The Spiritual Vestment

"Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23)

This album was produced by St. Gregory American Coptic Orthodox Church in Orange County, CA with original instrumental accompaniment. May God bless all who labored in this service.

To support this service, donations to St. Gregory's can be sent to P.O. Box 986 Lakewood, CA 90714.

12. Lent Doxology

Marenwonh - Br. Antonios Shenoudian, Mlm. Daniel Girgis, Anthony Doss. Rochester, NY. 7.14.17

His Grace shares with us words from St. Ephraim the Syrian about struggle.

St Ephraim the Syrian said:
"We do well to admire the blessedness of the saints and desire to be crowned as they are, but we are unwilling to imitate their labors and combats. Do you think that they were drowned without labors and afflictions in the same manner as you desire to be? Will you hear what kind of rest the saints had in this life? Some of them were tortured, others had trials of cruel mockings and scourgings, yes, even more of bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted and tormented. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. Lo, you have heard a few particulars out of many. Such were the accommodations and repose of the saints in this life; and they bore these things with all joy because they looked for those eternal good things which are laid up for them in the heavens, which eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither have they entered into to heart of man.”

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ABBA Give me a WORD

Abba Give me a Word: The Comfort of the Saints: Struggle by HG Bishop Gregory

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

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.

Gift of Silence (Fr Daniel Fanous)

Coptic Basilian Fraction - Fr. Kyrillos Said

Fr. Kyrillos Farag on 'Beings of Love', contemplating on the parable of the prodigal son.

Summer Youth Camp 2021 - 'LOVE'
13.02.2021

Love Is Costly - Fr Kyrillos Farag

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 Sins: Will I ever Stop? by HG Bishop Gregory

SUSCopts