives to the Lord.

Fund raising on the ecclesiastical level is essentially different than fund raising on the secular level both in the essence of its meaning and ways of achieving it. The world encourages people to donate by using attractive ways, which appeal to their emotions, and offers worldly benefits to their contributions. However, in the Church the method of collecting contributions depends on strengthening the faith, purifying our lives, and deepening our relationship with God. The best way for the Church to increase Her congregation’s contributions is by concentrating on their services and spiritual growth.

May our Lord give us hearts always ready to give even out of our own needs and poverty.

The Church is giving us an opportunity to examine ourselves and repent before we are able to walk with Christ to the Cross and witness His Salvation.

Let us pray that we can all have a sacred fast. "Fasting and prayer are those who raised Elijah to heaven and saved Daniel from the lions den."

Four ways to avoid gossip:

1. Memorize Scriptures on gossip, and use them when you are tempted to gossip.
2. Excuse yourself from the situation and go do something else.
3. Respectfully tell the gossiper that you would rather not discuss the other person characters.
4. Suggest that the gossiper apply (matthew 18: 15-17). If he refuses to listen to them tell the church. And if he refuses to listen to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector and talk first to the person about whom he or she is speaking.

St. Julian was the Pope to sit on the chair of St. Mark. In the last days of his life, Archangel Michael appeared to him and told him that he will be soon departing the world. He also informed the Pope that God had chosen his successor: the man who will bring him a cluster of grapes, in the morning.

The next day, indeed, a man came to present him with a cluster of grapes. Bishop Julian declared to the people what the Archangel had told him. St. Demetrius who was married became the twelfth Pope of Alexandria.

After a while, Satan started spreading doubts in the hearts of the congregation regarding their Pope. The issue of him being married cause a division in the congregation and a lot of distraction.

The angel appeared to St. Demetrius and told him to declare to the people his secret: that he and his wife were living in virginity, because it is not meet for him to save his own soul, and let the people perish because of their doubts about him.

On the next Sunday, after he had finished celebrating the Divine Liturgy, he asked the people to stay in Church. He asked his wife to come in front of the whole congregation. After praying, he took a piece of flamed charcoal, placed it in his shawl, and another in his wife’s. Neither of their shawls burned. The congregation marveled and asked him to explain the meaning of what he had done. He told them that he and his wife had vowed the life of virginity when they were forced by their parents to marry. They did not break their vows and lived together as brother and sister for forty- eight years.

The congregation marveled for what they had seen and heard and asked the Pope’s forgiveness. They praised and glorified God. St. Demetrius forgave and blessed them.

We celebrate this occasion on the 12^th day of Baramhat, March 21^st. May his prayers and blessings be with us all. Amen.

St. John Chrysostom (Continued 3)

The present volume offers the most notable of St. John Chrysostom’s writings on marriage. In the course of his ministry he preached and published a series of sermons on each of the epistles of St. Paul. Naturally the subject of marriage and family relationships had to arise when he dealt with the epistles to the Corinthians and Ephesians. It seems that the homilies on these epistles date from his years in Antioch. The homilies on the epistles to the Colossians are attributed to his episcopate in Constantinople. Perhaps also at Constantinople St. John wrote a series of three sermons or treatises on marriage and divorce. In this volume we present Homily 19 on 1 Corinthians, Homilies 20 and 21 on Ephesians and Homily 12 on Colossians, translated by Father David Anderson, and the first and third sermons on marriage, translated by Catherine Roth. These versions are abridged in places. Complete translations of the homilies on the epistles of St. Paul may be found in the Library of the Fathers and of the Holy Catholic Church. The sermons on marriage have apparently not been previously been published in English though excerpts appear in Women in the Early Church by: Elizabeth A.

St John’s Homily 19 on 1 Corinthians 6 deals with the role of sexual relations in marriage. He emphasizes first of all the equality of husband and wife in this regard. Neither spouse should seek to abstain from sex without the consent of the other, and even then only temporarily. Such abstinence creates tensions in the home and often leads to adultery and divorce. St. John seems to be addressing some women in particular who have thought that they were practicing a righteous asceticism in abstaining from sex. He tells them that the continence which they think virtuous is actually sinful because of the harm it does to their marriage. Indeed, the proper valuation of sexual love is still a problem for Christin couples. Moral theologians have said too much about the value of virginity and about the sinfulness of the flesh and too little about the possibility of a transfigured human love. Some hagiography gives the impression that married saints are those who gave up their marital relations to live as brother and sister. This is not the way for most of us. As Evdokimos says: "It is not in spite of marriage but in its fulfillment that spouses live the supernatural and holiness of their union."

(Father Pishoy Kamel)

+ If you seek freedom from sin, then practice continuous meditation in Christ, Who is bound for your sake.

+ We should not take a simple look at the Cross, but rather meditate and be satisfied with it.

+ The fall of Jesus under the yoke of the cross = my resurrection and freedom from the bondage of sin.

+ If a person learns to taste the sweetness of Gods words and the cross, he will grumble against all the lusts of the body.

+ The traces of the nails are an everlasting witness of Gods love to us, and an everlasting sign of the shedding of blood and forgiveness.

+ For the trace of the spear is the place where the thirsty souls put their mouths to drink from the Slaughtered Lamb and to be filled by the Water of Life.

+ For whosoever does not feel the nails, will never reach Christ, who was nailed on the Cross.

(Father Pishoy Kamel)

1. Prophecies: The number of prophecies read during the day ranges between two and five throughout the whole week, except on Good Friday. On that day, in the first hour there are eleven read; in the third hour there are six, and in the evening hour prayers, there is only one reading.

2. Sermons: Sermons are given only in the first hour, as well as the ninth hour and the eleventh hour of the morning prayers of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

3. The Gospels: These are read in all the morning hours while in the evening hours, only one Gospel is read on Monday through Wednesday.

+ On Thursday, one Gospel text is read until the ninth hour of the morning.

+ Another Gospel (El Lakkan) is read at the eleventh hour, followed by the Gospel of the Divine Liturgy.

+ In the evening of Good Friday, we read the four Gospels from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

+ On Bright Saturday, we read one Gospel in the first, third, and sixth hours of the day, followed by the whole book of Revelation. Then, one Gospel is read on the ninth hour, followed by the Divine Liturgy.

4. Interpretation: Interpretation (El Tarh) is read after every Gospel.

The topics for the Holy Week follow the same pattern of those in texts read during Lent.

The first prophecy read during any hour of the day as well as the Pauline—if read--the Gospel and the Sermon, all speak about one topic. The rest of the prophecies fulfill the first prophecy. They are all arranged to fit the life of Jesus Christ during His last week on earth.