As has been said fasting is the beginning of the spiritual life, thus it is considered the pavement on which virtues are obtained; it opens the door for virtue and it ornaments the soul. St Filoxinus says: “The more ascetic the body is, the stronger the Spirit. Little food makes the body light and subdues …
Our entire life should be consecrated wholly to God, however there are days appointed by Him as “holy days”. If we are trained to keep these days holy, they will lead us to follow the example of the saints and Christ himself for the rest of our days. As a result of man’s weakness we …
There is no doubt that St. Antony gave to God everything he possessed; He did according to the commandment: "He went and sold all he had and gave it to the poor." (Mt 19:21) He gave to God 300 acres of the most fertile land in Bani-Souif. He gave to God all that awaited him …
You desire, then, to be a virgin? Do you know what hardship there is in true virginity that which stands constantly at all seasons before God, and does not withdraw from His service, and is anxious how it may please its Lord with a holy body, and with its spirit? Do you know what great …
I want to focus particularly on one phrase that is said often about monks which is that they are “earthly angels”. This simply means that every monk is an angel. So what does the word angel mean and why is a monk compared to an angel. The 1st thing about an angel is that he …
Confessors prepared to die for their convictions can hardly be ignored, many have died, most of their names remain quite unfamiliar Listen: Januaria, Generosa, Vestia, Donata and Secunda. Note that all these were women. These five were among the earliest African martyrs in AD 180. Other women who followed them are Perpetua, with a child in her arms in prison before she died, and Felicitas, who …
The Angel said to me : Now you meet with Jonah the prophet who gave us the wonderful praise about the resurrection from the belly of the fish. Therefore the Lord mentioned this story as a sign for His burial in the tomb three days and three nights (Luke 11:29-30). I said to Jonah I …
The story of Jonah is a true story that happened 8 centuries Before Christ. And Jonah was one of the Old Testament’s prophets, and there’s a book in the bible under his name. But this book doesn’t contain any prophesies as much as the test that Jonah faced in his life with God that lasted …
Who are the Arabs? The question is not that simple as it might look at first glance. When did the name "Arab" appear in history? There are also other names in literary sources, like Ishmaelites, Saracens, even Hagarenes or Agarenes, or Tayyjtyê in Syriac. Is it characteristic for "Arabs" to be nomads, who early have …
The practices of monastic companionship and cohabitation described in the Spiritual Meadow had emerged long before the late sixth century. The practice of cohabiting monks first developed in the course of the fourth century, in the early years of the Christian monastic movement in Egypt. One of the earliest Christian saint’s lives, Athanasios’s Life of …
