Church Fathers V3 - Fr George Grube - Saint Mina Coptic Orthodox ...

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PRAYER BEFORE STUDY: You, Lord, are all that I have, and You give me all that I need; my future is in Your hands. How wonderful are Your gifts to me; how good they are. I bless You, Lord, because You guide me. In the night You also instruct my heart. I am constantly aware of Your presence; and, knowing that You are near, I cannot be shaken from my faith. So my soul is joyful, and I feel completely secure, under Your protection. I am confident that You will never abandon me. You show me the path of life, which leads to eternal bliss. - <strong>Fr</strong>om the Psalms of David SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES: > 1 Corinthians 13:3 > Psalm 39:6, 52:6-7, 73:12-14 > Ezekiel 16:49 > Proverbs 19:15, 30:8-9, 22:1, 22:4, 31:27 > 2 Corinthians 8:9 > St. Matthew 5:3, 11:5, 12:36, 23:25, 25:3, 26:11 > James 2:5-7, 5:2 > 1 Timothy 5:13, 6:17-19 > Galatians 2:10 > St. Luke 16:11 > 1 Peter 4:3 > St. Matthew 12:36 REFLECTION: A group of young children from an impoverished Indian reservation once visited a large city. They were taken to an area that had experienced much crime, violence and poverty. They reacted in a most unexpected way. Even with the evident poverty surrounding them-boarded-up shops, trash- strewn streets and a general atmosphere of hopelessness one of the young people said, "I don't see what they are missing! They have so much and everything is so close." There were stores and theaters still operating, cars and busses filled the streets, and parks-such as they were-all seemed much more than the meager amount he had on the outskirts of modern urban civilization. This child lived in a desert, he had to walk almost a mile to draw water from a community well, he walked several miles to school and back. The only store was a trading post run by the reservation. There were no theaters, parks, libraries, gymnasiums, and only a few people of his age. Poverty stalked him like his shadow. Although he had seen a "modern" city, with warts and all, he seemed duly impressed by the abundance there. To this young man it seemed an open door to opportunity. Not dead-end poverty but a chance for a new life. He saw it from a greater need, a different point of view. -195 -
How often we Christians bemoan the lack of "things" and dismiss a circumstance as a dead- end, rather than viewing it as a new opportunity for growth and meaning? And how often do we see "riches" as things, and monetary wealth, rather than a substantial life in the Lord who makes all things new! WRITINGS OF THE FATHERS: ++++++++++ + Why do men sin? Either because they do not know what they should do, or if they do know, they forget, and if they forget they are slothful and despondent. Why is man bad? Because he forgets that God is above him. - Ambrose, Elder of Optina + A man was as strong as a lion. And yet, because of his greed he fell into the net, and all his strength is brought low. - Abbot John the Dwarf + It is completely impossible for the careless to become inheritors of the Kingdom of God, just as it is equally impossible for those devoted to luxury and intemperance to do so. Rather, it is by exhausting our bodies and enduring many labors that we are able to receive the good things of heaven. - St. John Chrysostom + He who gives to no one becomes poorer by it! - St. Clement of Alexandria + In speaking of piety, poverty serves us better that wealth, and labor serves us better than idleness. This is because wealth becomes an obstacle even for those who do not devote their energies in acquiring it. However, when we put aside our wrath, quench our envy, mitigate our anger, offer our prayers, and show a disposition that is reasonable, mild, kind, and loving, how could poverty ever stand in our way? For we accomplish our salvation not by spending money but by making correct choices. Almsgiving, above all else, requires the possession of money, but even this shines with a brighter luster when the alms are given from our poverty. The widow who offered the two mites was poorer than any human, but she outdid them all! - St. John Chrysostom + The elder persuaded people to hold to the golden mean, not falling into senseless joy or into excessive sorrow. Extremes have brought many to a bad end, even to suicide. - St. Seraphim of Glinsk + I will tell you what I think; no one can be as poor as when he was born. - Mark Minucius Felix - 196 -
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More— What the Church Fathers Say
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Light & Life Publishing Company P.O
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INTRODUCTION The Church depends on
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BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES OF SOME CHURCH FA
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TABLE OF CONTENTS wfaat the Church
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PRAYER BEFORE STUDY: O Lord, grant
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+ To be subjected to our lusts, and
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generally kept the commands of Jesu
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+ In writing to a young man, a holy
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+ God created us in His image and l
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PRAYER BEFORE STUDY: Prayer of Phil
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+ Glory is like the human shadow; i
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+ What is “the world”? What are
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+ Show forth all your wealth in giv
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W pat tye Qnwcy Fathers Say About..
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much is one willing to pay, and do
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“Why are you crying, Father?" the
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+ A young monk confessed to his eld
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+ An anchorite who, going to a spri
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Wlpat th)e cbrwrcl) Fathers Say Abo
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While we cannot meet Christ in the
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you pay back abuse with abuse. You
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+ It is useless to try to teach wha
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+ For the preservation of peace of
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PRAYER BEFORE STUDY: Dear Lord, the
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+ Even if we are entirely despised
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+ The wrath of man is a terrible, u
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well as his impurities, his darknes
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Wlyat tbe C \)w c\) Fathers Say Abo
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to perform or refuse. An example of
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even sharper than fire and knives.
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+ He that is freed owes obedience t
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+ The Lord helps us amid sorrows an
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PRAYER BEFORE STUDY: An Athonite Pr
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+ The constant welcome expectation
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+ A Christian has great difficulty
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+ We view the water of a river flow
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+ He is not worthy to receive conso
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PRAYER BEFORE STUDY: Prayer of St.
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is mighty and, know that everything
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+ Three monks met unexpectedly at t
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PRAYER BEFORE STUDY: Prayer to the
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+ No sense of virtue can possibly b
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the name of the One who became huma
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+ If you live in the noisy world, h
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we cannot practice the bodily virtu
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PRAYER BEFORE STUDY: Increasing the
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+ When despair seizes us, let us no
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+ Be true to yourself and no one ca
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+ As long as you have bad habits do
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Wyat tv)e Cyurcy Fathers Say About.
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Devil for his sins because the Devi
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through our fasts, we know the Holy
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eckon them as nothing. Often, we pl
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+ Our most dire enemy is pride. Its
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W pat uie Cv)vwc\) Fathers Say Abou
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People of the world do not understa
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partner in God’s nature, refuse t
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+ Some say the flesh is a sinner, s
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+ He who does not believe in God is
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Wyat tl)e Cyurcl) Fathers Say About
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This is the way it should be with u
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+ In a brokenness of spirit a man c
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+ Christ, who is the Good Shepherd,
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PRAYER BEFORE STUDY: Prayer of Hipp
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+ It behooves us to do all things i
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+ I will honor the king but only Go
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+ Where the Church is, there also i
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+ Follow the custom of the Church i
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PRAYER BEFORE STUDY: Remember, Lord
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+ The Church is the salt of the ear
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+ Only the priest who imitates that
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What tl^e Church Fathers Say About,
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operated in this way He would becom
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The Holy Fathers of the Church arme
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+ When a trial comes upon you sudde
Page 153 and 154: + Live each day as if you were dyin
Page 155 and 156: PRAYER: Christ, give me strength; Y
Page 157 and 158: + God has shown how close He is to
Page 159 and 160: W^at tf?e cl?u rcl? Fathers Say Abo
Page 161 and 162: REFLECTION: Much of contemporary Ch
Page 163 and 164: + There was in the monastery an old
Page 165 and 166: + In all your works, either at home
Page 167 and 168: + Happiness consists in not regardi
Page 169 and 170: 16. O Lord, grant me only pure thou
Page 171 and 172: PRAYER BEFORE STUDY: With You Lord,
Page 173 and 174: + Many parents teach their children
Page 175 and 176: + If any woman should abandon her h
Page 177 and 178: + Marriage is honorable above all,
Page 179 and 180: PRAYER BEFORE STUDY: We bless You,
Page 181 and 182: + An intelligent use of concepts (i
Page 183 and 184: + There is a knowledge that precede
Page 185 and 186: + instead of searching after no oth
Page 187 and 188: + He who knows himself is a man. -
Page 189 and 190: PRAYER BEFORE STUDY: PRAYER AGAINST
Page 191 and 192: + If one man should suffer all the
Page 193 and 194: + Those, therefore, who cast away t
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Page 197 and 198: There is a constant struggle both f
Page 199 and 200: + We leave undone what we know we s
Page 201 and 202: + It is very important that the inn
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Page 207 and 208: + The Bible limits itself to reprov
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Page 211 and 212: Jesus talks about a man's faith as
Page 213 and 214: + Even the demons with their malice
Page 215 and 216: + Among angels, some are angels of
Page 217: MiERKMNCHmsiwt by J. Bajis t DAILY
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Church Fathers V3 - Fr George Grube - Saint Mina Coptic Orthodox ...

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