Church Fathers V3 - Fr George Grube - Saint Mina Coptic Orthodox ...
Church Fathers V3 - Fr George Grube - Saint Mina Coptic Orthodox ...
Church Fathers V3 - Fr George Grube - Saint Mina Coptic Orthodox ...
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PRAYER BEFORE STUDY:<br />
With You Lord, the darkness is driven away.<br />
Life is restored everywhere.<br />
The gates of heaven are thrown open. In You, Risen Jesus, those already dead<br />
rise to new life, affirming the good news of eternal life.<br />
Now Your promise has been fulfilled.<br />
Now the earth is singing and dancing.<br />
Pascha is our marriage ceremony.<br />
At Pascha, Dear Jesus, You make us Your brides,<br />
sealing the union with the Spirit.<br />
The great marriage hall is full of guests,<br />
all dressed for the wedding.<br />
No one is rejected for want of a marriage garment.<br />
We come to You as spiritual virgins,<br />
our lamps are fresh and bright, with ample oil,<br />
the light within our souls will never go out.<br />
The fire of grace burns in us all.<br />
- St. Hippolytus of Rome<br />
SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES:<br />
> Psalm 113:7- 9 > Genesis 1:27- 28, 2:18- 24, 33:5<br />
> Psalm 127:3- 5 > Deuteronomy 4:10, 24:1-5<br />
> Psalm 128:1-6 > 1 Corinthians 7:36- 40, 7:8- 40<br />
> Proverbs 17:6 > Ephesians 5:25- 33, 6:1- 4<br />
> 1 Timothy 5:1-16 > Romans 7:1- 6<br />
> Hebrews 13:4 > St. Luke 14:26<br />
> St. Mark 9:37 > St. Matthew 5:31- 32, 7:11, 19:7- 10, 22:2- 14,<br />
24:38<br />
REFLECTION:<br />
Our lives are filled with mountains and valley...ups and downs. Some are more<br />
extreme than others and a few can be devastating. Yet we manage, somehow,<br />
to get through them although we occasionally hide our humiliation and despair<br />
from others. To most of those around us, we seem self- sufficient and durable.<br />
Some of us, though, must go through our humiliations in a more public way<br />
where our hurt and agony is open for all to see. The respected executive who<br />
is caught in a business scandal, a politician who has a secret life from his public<br />
one, or the rising talent in an organization who falls from grace and power due<br />
to circumstances beyond his or her control. Some devastations are less public<br />
such as the mother who thought her family was intact only to have it ripped<br />
apart by divorce, a child who becomes ravished by illegal drugs, or a father<br />
who loses his job and is unable to provide for his family. These are life's little<br />
catastrophes and are private agonies families must endure alone.<br />
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