Vol 2 Issue 2 Tobi - Mechir 1712 AM / February 1996 AD Message from the editing crew: In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God, Amen February 19th of this year marks the beginning of the holy lent. This is a very special, spiritual time in our church. Lent is a blessed occasion for all Christians where we try to enhance our spiritual lives and practices in order to be closer to God. Fa sting is not just a diet we follow for a certain number of days, there is a whole different meaning to it than just that. Fasting is a period to forget about worldly needs and to chastise both our body and soul. Fasting and praying are of the important co rner stones of Christian life. Lent is the time where we can combine the two for an extended period of time. Praying to God for others, for the peace of the world, and for salvation are some of many things we can do during Lent. Increasing our church serv ices, community activities, and fellowship are also to be combined with our prayers during this special time of the year. Miracles could, and do, happen as a result of fasting, praying, and doing work. May God bless us all during this holy Lent and throug hout the years, and show us the way to a better spiritual life through our fasting and praying. Coptic Calendar Feb 5-7, Jonah's Fasting Feb 8, Feast of Jonah Feb 10, Departure of St. Boula Feb 15, Feast of Jesus' entry to Feb 19, Beginning of Lent UPCOMING EVENTS: +A retreat for families is scheduled on February 19th at church. The retreat will begin with a mass service from 9AM to 11AM. Then there will be two lectures and discussion sessions throughout the day. A guest speaker will talk about a family worshipping. All family members are welcome, young and old. It will be a great blessing for all of us to spend this spiritual day at the beginning of Lent. For more information contact Amani Botros or Fr. Moussa. +++ +A retreat for the youth group is scheduled on February 23-24. We will start the retreat on Friday night the 23rd at 7:30 PM and conclude on Saturday night the 24th at 8:15 PM sharp. The retreat will be held at the Grotonwood Retreat center located in Groton, MA. Directions: From the church: Take 90 west to 495 North. Take exit 31 from 495. Then go West on Route 119 for 4.5 miles until you reach the Grotonwood retreat center. The schedule for the retreat will be as follows: Friday, February 23 7:00pm-8:30pm Social Gathering (A light supper will be served) 8:30pm-9:00pm Prayers from the Agpeya 9:00pm-12:00pm Free time Saturday, February 24 8:30am-9:00am Morning prayer 9:00am-10:00am Breakfast 10:00am-11:15am Lecture 1: Pressures of Society - Nagwa Fanous, Wafik Farag, and Joe Ibrahim 11:15am-11:45am Break 11:45am-1:00pm Lecture 2: Dating and Marriage - Father Maritous of Connecticut 1:00pm-2:00pm Lunch 2:00pm-5:00pm Free Time 5:00pm-6:15pm Lecture 3: Evangelism - Azer Bestavros and Sherif Botros 6:15pm-7:15pm Dinner 7:15pm-7:45pm Contest on Philippians and evaluation of retreat 7:45pm-8:15pm Pack and Leave As part of the retreat, a 30 minute multiple choice contest will be given on St. Paul's epistle to the Philippians. Prizes will be awarded to the top scores. Please study this epistle before coming to the retreat. The retreat center has a gymnasium which contains basketball and volley ball courts. Also, there are ping pong tables, pool tables, a game room, and other recreational facilities for everyone's use. Outdoor activities include ice skating and cross-country skiing. We encourage people to bring ath letic wear to make good use of the three hour free time. Locker rooms with showers are available. We want to encourage everyone to come to this retreat. The topics of discussion will be interesting and very well prepared. Please encourage everyone to come. We are expecting over 35 people. Let us all pray for a successful retreat. -Joe Ibrahim A Prayer: --------------- By Dina Bishay The Difference I got up early one morning and rushed right into the day; I had so much to accomplish that I didn't have time to pray. Problems just tumbled about me, and heavier came each task. "Why doesn't God help me?" I wondered. He answered, "You didn't ask." I wanted to see joy and beauty, but the day toiled on, gray and bleak; I wondered why God didn't show me, He said, "But you didn't seek." I tried to come into God's presence; I used all my keys at the lock. God gently and lovingly chided, "My child, you didn't knock." I woke up early this morning, and paused before entering the day; I had so much to accomplish that I had to take time to pray. A Hymn -------- (from CN) Fasting and Praying -˜-˜-˜-˜Refrain -˜-˜-˜-˜ Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia Jesus by whom all things were made For us He fasted and He prayed -˜-˜-˜-˜-˜-˜-˜-˜-˜-˜ The glory of these fourty days We do celebrate with songs of praise Grant us O Lord a heart all new Flowing with love and peace from You. -˜-˜-˜-˜ To You I pray; have pitty on me be gracious and answer my plea. Do not withhold Your face from me Forgive my sins and set me free. -˜-˜-˜-˜ Happy are those forgiven by God Their sins blotted out by the Savior's blood. Have Mercy Lord and wash me clean Like white snow let my spirit be. -˜-˜-˜-˜ To You O Lord I offer my soul In You my God I place my trust. Look down on me, have mercy O Lord Forgive my sins, behold my grief. -˜-˜-˜-˜ You are my joy, my refuge and strength With all my heart I praise You, Lord. My soul will sing, my heart will rejoice Your blessings O God will fill my days. -˜-˜-˜-˜ FROM OUR YOUTH MEETINGS ------------------------ The Blessings (El Baraka) By Wafik Farag Many times when we stand to pray we ask for a lot of things, things for our needs or for other's needs. In fact, there is one request that satisfies all our needs: The Blessing. "The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it." Pro 10:22 In the Lord's blessing, we receive every thing we can imagine and even more than what we imagined to have. What do we need blessing for? We need blessing for our lives, family, homes, churches, meetings, country, mankind, etc. ... We ask our Lord to bless our land, our crop and many other things in the holy mass. Blessing is a gift from God The first gift from God after he created man was to give him His blessings. "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'" Gen 1:27-28 After the great flood of Noah, God started with His blessings once more: "So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, one every bird of the air, on all that moves on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs." Gen 9:1-3. +The first thing God did with Abram when he was selected was blessing him: "Now the Lord had said to Abram: 'Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will ble ss you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Gen 12:1-3 "Now Abraham was old, well-advanced in age; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things." Gen 24:1 "So he said, 'I am Abraham's servant.' The LORD has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys." Gen 24:34-35 +Jacob's struggle for blessing: "And He said, 'Let Me go, for the day breaks.' But he said, 'I will not let You go unless You bless me!'" Gen 32:26 "So He said to him, 'What is your name?' And he said, 'Jacob.'" 32:27 "And He said, 'Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel' for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed." Gen 32:28 "Then Jacob Asked Him, saying 'Tell me Your name, I pray.' And He said, 'Why is it that you ask about My name?' And He blessed him there." Gen 32:29 + We pray for blessing: "God be merciful to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us. Selah." Psalms 67:1 + The angel blessed St. Mary: "And having come in, the angel said to her, 'Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!'" Luke 1:28 + God blesses a whole nation: "In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, 'Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel, My inheritance.'" Isaiah 19:2 4-25 Importance of blessing: God identified those who enter the kingdom of heaven as being blessed by Him: "Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Obedience as a corner stone for blessing The Holy bible links obedience with blessings: "Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God." Deu 28:1-2 +The Bible also warned those who do not obey: "But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city , and cursed shall you be in the country. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Cursed shall you be when you c ome in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. The LORD will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me." Deu 28:15-20 How to receive God's blessings? 1. Prayers "But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." Jude 20. 2. Reading the Bible 3. Confession: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us." 1 John1:8-10. 4. Communion "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." John 6:53. 5. Deeds: "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now in this, says the LORD of hosts, 'If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to rec eive it." Malachi 3:10 "For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me." Matthew 25:35 6. Church: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD." Psalms 118:26 7. Saints: From their relics, prayers, from the places in which they once lived, etc. ... 8. Priest: "Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High." Gen 14:13 "And he blessed him and said: 'Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand." And he gave him a tithe of all." Gen 14:19-20 "And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 'Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, 'This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.' So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them." Numbers 6:22-27 A priest blesses us with water after mass, with making the sign of the cross on us, or putting the cross on our heads, etc. ... Bible: "But I know that when I come to you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ." Romans 15:29. May God bless us all. Birthdays! ----------- Randa Tawdros, Feb 2nd Sherif Gobran, Feb 5th Wafik Farag, Feb 9th Samih Atia, Feb 22nd Phoebe Riad, Feb 23rd