In the Holy Gospel reading of the 1st Sunday in the Holy Great Fast (Matthew 6:19-33), His Grace reads for us the following:
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven..."

His Grace also shares with us the words of St. John Chrysostom and St. Gregory of Nyssa to remind us as we begin the journey of the Holy Great Fast to be wise and give alms as we lay up treasures in heaven.

St. John Chrysostom:
"Buy as much as you can. Do you have one coin? Buy the sky. Not because the sky is cheap, but because the Lord is a lover of mankind. You do not even have one coin? Give a glass of refreshing water. 'The one who offers one glass of refreshing water to one of the least of these for my sake will not lose his reward.' Heaven is a business and an enterprise, and we are negligent. 
Give bread and seize paradise. 
Give small things and grasp great ones. 
Give mortal things and take firm hold of immortal ones. 
Give corruptible things and capture incorruptible ones."

St. Gregory of Nyssa:
"the poor are our gateway to the Kingdom." He says, "These poor are the ones who store away the good things that we look upon. They are the gatekeepers of the Kingdom. They open the gates before the merciful and shut them in the face of the cruel ones who do not do good. They are the strongest accusers and the best defenders. They do not accuse and defend with words, but the Lord sees what is done to them. Every action cries out in a loud voice before God, the searcher of hearts."


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ABBA Give me a WORD

ABBA Give Me A WORD: Treasure in Heaven by HG Bishop Gregory

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His Grace shares with us words from St. Macarius of Egypt about repeated sins.

"Nevertheless, to root out sin and the evil that is ever with us, this can only be accomplished by the divine power. It is not possible or within a man’s competence to root out sin by his own power. To wrestle against it, to fight against it, to give and receive blows, is thine; to uproot is God’s." - St. Macarius of Egypt. St Macarius the Great, Homily #3 from the Fifty Spiritual Homilies

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Abba Give me a Word: Repeated Sins: Will I ever Stop? by HG Bishop Gregory

Liturgy Fraction @ St. Verena American Coptic Orthodox Church- Nashville, TN ~ September 14, 2020

Fraction: O Only Begotten Son, God the Logos

His Grace shares with us a prayer by St. Ephrem the Syrian, titled:
'How many times have I promised, yet every time I failed to keep my word. But disregard this according to Thy grace'.

"Grant forgiveness, O Lord; send also strength. Convert me, that I might live in sanctity, according to Thy holy will. Sanctify my heart that has become a den and dwelling-place of demons.

I am unworthy to ask forgiveness for myself, O Lord, for many times have I promised to repent and proved myself a liar by not fulfilling my promise. Thou hast picked me up many times already, but every time I freely chose to fall again.

Therefore I condemn myself and admit that I deserve all manner of punishment and torture. How many times hast Thou enlightened my darkened mind; yet every time I return again to base thoughts! My whole body trembles when I contemplate this; yet every time sinful sensuality reconquers me.

How shall I recount all the gifts of Thy grace, O Lord, that I the pitiful one have received? Yet I have reduced them all to nothing by my apathy—and I continue in this manner. Thou hast bestowed upon me thousands of gifts, yet miserable me, I offer in return things repulsive to Thee.

Yet Thou, O Lord, inasmuch as Thou containest a sea of long-suffering and an abyss of kindness, do not allow me to be felled as a fruitless fig tree; and do not let me be burned without having ripened on the field of life. Snatch me not away unprepared; seize not me who have not yet lit my lamp; take not away me who have no wedding garment; but, because Thou art good and a lover of mankind, have mercy on me. Give me time to repent, and place not my soul stripped naked before Thy terrible and unwavering throne as a pitiful spectacle of infamy.

If a righteous man can barely be saved, then where will I end up, I who am lawless and sinful? If the path that leads to life is strait and narrow, then how can I be vouchsafed such good things, I who live a life of luxury, indulging in my own pleasures and dissipation? But Thou, O Lord, my Savior, Son of the true God, as Thou knowest and desirest, by Thy grace alone, freely turn me away from the sin that abides in me and save me from ruin."

Ephrem the Syrian, A Spiritual Psalter or Reflections on God, trans. Isaac E. Lambertsen and Antonina Janda (Liberty, TN: The St. John of Kronstadt Press, 2004), 191–192.

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ABBA Give Me A WORD: How Many Times Have I Promised by HG Bishop Gregory

How can we expect to feel or see God unless we first become silent? Listen to this AMAZING sermon by Fr Daniel as he encourages us to spend time in silence with the Lord, begging Him to reveal Himself to us.

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ABBA Give Me A WORD: How Many Times Have I Promised by HG Bishop Gregory

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