Spiritual Words.
Mark Sadek
"Humility is total perfection, so that when man first beholds God, then he behaves humbly. For Moses was humble, a great one among all men; God went down to him on the mountain in revelation. Again humility is seen in Abraham, for although he was just, he called himself dust and ashes. Again also John was humble because he was proclaiming that he was not worthy to loose the sandals of the Bridegroom, his Lord. By humility, the heroic in every generation have been pleasing, because it is the great way by which one draws near to God. But no one on earth was brought low like Mary, and from this it is manifest that no one was exalted like her."
Jacob of Serug.
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Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" John 11:40
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The Bible reading for the 2nd of Misra, August 8th, is:
1 Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 And at midnight a cry was heard: `Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, `Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9 But the wise answered, saying, `No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, `Lord, Lord, open to us!' 12 But he answered and said, `Assure
dly, I say to you, I do not know you.' 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. (Matt. 25:1-13)
Departure of St. Pa'esa (Athanasia).
The Bible reading for the 3rd of Misra, August 9th, is: Luke 14:25-35
The Relocation of the Body of St. Simon (Simeon) the Stylite to the city of Antioch.
Departure of Pope Abriamus (Primus), Fifth Patriarch of Alexandria.
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Prayer Requests:
If you have an update on a prayer request, please let me know.
Please remember the following in your prayers:
Ibrahim - Lung cancer
Amal - Breast cancer
Wageh S.- Cancer and heart surgeries
George A. - Respiratory Problems.
Fr. Athanasius Ava Mina - Intestinal problems.
Huda S. - Peace and health.
The family of Mary R.
Rita P. - Ovarian Cancer
Julia M.S. - An infant with a lung deficiency disorder
Julie - In a coma from a serious car accident
Marian L - Late stage MS
Nadia - Lung cancer
Heidi - Difficulty to conceive
John - Brain aneurysm
Eva - Paralyzed from a stroke
Sonty P. - Suffering from cancer. Please pray for her healing and financial ability.
Lidya P. - Suffering from a stroke.
Rev. Davy P. - Suffering from hepatitis type B.
Somaya M. - Being tested for breast cancer.
Peter and family - inoperable grade 4 brain tumour
Eman, Hany and Daniel - Suffered serious injuries from a car accident
The family of Neveen M.
Emil S. - Open heart surgery.
Clement - Lung and liver cancer
M.M.- metabolic syndrome
Sherien - Cancer
Emad. Please pray for his family
Scott - Crones Disease
J. Shapiro - Cancer.
C.L. - Complete recovery after a tragic car accident.
M. Ragheb - Out of the ICU but he is still under critical care
M. Fleming - Multiple brain and spinal cord diseases.
Fr. Wissa Bessada
G. Roubil - Out of ICU
The Coptic mission trip to Mexico.
Camilo, Julio Renaldo, Diego and family, Hong and Pablo - Accept the faith and get baptized.
H.H. Pope Shenouda III
David - rectal and liver cancer.
The family of Larry W. - May the Lord grant them peace.
H.M - Hardship.
William H. - Cancer
Makram G. - Liver Cirrhosis in the last stages
Emad - Lung cancer.
Albert - Operation
Abanoub
Eva S - Recovery from a heart surgery.
M.B.- Breast Cancer
Mark - brain tumor
Fr. Anthony H.
Luka-- May God unite him with his family.
F.Z. may God help him in his service.
Tasony Esther, May God heal her and comfort her.
Akmal T. - Major heart surgery.
Amal M - Lymphoma Cancer.
Shery - Tumor near her spinal chord.
E.Salamah - Breast Cancer.
Mena - Displaced mandibular joint.
Esme - Severe lupus with heart & brain function involvement.
Yvone Y. - Serious Eye Surgery. The doctors now feel she might not need the surgery at all.
Anthony - PTSD from Iraq
Elisha Mary - return to Communion
E. - Brain tumor, 22 yrs old with 2 kids.
M. Chouinard and her family and students.
Sharon P - Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, PTSD
Jan P - pancreatic cancer
Becky Cox D - bone marrow cancer
Eric G - throat cancer
Samantha M - Type 1 diabetes
Amelia T - Breast Cancer
Anthony C - Kidney Stones
Emad: To be closer to God
Safa: To be closer to God
Badra: Comfort
Souzy: Guidance
Leelamma M - Please pray for her family.
Vladimir and Vaclav.
Steve - Depression.
M Said.
Viola - Pray for her soul and her family to know the Lord and understand HIS work
Sandy: God open her eyes, give her wisdom
Nicole: Wisdom
Hazem A. - Overcome his addiction, and gives him strength & will power.
Kip - Her spine is breaking down & will need surgery to have a rod inserted.
Katherine - Make right decisions as she enters adulthood.
Susan - Finds peace and overcome her suicidal thoughts.
Sue's family - Return, as a family, to our church and find peace.
Jacky A. and Family.
John D. - Job
The Orthodox community in Olympia, WA
The unity of the Churches and all Christians.
The Christians in Egypt. "Blessed is Egypt My people." Isaiah 19:25
Please remember me in your prayers.
Please pray for the peace of the world.
"casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7
Mark Sadek
"I do not disregard the grace which I receive from Thee, Master. I do not discount the value which I attained when I gave birth to Thee; For I rule over the world, Since bearing Thy power in my womb, I am sovereign of all. Thou hast transformed my worthlessness by The condescension; Thou hast humbled Thyself and exalted my race. Now rejoice with me Heaven and earth, For I carry your Creator in my arms. Earthborn, lay aside sadness as you behold the joy Which I brought forth from my immaculate womb as I heard myself called: Mary, full of grace."
The Kontakia of Romanos.
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"Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin." Romans 3:20
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The Bible reading for the 3rd of Misra, August 9th, is:
25 Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, 26 If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it-- 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, `This man began to build and was not able to finish.' 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. 34 Salt
is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? 35 It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!. (Luke 14:25-35)
The Relocation of the Body of St. Simon (Simeon) the Stylite to the city of Antioch.
Departure of Pope Abriamus (Primus), Fifth Patriarch of Alexandria.
The Bible reading for the 4th of Misra, August 10th, is: Matthew 23:13-36
Departure of Hezekiah the King.
Consecration of the Church of the Great St. Anthony.
Mark Sadek
"Let us all confess our faith in Christ, let us praise the Father and the Holy Spirit. Let us rejoice with the Mother of God; let us sing along with the choirs of angels, and let us celebrate, as the festival of festivals, the assumption of the Ever-virgin. On earth she was radiant, as the treasure and teacher of virgins; in heaven she is available to us all as our intercessor. She has free access to God, and so bestows on us spiritual gifts; she gives grace to our words, and teaches us wisdom, for she is the mother of wisdom."
Theoteknos, Bishop of Livias.
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"Blessed are the undefiled in the way, Who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart!" Psalm 119:1-2
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The Bible reading for the 4th of Misra, August 10th, is:
13 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. 16 Woe to you, blind guides, who say, `Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.' 17 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? 18 And, `Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.' 19 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gi
ft? 20 Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. 21 He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. 22 And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it. 23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! 25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanne
ss. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, `If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.' 31 Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt. 33 Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? 34 Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the alta
r. 36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. (Matt. 23:13-36)
Departure of Hezekiah the King.
Consecration of the Church of the Great St. Anthony.
The Bible reading for the 5th of Misra, August 11th, is: Matthew 4:23-5:16
Departure of St. John the Soldier.
Mark Sadek
"It was in the way that God of old fashioned our mother, Eve, when He took the rib from Adam's already living side and guilt it up into the woman - for it was on account of this that He did not breathe on it, as with Adam, the breath of life; rather, with the part which He took from his flesh, He completed the whole body of the woman, and the first fruits of the Spirit already present in the living flesh He made into a living soul having indeed already created both as man at the same time - in just the same fashion, taking living flesh from the holy Theotokos and ever-Virgin Mary as a kind of leaven and first-fruit from the dough of our common nature - soul and body both - God the Maker and Fashioner united it with His own incomprehensible and unapproachable divinity. Rather, it was with our essence that He united essentially the whole substance [hypostasis] of His divinity, mingling unmingeldly the one with the Other, the human with His own, building it up into a temple consecrated t
o Himself. "Thus, without alteration or change, did the Creator of Adam become Himself perfect man."
St. Symeon the New Theologian.
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"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." James 1:5
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The Bible reading for the 5th of Misra, August 11th, is:
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. 24 Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. 25 Great multitudes followed Him--from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.
5:1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: 3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 13 You are the salt of the earth; bu
t if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matt. 4:23-5:16)
Departure of St. John the Soldier.
The Bible reading for the 6th of Misra, August 12th, is: Matthew 25:1-13
Martyrdom of St. Julietta.
Mark Sadek
"O good child of Anna, how shall I hymn you, how praise you, Since you were born as a holy temple? Joachim on the mountain prayed to receive fruit from the womb of Anna; And the prayer of the holy man was accepted. After the pregnancy, bliss, Joy in the world. The barren woman gives birth to the Mother of God, And the nurse of our life."
The Kontakia of Romanos.
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"For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns--broken cisterns that can hold no water." Jeremiah 2:13
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The Bible reading for the 6th of Misra, August 12th, is:
1 Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 And at midnight a cry was heard: `Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, `Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9 But the wise answered, saying, `No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, `Lord, Lord, open to us!' 12 But he answered and said, `Assure
dly, I say to you, I do not know you.' 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. (Matt. 25:1-13)
Martyrdom of St. Julietta.
The Bible reading for the 7th of Misra, August 13th, is: Luke 1:1-25
The Annunciation of St. Joachim with the Birth of the Virgin Mary.
Departure of St. Timothy II (Timotheos), 26th Pope of Alexandria.
The Bible reading for the 8th of Misra, August 14th, is: Luke 5:27-39
Martyrdom of the Sts. Lazarus, Salomi, His Wife, and Their Children.
The Confession of St. Peter, the Apostle, that Christ is the Son of the Living God.
Mark Sadek
"She has flourished as the stock of Jesse, blooming forever, bringing to fruition the one planted by the Father, Whose boundless and inconceivable greatness gives joy to the holy powers of heaven and the choir of the saints by the beauty and the abundance He shares - the joy of seeing His delight freely accessible and abounding above all other pleasures. For the Lord of hosts has called to Himself that field which He chose above all the earth; He grew up from her like an unplanted shoot, whose grain can neither be gathered nor thrown away, nourishing all things forever without being consumed, harvested only in the Father's bosom."
St. Modestus of Jerusalem.
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"But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you." Luke 6:27-28
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The Bible reading for the 9th of Misra, August 15th, is:
53 And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, 54 lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.
12:1 In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. 3 Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. 4 And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him! 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 8 Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me
before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. 9 But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. 10 And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven. 11 Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. 12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. (Luke 11:53-12:12)
Martyrdom of St. Ari, the Priest of Shatanouf.
The Bible reading for the 10th of Misra, August 16th, is: Mark 10:35-45
Martyrdom of St. Matra.
Martyrdom of St. Pigebs (Bekhebs).