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

Gospel of the Crowning Ceremony - Ma’allem Ibrahim Ayad  l  انجيل الاكليل للمعلم ابراهيم عياد

Annual Liturgy Psalm in its Major Tune - Cantor Tharwat

Kiahk Praises in English from St. Mary & St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church in Manhattan, NY

05 Tuesday Tadakia - Kiahk Tune

The Hymn of the Seven Tunes chanted in English at St. Verena American Coptic Orthodox Church during Matins of the Glorious Feast of Nativity 2019.

Seven Tunes (English) Live

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 Graces speaks to us about repeated confessions and shares with us words from St. John Climacus and Vitae Patrum 8.10.

St. John Climacus says:
"Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, but stand your ground courageously. And assuredly the angel who guards you will honour your patience."

Vitae Patrum 8.10 says:
“Isidore said to him, “Look to the West, and see.” And he look and saw a multitude of demons were in a state of violent, furious disorder, and, as it were, ready for battle, they were in a rush to do battle. Abba Isidore said to him, “Look, in turn, to the East, and see.” He looked and saw a countless multitude of holy angels, the host of the heavenly powers, who shines with a glory greater than the light of the sun.

Abba Isidore said to him, “Behold, those whom you saw in the West are the very ones that attack even the holy ones of God. Those on the whom you gazed in the East are the very ones whom God sends to help His saints. Recognize, then, how very many are on our side, as the prophet Elisha says (2 Kings 6). […] Upon hearing these words, the holy Moses was strengthened in the Lord and returned to his cell.”  

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ABBA Give me a WORD: Repeated Confession - Again? by HG Bishop Gregory

If we truly knew how Christ looks at us, would it change the way we lived our lives? Listen to this sermon as Fr Daniel reveals the sweetness of the Lord as he discusses what the Lord's feelings towards us are, as those who are broken, weak and sinful.

What is the Lord's Feeling to Me?

His Grace speaks with us about the importance of Scripture and the words of God in our life and shares words from the book written by St. Athanasius on the Life of St. Anthony.

Whenever he received a imperial letter, he would gather together the monks who happened to be with him, and say to them, “You marvel, perhaps, that the kings and the princes should write epistles to us, but what need is there for wonder, seeing that it is only one man writing letters to another? But what you should wonder at is how God wrote the Law for the children of men, and how He has spoken to us through His only Son.” (Life of Antony by St Athanasius)

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ABBA Give Me a WORD: Letter from the King by HG Bishop Gregory

Abouna Gregory Bekhit Gregorian Agios in Coptic

The official SoundCloud and podcast for the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States under the auspices of His Grace Bishop Youssef.

ABBA Give me a WORD: Repeated Confession - Again? by HG Bishop Gregory

SUSCopts