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The Discourse which Saint Athanasius, Archbishop of Rakote, pronounced concerning the passage in the Gospel of Saint Matthew, “The kingdom which is in the heavens is like unto a rich man, who came out in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.” The Lord says in the Gospel of Matthew: [1] The kingdom which is in the heavens is like unto a certain rich man, who came out in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. He made an agreement with the laborers [to pay them] a stater a day, [and] he sent them into his vineyard. He came out [again] at the third hour, and he saw others standing in the market, and they were idle. He said unto these others, “Go into my vineyard, and that of which you are worthy I will give unto you;” and they went in. He came out again at the sixth hour, and again at the ninth hour [and saw other laborers], and he did the same with these. When, however, he came out again at the eleventh hour, he saw others standing [in the market]. He said unto them, “For what reason do you stand in this place the whole day doing nothing?” They said unto him, “Because no man has hired us.” He said unto them, “Go into my vineyard.” Now let us inquire carefully, and let us learn what are these kinds of laborers, and what this vineyard is, and who is this master. In the first place, the Master in this vineyard is God the Father, who has governed His creatures (or, creation) from the beginning. And moreover, He speaks with them through the prophet who has made known to us that the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the House of Israel, and the men of Judah are the new and beloved plant. [2] The laborers whom He hired in the beginning are Moses, and Aaron, and Joshua the son of Nun. He called unto Moses in the land of Midian, saying, “Come, go down into Egypt, and you shall bring out My people from that land. And you shall labor in My vineyard in commandments, and decrees, and ordinances.” [3] And He covenanted with them for a stater, that is, Moses was to have the honorable rank of prophet, and Aaron was to hold the office of high priest over His people, and they were to serve [Him]. Those who were hired at the third hour were the Judges, whom He appointed to be over His people; “him of whom you are worthy will I give unto you.” They were not prophets, and they were not apostles, but they were those who were worthy of the title of ‘judge.’ Those who were hired at the sixth hour, and at the ninth hour, were Samuel, and David, and all the [other] Prophets. Samuel worked in the vineyard with a horn. [4] David transplanted a slip of the vine from the land of Egypt, and he cultivated it with the psaltery. Hosea found Israel to be like a vine in the desert in some respects, for he said, “Israel is a branch of a vine which is good, and his fruit is abundant.” [5] Those who were hired at the eleventh hour were the Apostles, whom He found to be idle the whole day. And they were idle in respect of the works of iniquity of all kinds, because no one had hired them, and the Devil could not hire them for the service of idols. He could not hire John the Baptist for the peddlers in the place of eating and drinking. Peter He could not hire for the service of unbelief. Andrew He could not hire in polluted marriage, and He could not make him to become the servant of a woman. For this reason he was called “Boanerges,” that is to say, “Son of the thunder of heaven.” [6] Therefore could no one hire them on earth to make them to work for him, and to give them wages according to what they were worth. Therefore were their wages abundant in the heavens. Therefore does the Savior say concerning all the Apostles, “O My Father, the men whom You have given Me from the world have I found to be chosen vessels.” [7] And again, “Of those whom You have given Me have I lost none,” [8] and, “No man is able to come to Me except through My Father, who has sent Me to draw him.” [9] Behold, these words make us to know that it is the Father who hires the laborers for His vineyard. Who is this Governor? I say, it is the Lord Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, in whose hand are all the possessions of God, which is a mystery. His power is in Israel and in the other nations, for He Himself said, “The Father loves the Son, and has given everything into His hand.” [10] The Son says, “To Him belongs the inheritance.” The Governor says, “It is He who gives wages unto those who labor, and the whole world is under His rule.” Therefore the key of David is in His hand, and He is the vine. [11] Therefore it is He who rejoices in all His creatures. He is the Bread. [12] Therefore it is He who gives meat and drink to all His creation. Now when the evening had come, the lord of the vineyard said unto his steward, “Call the laborers, give them their wages; begin with the last and continue until you come to the first; give unto each a stater.” [13] The Father said to the Son, “Either at the last day or today, You know [best], call the laborers and give them their wages, all the laborers who have labored for the race of men, give them the wages of their work.” Paul says, “Now certain men God placed in the Church, the first being the Apostles,” [14] unto whom He began to give [their] wages; and the second were the Prophets, et cetera . The first [laborers] came, thinking that they would receive more [than the others]. Hearken unto Him, for He said, “I say unto you, very many of the Prophets and Kings have desired eagerly to see the things which you see, and have not seen them.” [15] The stater which He gave unto them was the honor of Apostleship, and the Holy Offering. And, the Scripture says, when they had taken the stater, they murmured against the lord of the vineyard and said, “Why is it? These last have only labored for one hour, and yet you have paid them the same amount as you have paid to us.” Now, who are these who murmured and were envious of the laborers who came in last except the scribes and Pharisees, who had themselves been sent to labor in the vineyard? It is against these that the Scripture cries out saying, “Why have you burned up My vineyard? And why are the possessions plundered from the poor in your houses?” [16] For they themselves received the Law as the commands of angels, but they did not keep it, and they murmured against the Lord saying, “The disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast. [17] Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands when they eat their bread, [18] they eat, they drink, they make merry. Even the Apostles cut down the ears of corn [19] and eat before Your very face, and they wander about at large in the world.” It was these very men that murmured saying, “Why have Your disciples made the Sabbath to be of no effect?”, who were envious of these last who were the laborers in truth. And the lord [of the vineyard] made answer, and said unto one of them, “Friend, I have done you no injustice. Did I not agree with you for one stater? Take what is yours and depart.” [20] And who was it who made all these complaints? I say that it was none other than he unto whom it was said, “Friend, that for which you have come, do,” [21] that is to say, it was Judas, who betrayed the Savior, and who spoke with great murmurings saying, “Why did they not sell the ointment for three hundred staters and give them to the poor?” [22] If you did care for the poor, O betrayer, why did you steal their property from the money box of the treasury? Or was your eye evil because I am good? [23] Now because he was a wicked man he stole the money which was cast into it ( i.e. , the money box). And the Savior Himself was good to him, and He showed Himself long-suffering in respect of him, for He said unto him, “I have not the power to do what I wish with the offerings that they bring.” This was God’s defense of him: “I, who am God, have not the power to pay more wages than those which a man shall earn, and I judge those who shall work wickedness.” These are the testimonies, and the murmurings of Judas: he murmured with his tongue, and he was cruel and merciless in his heart. He was a wicked man in his soul, he was a thief with his hands, and he was shameless in respect of his eyes. And when they were eating, the Apostles watched that they might not let their hands touch those of the Savior in the bowl, for they were afraid, and said, “Who are we that we should eat with God?” But Judas, the man with no right perception, did not hesitate to put his hand into the bowl with the Savior, and he was eager to dip his piece of bread at the same time, and to eat before the Savior. The Savior said nothing in order that we might understand. When the disciples had asked Him, “Who, then, is it that shall betray You?” He gave them a sign of the lack of right perception in Judas, saying, “He who shall dip his hand with Me into the bowl first is he who shall betray Me,” [24] and He said unto him, “That which you shall do, do quickly.” [25] For the Savior made haste to work out the salvation of His creation on the Cross, according to the wish and commandment of His Father. You will not find that He put out of the way, or was careless about that for which He had come, or that He was afraid of death; but He made manifest His readiness for the Cross like a valiant martyr, and [as is fitting of] God who is without fear. Therefore did He urge Judas onward, saying, “That which you shall do, do quickly. Hasten onward, for all these created beings are hindered; they await you, and moreover, they await Me. Those beings who are in the heavens await Me, and those beings who are in the abyss and chaos await you. My Father is with Me, and He will help Me; the Devil is with you, and he stands by your side, at your right hand, and he will help you. Those who are in the gates which are in the heavens, that is, the holy angels, will crown Me, and the avenging powers are making Amente [26] ready for you.” And He urged him onward with these words, “Hasten, for I am ready for the whips (or, scourgings).” Rightly therefore did Esdras say, “The creature may not hasten more than the Creator.” [27] Now since Judas was he who should betray Him, why did He cry out to him, “Friend, I do you no injustice”? Though He said to him, “Your eye is evil, but I Myself am good,” the Savior did not withhold the speech of friendship from him until the hour in which he betrayed Him. He called him “friend,” but he thought of enmity. He gave him the bag that held the money, and he became a thief. He chose him as a disciple, but he meditated guile. He chose him as a man, but he became a devil. O Judas, what is it that you did? And what did you gain when you did betray the Lord? You wasted your life and lost this great honor — the glory of Apostleship. For who is above his lot? After the appellation of “Angel” comes the title of “Apostle.” Now a man hardly considers his son to be worthy to eat with him, yet it was a helpless servant who was made to eat with his God, and Jesus, our Lord, considered him to be worthy to do so. He ate with the tax-gatherers, and He drank with Judas, the lawless man, and a pestilent man reached out his hand with [that of] God. This wretched man lost his life, and accepted death for himself; he exalted himself above his worth, and he fell down on to the ground according to his worth. Jesus chose him with the Apostles, and he lost his Apostleship. He was chosen to be an heir, and he himself abandoned [his] inheritance. Now the Apostles were the heirs of the Savior, and they were the light of the world, but Judas did not wish to give forth light. They were the salt of the earth, but Judas did not wish to purge away what was polluted. They were those whom God set in the Church, but Judas did not wish to continue with them. Therefore he was removed from the measure of manhood, and he became the portion of the Devil. Woe to you, O Judas! In what did you benefit yourself? Better is Cain, who killed a man, than Judas, who killed God. Better is Saul, who hated a man, than Judas, who hated God. Better is the hardheartedness of Pharaoh towards the people than the hardheartedness of Judas towards God. Better is the deceit of Balaam than the wickedness of Judas. Better is the rebellious speech of Korah in the desert than the stiffneckedness of Judas in Jerusalem. Better is Achar (Achan), who stole the accursed thing, than Judas, who stole the gifts of charity. Better is the arrogance of Absalom in respect of David than the contumacy of Judas in respect of God. Better is the evil counsel to David of Ahitophel, who hanged himself and died, than the condemnation of Judas, who hanged himself and is in Tartaros [28] , against the Savior. Better, by far, are the cursings by Shimei of David than the scorn of the Savior by Judas. Of far less evil was the bloody murder by Joab, which he committed in sheer wickedness, than the murder by Judas, which he committed in pitilessness. Better is the love money by Gehazi, who became a leper, than the avariciousness of Judas, who went to destruction. The sin of Jeroboam was less than the wickedness of Judas, for Jeroboam [only] made false gods, but Judas rejected the True God. “Friend, I do you no injustice; take that which is yours and depart.” [29] O evil friend Judas, it was not the Savior who did you injustice, but you yourself; take your curse, and depart into Amente! Now with Judas being in this state, Matthias [30] entered in and received the blessing, and became a disciple of the Master in his stead. He became an Apostle, he preached, and he sent forth light into the countries [round about]. He made himself salt, and purified souls; he made himself a servant, and was in subjection to God; he became a beloved son of the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of all, the Lord of all, the Glory of all, who rules all, who shall judge all, who shows compassion upon all, who does acts of mercy to all, who sustains all, who destroys all, who transforms all, who makes all new, who makes all glad, and through whom all endures. And now, O man, come and embark in the ship of salvation, which is the faith of the Church. It has two steering oars, from which it is guided, and these are the Testaments, upon which, if you meditate, they will bring you to a good place for tying up your boat. It has a mast, which is the Cross of the Lord, and a rudder: these are your hands which are stretched out in prayer to God. It has a sail which bears it forward, that is the Power of God, which directs you into every good course. It has a guiding pole, which is the Bishop in the Church. It has a helmsman to steer it, who is Jesus, who directs the course of the universe. The sailors on board are the clergy who are in the Church and who minister. There is a cargo borne upon it, and these are the Christian people. You shall arrive in a port, in a fair haven, that is to say, the harbor of Jesus, which is the heavenly Jerusalem. You shall inherit the things promised by God, that is to say, His good things, and you shall rest yourself with your fellow citizens, who are the angels and all the saints. And now behold, O my brethren, we have passed the whole day in exercising ourselves in the word, so that we might at length set the matter, to which we put our hands, upon its feet. And now, let us give thanks unto God, and unto the Holy Spirit, who has opened for us our mouth in speech, and has put into our mouth the words, in order that we may say the things which the Logos has bestowed upon us, which will benefit greatly our own souls and the souls of those who hear us. Let us ascribe blessing to the Logos, who has blessed us with the Holy Spirit. It is He, moreover, who spoke saying, “When they speak with you, take no thought as to what you shall say, for it shall be given unto you in that hour what you shall say. For it shall not be you who shall speak, but the Spirit of our Father who shall speak in you.” [31] And now let us ascribe glory to God, God Almighty, who has sent unto us the King, the Christ, through whom we bless and praise the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit — the consubstantial Trinity, from all ages to all ages. Amen. — [1] Matthew 20:1-16 [2] Isaiah 5:7 [3] See  Exodus 3:10 [4] See  1 Samuel 16:13 [5] Hosea 10:1 [6] (Ed.) This could be a conflation of persons or a transcription error where the transcriptionist missed some line(s) where the speaker continues to name the disciples until he reaches James and John. The irregularity here is also acknowledged by the original translator, E.A. Wallis Budge, with a marginal note “ sic. ” and without further elaboration. [7] See  John 17:6 [8] John 17:12; 18:9 [9] John 6:44 [10] John 3:35 [11] See  John 15:1 [12] See  John 6:35 [13] See  Matthew 20:8 [14] 1 Corinthians 12:28 [15] Matthew 13:17 [16] Isaiah 3:14 [17] Matthew 9:14 [18] Matthew 15:2 [19] Matthew 12:1 [20] Matthew 20:13 [21] John 13:27 [22] Mark 14:5 [23] See  Matthew 20:15 [24] Matthew 26:23 [25] John 13:27 [26] Hades, or Sheol. [27] 2 Esdras 5:44 [28] Hades, or Sheol. [29] Matthew 20:13, 14 [30] Acts 1:26 [31] Matthew 10:19-20 — E.A. Wallis Budge, Coptic Homilies in the Dialect of Upper Egypt: Edited From the Papyrus Codex Oriental 5001 in the British Museum, 80-89,   226-234 (Minor adaptations to the original translation have been made, primarily modernizing archaic terminology for ease of reading).  To access the original: https://archive.org/details/coptichomiliesin00budgrich . DossPress.com  is a place for Christian men and women to collaborate for the sake of our common edification by sharing their written works. As we strive to uphold a standard of doctrinal and spiritual soundness in the articles shared, we note nonetheless that the thoughts expressed in each article remain the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of Doss Press.

[In the Name of the Father,] the Son, and the Holy Spirit — one God. Amen. Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and always and unto the age of ages and eon of eons. Amen.  Our good God, we are between Your hands, You are the good Teacher, because You are God and we believe that You are God. We beseech You, O Lord, to teach us [] so that we may be perfect as You are perfect and holy as You are holy. O Creator of the universe and Renewer of the times, renew our hearts. O Satisfier of all with good things at all times, show us Your salvation, O our good Savior. O Keeper of the covenant and mercy, do not cast us off forever. Have mercy on us.  In the power of Your promise, O Lord, yes, in the power of Your promise, I open my mouth. O beloved, if ours is the principle about which our teacher Paul the apostle said, “for me to live is Christ,” [1] we know with full certainty that if we serve, it is not we ourselves who serve, but [we serve] through Christ who is ours, in Whom is our life. No one has served Christ except the one who has loved Christ, and no one can love Christ except the one who has first experienced His love. And if we have loved and experienced the love of God and His support for us, we would begin to love one another, and this is the sign that we love Christ: “By this they will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” [2] If we loved one another, we would feel the responsibility that is on the shoulder of each one of us toward his beloved and toward his brother. If we loved one another, we would feel the responsibility that is on each one of us toward his brother whom he loves, and here begins the responsibility that prompts us to the service. And if we feel a responsibility that prompts us to the service, we must know the purpose for which we serve one another. If we knew the purpose, we would not get lost, and our service would not be unfocused, but our service would have a known purpose []. Do you know the purpose of the service? The purpose of our service to one another [] is not our service to one another first, but the primary purpose is that I serve for the salvation of my own soul first. And when I serve for the salvation of my soul, I have experienced salvation working within me and I have experienced the love of God, and thus I will declare it, as Christ said to the one whom He healed []: “Go and tell how much the Lord has done for you.” [3] Because if I have not experienced the work of God in me and the love of God in me, I cannot speak, and if I speak theoretically, there is no benefit. But if it is my life — if my tongue is silent and my life speaks — in this is the true benefit.  You want to serve and you want to tell your brothers about your experience — first, we said we cannot serve unless we love the Lord, and we cannot love our Lord unless we experience His love and His benefactions. Therefore we must sit and contemplate every morning and every evening before we pray; before we praise God, sit and contemplate the benefactions of God toward us — what goodness He has shown us — one by one, not cumulatively, because when we know the benefactions of God one by one, we will give thanks, and naturally man is a servant of benefaction. When we contemplate the benefactions of God, love — the love of God — will begin to work in our hearts and we will be occupied with the One who does good to us.  My beloved, if you want to serve, place your hand in the hand of everyone who unites with you in the purpose. The meaning now, the meaning of this word, is that you, O servant, let there be fellowship between you and your fellow servants in the one purpose, and everyone you see who serves for the right purpose, place your hand in his hand.  And what is the right purpose? The one you see serving himself first, searching within his soul for its salvation, the one you see searching in his labors to find rest — put your hand in his hand and be assured of him, because as he strives for the salvation of his own soul, if he experiences this salvation and receives it from God, he will declare it to others and will share with you in the service of others. This is the positive side, but there is also a negative side: do not interfere with the affairs of one who differs with you in the purpose, as this becomes a hinderance, because we want all people to fit our terms, and this is not right. Do not interfere in the affairs of the one you find differing with you in the purpose, but one thing only is upon you: that you pray for him. And when you pray for him, your prayer, emanating from a loving heart, will be answered and you will gain him, and then this difference will transform into agreement, and when we agree in the purpose, we place our hands in one other’s hands, and when we put our hands in one another’s hands, the work will succeed. If you say, “I will pray for him” — I do not say to pray for only the one with whom you differed, but at the same time do not deprive him of your service. Serve all lest you lose the purpose. You intended the salvation of your soul — this is the purpose, part of the purpose — and the second part is the salvation of your brothers because you have loved them, and the one who loves guides his brothers, whom he loves, to that which he has tasted and found sweet and pleasant and in which he has found strength and joy and delight. And do not have a purpose except the consecration of yourself first — your soul first — for its salvation. And when you consecrate your soul for its salvation, you will benefit your Church. You will begin to serve the Church because you will have reformed a member of the members of the Church. And if we served our souls and if each one reformed himself — we are many members in the Church — necessarily the other members would take from us [] and would gain and profit. Know that if you desire to serve the Church — you have served yourself and were able to experience the love of God and experienced that He is able to change your weaknesses into strength and grant you victory so that you may have triumph. Have you experienced? — then you will begin to consecrate your life to the service of the Church.  And consecrating your life to the service of the Church is not only for the small, but also for the great. Do not underestimate yourself [in teaching] an elder; I am not telling you to teach him with your tongue, but let him look to you and find you a good example. You, O small one, show him that you are not by yourself but by the power of God working in you, by Christ with whom you have fellowship, Christ [] who loved you and loves you. Christ loved you and loves you and loves all.  Let the [soul] of the [elder] be consecrated to this purpose, that he begins to save his soul; he will take you as an [] example, and in truth he will not take you as an example, but he will take Christ who is in you so that He will be in him also. And at the same time, consecrate yourself to building the small souls: build [them] to love the Church, teach [them] the right principles, teach [them] the golden rules, and make [them] feel the effect of the Church rites. Teach him. Teach him!  Beautiful is the name to which Sunday School was changed. I feel that the Holy Spirit was in this change of name, in their changing it to Ecclesial Discipline. Once we began to learn superficial teaching, we became weary, but when we were in the offices — and of course you do not know the offices [] of the masters and sages, in which was the strike of the [stick], the strike of the blind master, wondering where the strike would land, [and it would land] wherever it fell — once we stopped saying that we “learned the Arabic,” and long ago they would say “learned the Arabic” to mean “learned the Psalms.” Once we stopped memorizing the Psalms, and our psalms began to emerge from our own minds, in personal prayers, superficiality commenced. We desire, if we are to teach the young children, to teach them within the embrace of the Church.  Hear, O my brothers: the Sunday School teacher is found in two states — a good condition and a bad condition, far be it from all of you. He is a living example of prayer, so if he consecrates himself and his service first to the service of his own soul, he will [] become an example of prayer, or, far be it from you, an example of deadly stumbling to evil, God forbid.  You have a duty to follow the first example — in persevering in prayer and reading the Holy Bible daily, in the morning and the evening, not reading in order to teach people, but reading in order to teach us the way and guide our steps. Reading so as to act according to it, how to become an example of prayer.  Also sacrifice! Sacrifice for the sake of the name of Christ by which you are called! As to the name of Christ by which you are called, we say to Him regarding this name: “Have mercy on us for the sake of Your name which is called upon us.” [4] Meaning we intercede by the name by which we are called! [] Sacrifice for the sake of this name which is a cause of your salvation, which is an intercessor for you.  This is the positive side, and the other, which we do not want to do, is the negative side. Beware of that other side.  Beware of stumbling! How do you beware of this issue? Persevere in repentance! And what is the meaning of repentance? The mystery. The mystery of repentance, which is the mystery of confession. Examine yourself at the end of the day and examine yourself in the morning for every small and great thing. Have regret, and ask God to grant you a desire for repentance, so that you might be saved and so that you do not stumble or cause anyone to stumble. Because we must ask of God: please, cast away from us the evil spirit of stumbling; do not let us stumble because of anyone and do not let us cause anyone to stumble, because both are sin and both are a net that may ensnare us and others. May God save us from it.  Repent! If you feel defeated, repent! And if you feel weak, commune, because communion is placed on the altar to renew the strength of the believers, to renew the strength of those who approach and partake of it. The Fathers said that the Christian believer who does not commune for forty days becomes weak, and if he becomes weak, he is overcome, and if he is overcome, what will the result be? Joy? Of course not. But there will be grief. Approach! It happens that we do not approach unless we are worthy, but how are we worthy? We are worthy in that we know our sins, and we are worthy in being victors by repenting of [them] and forsaking [them], and so He grants us to approach the mystery so as to receive power, which grants us to walk in the procession of repentance; it grants us to walk, it supports us and helps us.  Hear! Hear! The saintly fathers said that prayer is the mother of the virtues. Therefore Christ said, “Pray always and do not lose heart.” [5] Prayer is the ladder to heaven, lifting you from below to above. Prayer is food for the soul, because it is the food of angels, so it becomes food for us, to satisfy us. The joy of the saints! O how joyful it is when a person has a friend and sits to speak with him! How much more when we all desire to speak to our Heavenly Father. Prayer is a son in the presence of his Father, speaking with Him; it is joy for the children. If we are children of God, we must always speak to our Father. Do not neglect it. When we neglect it, we become weary. Prayer also has an important point. Do not ask for matters to proceed and take place according to your desire — you must have a plan and faith that God knows more than you what is right for you. Can one know better than his father?  Listen, I will not forget a story related in front of me about an Arab man. This Arab had a son, and God blessed this son so he gradually rose in governmental positions until he became a counselor. He came to visit his father, [] but when his father learned that the son had come, he did not rise to meet him outside, because he knew that he was a good son. The father rose to meet the lost son because he wanted to [restore him], [6] but this Arab knew that his son was polite. He did not rise to meet him outside. The son entered to greet his father, and all who were present with his father stood because he was a high-ranking counselor. He first held his father’s hand, bent down and kissed it, and then greeted those present, and his father told those present to be seated but did not tell him to be seated, so he remained standing and refused to sit, until his father told him: “Praise God for safety, go inside and greet the rest of the family.”  My children, no matter how exalted the son becomes, he cannot rise above his father, and no matter how ignorant the father is, it is not possible for his son to boast over him in his knowledge. The eye cannot rise above the eyebrow ever. The eye is [prominent], and the eyebrow is barren, yet the eyebrow is above the eye. No matter how the son rises in knowledge and has honors and baccalaureates, and whatever else of the current sciences — which I cannot pronounce [] — no matter what the son achieves, and no matter how ignorant the father is of [basic things], absolve me, no matter how ignorant the father is of [basic things], still the son does not rise above the father ever.  Your Heavenly Father knows more than you, and knows what is best for you. [7] So do not ask for something according to your desire in prayer, but ask Him — express to Him your desire and thereafter place this desire before the will of God: “Let Your will and Your purpose be done, O God, our God, for You know what is best more than I do.”  Do not neglect reading the Bible, for the words of God themselves said about it that it is a lamp, [8] and Christ said it is life: “Search the Scriptures, for in them is life.” [9] Whoever does not read the Bible, my brothers, is like a man walking in the wilderness without knowing the path, without a map and without a guide. The guide in our life [is] the word of God which points us to what is right, points us to what is good, and thus you can guide others.  Do not read the Bible only to teach the children, or to teach others; read the Bible, the word of God, as a guide for yourself, as a teacher for yourself, as a mentor for yourself first. And when you read the word so that it guides you and teaches you, you will experience the power of the words working within you. And when you have experienced, you will hear the voice of Christ saying to you, “Go and tell how God worked in you.” With His word! It changed conditions, it changed the circumstances, and it can change and have an effective impact on the souls of others. You also have another thing upon you, O Sunday School teacher, or teacher of the School of Ecclesial Discipline. He who knows his own faults is not repulsed by the faults of others. Do you know why we are repulsed by the faults of others? Because we do not know our own faults. Examine yourself! Know your fault! You will find that the faults of others are no longer faults before you, but what you will find before you will be your own fault, and you will want to strive to correct it.  They presented the woman who was caught in that act to Christ because they had forgotten their sins and forgotten their faults, but they saw the fault of the poor, pitiable, defeated woman who was overcome by Satan, who was overcome by sin. [10] They presented her. They presented her in order to test Christ and try Him! But to those who came to test Him, He taught a useful lesson for their souls. He told them: “Carry out the Law, but whoever strikes her with the first stone should be without sin. Whoever among you is without sin, let him cast the first stone.” [11] And they began examining their own souls. Then the sin of the woman disappeared from before them, and one by one they quietly retreated.  []   And also, if we contemplate our sins, we are not repulsed at the sins of others, nor do we become upset with them. We become preoccupied with correcting our own souls, and the primary purpose is restored: what are we doing? Dedicating our service to correcting ourselves first.  Not only this, [but] if I know my sin, there is a benefit: I would not become repulsed at the sins of my brothers, and all my brothers will be beloved before my eyes as righteous people. But I will also hold myself accountable and judge myself regarding my sin, and whoever judges himself is never judged by anyone — even God does not judge the one who judges himself!  Whoever judges himself says to Him, “I have sinned! Have mercy on me! I am not worthy of standing between your hands!” He says, “[] I will not hold you accountable because you confessed and asked forgiveness; I will not judge you.” But we do not judge ourselves; rather, we judge others. And while we judge others, we judge our own souls with [their] condemnation from the mouth of God!  Know your sin and you will not be repulsed by the sin of others. Judge yourself so that you are not judged by others, even those whom you have wronged. When you say to him, “I have sinned, my brother, forgive me,” regardless of what may be in his heart from the effect of your wrong toward him, you will find him forgiving.  Also, do not think of the old sin, as thinking about it renews it for you. Know that the old sin that has passed, and about which you have confessed, and which has ended, and which has gone far from you, if it is renewed, it is Satan renewing it to tire you; he renews it so that you fall into it. Therefore, do not think of it; think of the new continually, and leave the old behind. “Forget what is behind and push toward what is ahead.” [12] Also, it is common for someone to insult you; think of your insulter — not that he is offensive; do not think he is offensive! Do not think that he casts words like stones, that wounded you or hurt you. No! — think of your insulter as having freed you from false glory, because false glory causes you to fall short of eternal glory. Whoever insults you and does not say a good word has prevented false glory from you. Therefore, you will attain perfect glory. The man came out to curse David the prophet, and David’s men were behind him. “An impolite man! Leave us to kill him!” “How? God has provided him to curse me! So that false glory does not affect me or deprive me of the perfect glory, the everlasting glory.” [13] If you want to be a servant of the word of the Lord, serving for the salvation of your soul first and for the salvation of others, know that when you justify yourself, you fall into the most evil of vices. Therefore, Christ did not forget to open our minds to this matter. If you do all righteousness, do not say, “I am righteous.” If anything is attributed to you, do not say, “I am righteous.” But “if you do all righteousness, say, ‘I am an unprofitable servant.’” [14] Who among us is without sin, dear ones? Tell me.  Leave aside the sins of times past; let us focus on the sins of today. And leave aside the sins from morning to evening; rather, let each of us merely contemplate how his thoughts were after eating, or while eating; how his thoughts were when he was sleeping a little at noon; how his thoughts were while he was coming to church now. If we think but a little, we will find that there were deviant thoughts.  Do yourself a favor, do not justify yourself, because if you justify yourself, this is a great sin. But say, “there is no servant without sin, and no master without forgiveness. Forgive me, O Lord!” [15] Many times do we sin by our breaths: perhaps you might wonder how we might sin by our breaths. We see someone who bothered us a little, or did something which, according to my thought, is unpleasant, and we cannot talk, so we [scoff or huff]. Meaning we find even with our breaths [means of committing sin].  Sin is sinful. [16] It softens and solidifies. Flee from it, my beloved. Do not hate trials. Do not think that life is easy. But rejoice in trials, because by your struggle against trials, and in trials, you draw near to God and worship [Him].  Many of us hate difficult circumstances and hardships, but hardships are exceedingly sweet! “Call me in trouble, and I will save you.” [17] You draw near to God in the hardship. The sailor does not know God except at the time of drowning. Here is drowning — hardships! Call Him! And there is a great difference between you and the sailor. The sailor guides a ship, but you guide your soul. The sailor guides the ship to the port, but you guide your soul to the harbor of salvation! There are many hardships, there are many waves, there are many whirlwinds, there is uncomfortable wind which causes you to hold the rudders of the ship and pull, there are many things. Rejoice at the existence of these hardships, and do not rejoice that these hardships will end. Look to God, and when you look to God, you will draw near to Him, and He is near to you. Know that if you desire to be in holiness and desire to be in perfection, holiness does not spring up except from the ground of humility. If you desire to be a saint, like God, humble yourself like God. “Learn from me; I am gentle and lowly [in heart].” [18] What a wonder! The God of gods became the Son of Man so as to become poor, the King of kings who extends His hand so as to satisfy every living thing with goodness, had no place to lay His head. Glory to You! Humble yourself, my beloved, and your holiness will appear, and you will be perfected in glory — the glory which will lift you up higher and higher, not only higher, not above the people, but there, to bring you to Heaven. Glory to You, Lord. Grant me! Grant me!  Also, a point that one of the brethren mentioned to me on our way here. Do not hate the sinner, because if you hate the sinner, you will not pray for him, and if you pray for him, our Lord will not hear. The Lord says: “Do you ask for your brother while your heart is black toward him?” If you will hate, hate the sin that holds your brother captive! Ask our Lord for your eyes to become cleansed [toward] your brother. But if you hate the sinner, then here the matter becomes, forgive me, that I hate myself, because am I righteous? I am not righteous, and if I am not righteous, why do I hate the sinner? As I seek salvation for myself from sin, so I should seek for my brother salvation from sin. Listen! Sometimes we have an opportunity to see people watching each other and criticizing each other. No, this is not love. O teacher of the schools of Ecclesial Discipline, it is not love to see two looking at each other and adding to each other’s sins, because you place your brother in a position of judgment and condemnation. And as you wish for your brother, so it will be for you. But rejoice when you see your brothers’ hearts changed, their thoughts aligned, their hands joined together as we said in the beginning. If you wish to serve, place your hand in the hand of everyone whose purpose aligns with your purpose. But whoever disagrees with you in purpose, leave him; do not interfere in his matters, only pray for him. []  If you have experienced the love of God, and if our Lord has supported you in times of difficulty, support others. Encourage with your prayers the righteous so he may increase in righteousness. As we say, “those who are upright, protect them.” [19] And should you only encourage the righteous? No, but also encourage the sinner with your prayers — “and those who are fallen, raise up.” [20] Do not say to the sinner, “your prayers are not accepted.” Let us pray to God! Tell him to pray, and if he says to you, “I am a sinner,” say to him: “Christ will rejoice to hear your voice, O sinner.” Tell him there is a popular song that says: “Come, O sinner, come, the door is open.” Yes, encourage him. Encourage him, and when you encourage him, he will open [his heart], you will [gain] him; he will not flee from you. Encourage the weary so that he may find rest by your prayers. Encourage the weak in soul — if you see that you are able — according to your ability. There are many weak souls. The Bible says: “We who are strong ought to bear the scruples of the weak.” [21] Not to become repulsed; if we are strong, if we have the ability, but do not [belittle him] — all are weak. Encourage the weak; encourage the weak in soul and he will be strengthened.  Do not cast behind you the one who is careless! Remind him of the Law of God! Encourage him to not be careless! [] Encourage the beginner, so that he may bear fruit. The one who begins anything is fearful. Many young people say: “[I] want to serve in Sunday School, but I am not able.” O, my son, you are not the one who serves, but God. For the sake of His children, He gives you the grace by which you can serve yourself and serve others. If there is someone carrying hatred in his heart and wants to take revenge, encourage him [to forgive] with your love. Do not distance yourself from him. No! Embrace him. Encourage him with your love, and within himself, though his heart is bad, when he finds someone embracing him, he begins to forgive — even the one he hates. O my brothers, the purpose of our service is the salvation of our souls and the salvation of others’ souls, because the Lord came not for the righteous but for sinners, the sinners “of whom I am chief.” [22] When we encourage the one who hates, [] the storm that came upon him will dissipate; because our heart is full of love [], he will become calm []. When you embrace the one who is vengeful, he will regret his sin.  I heard a story long ago that one of the foreign missionary woman was in Ismailia, and she was serving in the clinics — the clinics of free treatment that serve the poor like me. Perhaps one is not poor because he has no money, and perhaps another is poor because his soul loves money, so he loves what is free. People always love what is free. [] She began to go to these people, kiss them, and [speak with them] — “What do you have?” And she would go to this one and that one, and to the rude one [], speak with her, embrace her, and kiss her, in order to [encourage them], saying to them, “May God heal you, may Christ heal you.” One woman said to her: “You are an English woman and you love filth?” She said to her: “[] I was like them, and He embraced me in His bosom! See His love!” When you encourage the captive, he repents; he will find the goodness that is in your heart. The goodness that is in your heart will overwhelm him. They do not paint white beneath black, lest the black overwhelm the white. But you, when you draw near, oh white one, to the black one, God will grant your whiteness to affect the blackness and the blackness will lighten. Draw near and the power of God will work.  Do not see someone upset and not smile toward him. Offer a smile to the one who is downcast and you will find that he will be overcome — but do not smile mockingly; smile with love and you will find that he will smile. [] Listen! One was sitting in a group and sneezed, and found that the rest also sneezed. Why? What is the secret? There is a secret. Souls desire to become like one another. Smile toward the one who is burdened, whose countenance is burdened, and encourage the fearful by your smile so that he knows that [] no matter how many fears surround a person, “If God is with us, who can be against us?” [23] These fears cannot affect us. He is protecting us, we are in His bosom.  Encourage with your words — your words are important — your pleasant words toward the one who is in need of a word of compassion. [] Gladden the one who is depressed with a word of reassurance, that his is the gift of peace, the peace which cannot be granted by the world, but [which comes from] One alone: Jesus. [] And not only this — the matter is not only words and a smile — something theoretical — but we seek the practical matter: encourage everyone in need of service by working with him so as to win him; the issue is not only encouragement with words or a smile, or such things, but also with work. Stretch out your hand!  Someone carrying a bag, who is tired and frazzled and for whom the bag is too heavy — extend your hand! The bag with two handles is carried by two. “May I help you in carrying this basket? May I help you in carrying this bag?” Do not be sparing. Labor with him and help him. [] Even if you do not know him. He will know that in you there is a secret.  Do not flee from the one who seeks mercy from you. Draw near to him! [] If someone asks you for something, put your hand in your pocket, [] extend your hand with mercy! [] The Disciples shrunk back, they said to Him “there are only five loaves, but what can these do for this many people?” He said to them, “Do not be afraid; bring them.” [24] Give what you have, as much as you are able. When you give as much as you are able, give more than half an hour, give more and more.  Encourage. Encourage with your work, your hand and your pocket. Encourage with your money. [] [See] your table, there are no less than seven types [of food]. You may say, “How are there seven types?” I will count them for you.  [] Is there a table without bread? There is bread. Is there a table without salt? There is salt! Is there a table without tomatoes, without water? There is water! Here are three which do not leave the table, even if you are not wealthy. [] One has four types [of food] and another cannot find [food to eat]. [] There are many who are poor and needy, encourage them with the things that God has granted you, and when you encourage him, you will gain him.  Encourage from your heart every servant and those you serve. []  Lift your heart to God so that He may grant you the grace of service — the service of your own soul first. Lift your heart for the sake of your brother servants, so our Lord may grant them grace in the service of their own souls first, [] to save them, and of others also.  To Him be glory. To Him be majesty. To Him be worship now and forever.  — [1] Philippians 1:21 [2] John 13:35 [3] Mark 5:19 [4] See e.g. , The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil: The Commemoration of the Saints [5] Luke 18:1 [6] See  Luke 15:20 [7] See  Matthew 6:8 [8] See  Psalm 119:105 [9] See  John 5:39 [10] See  John 8:1-11; This was a common theme in the teaching and guidance of Fr. Mikhail Ibrahim. [11] John 8:7 [12] Philippians 3:13 [13] See  2 Samuel 16:5-14 [14] Luke 17:10 [15] See e.g. , The Hymns of the Great Lent Season in the Coptic Orthodox Church [16] See  Romans 7:13 [17] Psalm 50:15 [18] Matthew 11:29 [19] See  The Divine Liturgy of St. Gregory: The Litanies [20] Ibid . [21] Romans 15:1 [22] See  1 Timothy 1:15; The Agpeya: The Conclusion of Every Hour [23] Romans 8:31 [24] See  Matthew 14:18; John 6:9 — To hear the original audio of this sermon, please visit: https://app.box.com/s/f1irtnalpi7kln27pnmrvboep9sh8bpa   Fr. Mikhail Ibrahim, born Mikhail Ibrahim Youssef in 1899 in Qafr Abdou, Quisna, Egypt, was raised in a devout household and formed deeply by the Church from a young age. He worked for many years as a police clerk before being ordained to the priesthood in 1951 to serve his home church in Qafr Abdou, after the departure of its priest. His civic life was characterized by integrity, seriousness, and zealous service wherever he was stationed; even then he was known for establishing spiritual communities and leading a pious and active ecclesial life.  He was well known even as a layman to many saints of his day, including St. Pope Kyrillos VI and His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, who related at his funeral that while residing at the Church of Saint Mina in Old Cairo as a layman himself, he would see him come to that church, prostrate himself outside at the front of the church, and again several times between the front door of the church and its altar before standing to pray in deep prayer.  After his ordination, he served his village in all humility and dedication before being caused to depart to Cairo, where he was brought into the service of the Church of Saint Mark in Shubra by its shepherd, Father Morcos Dawoud, which parish he continued to serve until his repose on March 26, 1975. His ministry in Shubra was marked by continued fruitfulness and expanding spiritual influence — he shepherded his parish with all purity and selflessness, was granted countless disciples, whom he guided with profound humility and wisdom, and was known for his seriousness, depth of prayer, simplicity, and complete dependence on God. Whenever anyone brought a problem to him, he would say, “let us pray, my son,” and assign a saint to handle the concern, and when anyone complained to him of having been wronged by another, he would simply respond, “this is Satan, my son, this is Satan,” in view of redirecting the complainant to discerning that sin originates from the devil and not from the one who sins, who is rather a victim enslaved by him — a common theme in his teaching. He was not a man of much public teaching — in fact, the translated homily and the corresponding Arabic recording herein represent the only known recorded lecture for Fr. Mikhail, despite his renown as a wise teacher and trusted counselor to many, including several of the Church’s saints of the twentieth century, in personal discipleship and confession.  Upon his departure, Pope Shenouda III, who was his disciple and son in confession for many years — and who officiated his funeral, at which he delivered a deeply moving eulogy, in which he called him a “profound guide,” “loving heart,” and “immense power” — requested that he be buried beneath the altar of the Great Cathedral of St. Mark, because, in his own words, “he was a public man who belongs to no single church, whose children are in every place and every village and every city, who should not be reserved for one place, but who should be buried [in the Cathedral], in a public place,” and, as His Holiness publicly admitted, he also privately wanted his pure body to remain near, as a support to him.   DossPress.com  is a place for Christian men and women to collaborate for the sake of our common edification by sharing their written works. As we strive to uphold a standard of doctrinal and spiritual soundness in the articles shared, we note nonetheless that the thoughts expressed in each article remain the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of Doss Press.

H.H. Pope Shenouda III, 1989 In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: One God. Amen.  Being that this week is the Week of Prayer, I would like to speak to you about Prayer. Prayer according to its simplest meaning is a dialogue with God. But is it a dialogue of the tongue or that of the heart? Doubtless it is a dialogue of the heart. For this reason, the Lord Christ rebuked those who pray with their lips only, saying: “these people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me” (Matthew 15:8).  Thus, prayer is not merely words. Nor is it merely recitations or memorized utterances. But prayer is firstly the longing for God [] as David the Prophet says: “my soul longs for you, O God, as a thirsty land longs for water” (Psalms 143:6). And he also says: “O God, you are my God, my soul thirsts for you” (Psalms 63:1). And he says again: “as the deer longs” — the male deer which gallops quickly and tires [as a result] — “as the deer longs for the fountains of water, so my soul longs for You, O God.” (Psalms 42:1) The more your soul longs for God, and speaks to Him as a result of this longing, the more you feel that you are speaking to Him from your heart and benefit from prayer. [] For prayer is not merely a longing, but it is a longing that springs forth from love. Thus prayer begins firstly in the heart as love, is then elevated to the mind as thought, and finally the tongue utters it as word. But it is in the first instance love. Love! [David] tells Him, “Oh how beloved is your name, O Lord, for it is my meditation all the day” (Psalms 119:97). Out of his love for God, the name of God is on his tongue and mind all day long in meditation. He also says to Him, “in your name I will lift up my hands; my soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods” (Psalms 63:4-5).  So prayer is satisfaction for the soul. Just as the flesh is nourished by food, so also the soul is nourished by being in the presence of God, and by conversing with God, and with the connection of the heart with our Lord. This is nourishment for the soul. If you pray and do not feel satisfied, then you are not truly praying. Prayer, as I have said, is love. Just as a droplet of water journeys until it pours into the great sea and unites with it, so also does the heart of man journey so as to unite with the heart of God and become joined to Him. And the first matter [here] is prayer. For this reason, prayer was said to be a golden bridge connecting the creature to the Creator. [] It was also said that prayer is likened to the ladder of Jacob which connected earth and heaven. Prayer was also said to be the language of the angels, or the praise of the angels.  Imagine — the Seraphim were standing before the throne of God saying, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Sabaoth” (Isaiah 6:3), being satisfied with this love and their souls being satiated by it. This is prayer. Believe me, many claim that they converse with God while in fact they do not pray. They do not pray because they merely utter words without any feeling or emotion.  For this reason, prayer is connectedness [1] with God. [] In prayer you find a connection between yourself and God. You connect with God. As in the Divine Liturgy when we say, “stand [earnestly].” [2] You develop a connection between yourself and God such that you experience being in the presence of God. [] This is prayer. It is not mere words. You experience the presence of God and being with God, and the connection between you both.  Some think prayer to be words they utter or beautiful phrases they say. It is not so. I will give you an example. You see these lights — there are small bulbs and a large spotlight [] — imagine you have incredibly powerful lightbulbs — a bulb with the power of many volts — but it has no electric current running through it. What would be the benefit of this lightbulb to you? What is the benefit of a powerful lightbulb if the electric current is absent from it? In your prayers, you must feel this current running through your veins.  You feel pleasure in being with God [] so that even when you try to stop praying or cease from prayer, you find it difficult to do so. One stands to pray, and every time he tries to conclude the prayer, he says: “Lord let me spend some more time with You… [] a few more minutes… let me have some more time.” He is unable to leave Him! [] As it says in the Song of Songs, “I held him and would not let him go” (3:4). I can’t leave him! This is prayer.  This sort of prayer purifies the heart, [] because man, when he finds himself in the presence of God, is purified thereby. Even if a sinful thought comes to him, he is ashamed of it, saying: “My thoughts were just with God, how can I now mingle it with evil?” If any external warfare comes to him, you find him impervious to it, fortified by the inner purity which he obtains from prayer.  Deep prayer leads man to renounce the entire world, because after he finds himself in the presence of God, everything else becomes trivial in his eyes. For this reason, the Spiritual Elder [3] said: “the love of God alienated me” — that is, rendered me a stranger — “from mankind and the things of mankind.”  St. John of Assiut was once asked, “what is pure prayer?” He told them “it is death to the world,” meaning when one is praying, this world is wholly absent from his mind; because of his preoccupation with God, he no longer feels the present world.  Prayer is an honor for man — a great honor, for him to speak with God. There are many who occupy prestigious positions with whom you cannot speak. But God, out of His humility, permits you to speak with Him, even while He is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings and Creator of all. Thus, prayer is an honor with respect to man, and humility with respect to God. Of His humility He communicates with us. [] Do not dare to think that when you pray, you give to God anything at all — time, words. No. In prayer you receive and do not give. Just as we say to God in the Divine Liturgy, “You are not in need my worship, but rather I am in need of Your Lordship.” You need  to be found with God. You need  to speak with Him. You need  to receive from His love.  Imagine, regarding the pleasure of prayer, that David, when he prayed his psalms [] did not find the flute sufficient. We read in history that David had a large musical ensemble — a substantial chorus — one with a flute and one with a harp and another with an oud and another with stringed instruments and another with timbrels and another with cymbals and another with a trumpet — all of the musical instruments in his day, and sometimes the number would reach seventy people! And he prayed his psalms with the wondrous pleasure of music, and told them “Selah,” meaning “let us stop here and change the melody.” [] For this reason, sometimes prayer is a song sung by the soul to God. Imagine standing and singing to God! Where does this singing come from? For this reason he says, “sing to the Lord a new song” (Psalms 96:1). [] A song! One who rejoices in another — who loves another — and sings to Him. And God rejoices with this heart — this musical heart, in which one does not pluck the strings of the oud, but instead the strings of his heart, so that the words that spring from it are a beautiful song in the hearing of God.  See Miriam the Prophetess, the sister of Moses! She held the timbrel in her hand and sang to God! [] And we, do we not sing? We certainly sing! From this we see that our hymns are prayer. See the words, “Agios, Agios, Agios, Holy, Holy, Holy.” In joyful times we sing “Agios” to Him in a joyful hymn, and with melisma. And in mournful times, in the Passion Week, we sing “Agios” to Him in a mournful tone. And in Ⲕⲟⲓⲁϩⲕ we say it in a different way. And every time we say “Holy,” we say it to Him in a different way. The psalmody, is it not a prayer? But it is a song we sing to the Lord. We stand before God singing, rejoicing — one rejoicing greatly in God, and, seeing Him, sings for joy! []  For this reason we find praises — spiritual songs. The Bible says, “with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody in your hearts to God” (Ephesians 5:19). [] Indeed, singing always springs forth from inner feeling. And we stand before God singing always: people rejoicing in God and singing to Him. How? When we come to read the gospel, we say it in a melody in the Church; when we come to read the Psalm, we sing it to Him. We have Psalms which, when the chanter stands to chant them, he says them with the fullness of love in his heart before God.  And the prayers and hymns of the Divine Liturgy are sung. For this reason, I am uncomfortable with those who rush through the Liturgy in a few minutes and without care for its hymns. No singing! What will God say to such people? “Is there no feeling? Do the strings of your heart not move?” In every word we say in the Liturgy, we sing. We sing before God, saying to Him: “Lord I am overjoyed in You [] and will sing to you all day and night!”  Long ago, each Psalm had its own hymn, and they said it in chant. Just like the hymns we have in the Second, Third, and Fourth ϩⲱⲥ. These are all Psalms. Here is the heart that prays.  But for one to pray with his tongue while his mind wanders in other things, where is the connection between him and God? Where is the dialogue between him and God? What is more, where is the etiquette of discussion between him and God? Do you speak to God while you are distracted, or while your senses are distracted; praying while looking here and there?  From here, prayer requires certain qualities so that it may be considered an acceptable prayer before God. There are prayers that are acceptable and those that are not.  To offer an acceptable prayer before God, the first point is to pray with understanding. While speaking, you understand the meaning of each word. You say, “Our Father who art in Heaven,” and every word is understood and has its depth, and is uttered in harmony between the tongue and the mind and the heart and the spirit and the flesh and the whole person. For this reason, you find in our hymns: “my heart and my tongue praise the Trinity” — “ⲡⲁϩⲏⲧ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲁⲗⲁⲥ.” []  Prayer does not only involve the tongue. Your tongue speaks, while your mind is occupied with the same words, while your heart experiences the same feeling, while your spirit calls to the Lord. And your body also participates: in kneeling with meekness, prostrating, lifting up your hands, your eyes directed upwards. In all of this, your body participates with your spirit. Thus, prayer encompasses the whole person: mind, heart, spirit, flesh, and tongue together.  For this reason, the one who prays often closes his eyes so as not to be distracted by or think about whatever is in front of him. He does not feel [] what happens around him. He leaves everything and devotes himself to God.  Prayer with understanding denotes meaning every word you say. For example, when you say to Him, “Thy kingdom come,” your mind should contemplate the meaning of the kingdom of God, how His kingdom rules over your heart, how His kingdom may spread among the people, how His kingdom may spread among those nations who do not yet know Him, how His kingdom may rule over the mind and heart and flesh and spirit, how His kingdom is the longing for the eternal kingdom. And you say the word “kingdom” as you find yourself entering into the deepest depths of this kingdom. Meaning every word; praying with understanding.  And if you pray with understanding, you will find that you also pray with concentration. [] Your mind will be occupied with the words, without deviation of thought or distraction. You will find yourself concentrating on the words and their meanings. You will pray with understanding, with concentration, and with depth, as David says, “out of the depths I have cried to You O Lord” (Psalms 130:1). Out of the depths! Out of the depths of my heart. Out of the depths of my mind. Out of the depths of my need for You. Out of the depths of my desires. Out of the depths in which I have fallen, I am lifted up to You and say: “Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord” (Psalms 130.1). You are in my inner depths, and I will to also reach Your depths.  The one who prays such prayer, which is with love and understanding, will necessarily also pray fervently. Because he pours himself out before God. See Hannah, who became Samuel’s mother. The Bible says that she “prayed a prayer” (1 Samuel 1.9-10). [] What does this mean? It was not just any prayer! [] She prayed a prayer which bore all the fullness of the meaning of the word. Her lips merely moved, as her heart was ablaze for God. To the point that Eli the Priest thought her to be drunk. Because she poured herself out as an offering before God. Imagine the term “pouring” himself out; a soul being “poured” out before God. I cannot find in the Arabic language words sufficient to express how one pours himself out, but you understand it. One who pours himself out before God. His soul is wrung out and he pours it into the hearing and heart of God, telling Him, “my very self is poured out before You.”  He who pours himself out before God does not have any awareness of his surroundings. If he is conscious of his surroundings, then his mind has become distracted and he is not poured out before God. The fervency of his prayer may be evident in his language, in his eyes, in his tears — from the extent of the fervency within him — in his love. He prays! You feel that this person prays.  You may find two priests standing before the altar praying the Divine Liturgy, but you feel that one is praying and one is not. He is not praying, he is only saying  the Liturgy. You may find two chanting a spiritual song, but only one chanting it from the depths of his heart so that you feel that he truly chants it, while for the other it is mere words. Words and musical melodies without spirit. [] She “prayed a prayer.” She poured herself out before God. Hannah. I read this very expression also concerning Elijah the Prophet in the fifth chapter of the Epistle of our teacher James. He says: “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed a prayer that the heavens would not rain” (James 5:17). “Prayed a prayer” means not just any words. “Prayer” here means true prayer.  One might stand for fifteen minutes speaking, and the angels would say, “why isn’t this fellow praying?” You might say, “You see him speaking!” And they would say, “these are just words. There’s no prayer. It is only words but not prayer.” But there is another sort of person — when he stands up for prayer, you find that the twenty four priests from the Book of Revelation take the golden censers in their hands and retrieve the prayer and take it up with them ( see  Revelation 8:3). If you ask one of them why, he would say, “this is a prayer, I can’t leave it. I must store it in my golden censer and lift it up to God as a fragrance of incense.” The angels sitting in heaven would smell the sweet aroma of the incense coming from earth and ask, “what is this beautiful fragrance of incense?” And they would be told, “Oh, so and so is praying.” []  For this reason, just as God rejoices in our prayer, so also do the angels. They participate with us. [] They empower us in prayer, give us spirit, and take our prayers and ascend with them. Just as it was written about Jacob’s ladder, that there were angels ascending and descending on it ( see  Genesis 28:12). Ascending with the prayers from the earth, and descending with God’s response to them. The angels are always ascending and descending with our prayers.  The angels in heaven, when they hear someone praying, say to one another: “come, we have work today!” What is that work? “We will take [the prayers] and ascend and descend and connect heaven and earth!” Hence why it is said that prayer shakes the heavens. Not the earth. The heavens. The heavenly hosts. When a saint stands for prayer, they stand for prayer with him, participating with him, feeling that he is one of them — that he is one of the earthly angels from among the heavenly humans. Just like the angels. Or is prayer mere words? Does every person who says “I am praying” truly pray? No! What does “prayed a prayer” mean? It means not just any words. I would that you understand what prayer is and how to pray.  Do you realize that if we pray for oneness with this spirit, it would be accomplished immediately? Why? Because then souls are [truly] standing before God. God — what can I say, Lord? Just as He says in the Psalms, to the soul that pours itself out before Him in prayer, “turn your eyes from me, for they have overcome me” (Song of Solomon 6:5). [4] God says, “enough, I can’t withstand it any longer. Whatever you want I will give you. Enough.” How could God tell someone, “for your eyes have overcome me?” What is this [wonder]. In language I do not know an interpretation, but in the spirit we may understand its meaning. As it was said, “God was overcome by His compassion.” [5] Out of His love. He sees before Him a person who has been transformed into an angel on earth, speaking with Him in truth.  When God encounters hundreds of people, one of whom speaks to Him with a wandering mind, and another speaks to Him and then runs away, and another speaks to Him for a short while and then says “enough, I am bored of prayer,” and then finds one steadfast and speaking to Him with all love, He says “I can’t leave this person.” So what does He do? He grants that the Holy Spirit intercede for him with unutterable expressions, so that he is no longer praying but the Holy Spirit works in him and gives him the fervency ( see  Galatians 4:6). [] Just like one who says “heat up the car so it can run.” The Holy Spirit “heats up this car,” so it can run and ascend to the heavens.  There are those who have specialized in prayer. They have become specialists in prayer. Their work is prayer, such as the monks and solitaries and hermits. And there are those on earth who give to God some of their time, and there are those who give to God the leftovers of their time, and there are those who say to God, “go away for now and when it is more convenient I will call for you again,” as the [procurator, Felix,] told Paul (Acts 24:25).  For prayer to be accepted before God, it must also be offered with humility and lowliness of heart. Humility. Our Lord gave us an example in the prayer of the Pharisee and that of the tax collector. The prayer of the tax collector was accepted because it was offered with a humble heart, but the prayer of the Pharisee was not accepted. Not every prayer is accepted; the one who humbles himself before God[, that one’s prayer is accepted]. For this reason, you find some who speak to God with an unbefitting boldness, whereas we bow our heads and prostrate on the ground and sign the cross and ask Him to “make us worthy to say ‘Our Father.’” [] “I am not worthy to stand before You. Who am I? ‘I am a worm and not a man’ (Psalms 22:6), as David says. Who am I to put myself between the angels and archangels and the Seraphim and Cherubim to speak to You? Who am I? I am but dust! ‘I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes,’ (Genesis 18:27),” as Abraham the Father of Fathers said. For this reason the one who prays with humility prays with meekness.  One might say, “I am a son, and I have my rights as a son.” What rights are you speaking of, beloved? Are we discussing rights? Tell Him, “Lord, I am unworthy of anything. ‘I am unworthy to be called Your son’ (Luke 15:19). It is true that You have called me a son out of Your love, but I have not abided as a son. I am utterly cast down. How can I speak to You?” With lowliness of heart, one prostrates, one kneels, one lifts up his hands, and begins a beginning that evidences his humility before God. It is true that God called you a son. But does His calling you a son lead you to lose your meekness or respect for Him, or to pray with a prideful heart? All of this is unfitting. Do you need more [evidence] than the Cherubim and Seraphim? They stand before God praying. How? “With two wings they cover their faces, and with two they cover their feet” (Isaiah 6:2). They stand ashamed before God, covering their faces for their inability to look toward the great glory of God. [] For this reason, when the priest prays the Reconciliation Prayer in the Divine Liturgy, he holds a handkerchief [over his eyes], and so does the deacon across from him. Why? For their inability to lift their eyes toward God; ashamed before God and the divine glory, so they cover their eyes from the glory of God. But there is another who holds the handkerchief without understanding its meaning, [saying] “well, this is what they taught us in church.” As for the person who stands before God in meekness and lowliness of heart, God does not forget his lowliness of heart. He truly prays. He recognizes before Whom he stands. He is standing before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. See Moses, after he spent some time with Him, how his face was so radiant that the people could not look to him when he came down [from the mountain]. And that only because he spent a little time with Him. John the Beloved, who leaned on His chest, when God appeared to him in the Book of Revelation, said, “I fell at his feet as one dead” (Revelation 1:17). Why? For the greatness of God.  Your love for God and favor with Him should not lead you to lose your meekness before God. Your favor [with Him] might otherwise lead you to merely say words, like the one who prays while seated at mealtime. “Why are you sitting, brother? To Whom are you speaking?” He says, “I’m sitting to eat.” Are you sitting to eat or sitting to pray? Whenever I am in a foreign country and they ask me to pray before eating, I stand and they all follow suit. They are used to praying over the meal while seated. Is there no respect when speaking to God? Stand before Him with meekness. Tell Him, “thank you Lord for granting me food for my body. Grant me also food for my spirit.” And pray from your heart.  Many in the church pray while seated, and if someone tells one to stand, he says, “stand? You forget that we’re in the twentieth century, the age of technology, which exhausts the flesh and robs us of our energy. Before, the people were strong and could stand, but now the people are tired.” Remain as you are, O tired one, and pray prayers that are as tired as you, which do not ascend to the heights. When you stand to pray while tired, God will grant you the strength and energy to stand, because as you give, so you receive, and you receive what you give and say to Him, “of Your own we have given You” (1 Chronicles 29:14). Prayer needs meekness; to stand before God meekly. But for the one who stands before God while his legs are moving, his hands are moving, his eyes are looking around, as if he is praying with a wind-up, this is not prayer. If this one stands in the army, and they tell him to stand still, he would. If one stands still before an officer or a sergeant, how much more should he do so before God? Pray with meekness, pray with concentration, pray with respect and reverence before God.  Pray also with faith. He says, “whatever you ask for in prayer will be yours, if you only have faith” (Mark 11:24). Many times one prays but does not believe that what he asks will happen. He just prays to fulfill the obligation. But without faith. We need people to pray with faith — faith that he stands before God, and that God will respond, and that God will respond with whatever is good, regardless of the outcome. [] Prayer with persistence, never tiring. This is prayer. [] Prayer before God with spirit and thought, with love and feeling, and with concentration. This is all regarding the depth of prayer.  The one who experiences the beauty and tastes the sweetness of prayer loves to pray at all times. He loves that his mind is preoccupied with God at all times. He never tires from prayer. He does not say: “I don’t have time.” How do you not have time? As I have said to some, “do you not have time? See David the Prophet. He was a king and commander in chief of the army and led the people and had a large family and difficult circumstances, but regardless, he prayed evening and morning and at noontime” ( see Psalms 55:17). And he told Him, “seven times every day I do I praise You for your righteous judgments” (Psalms 119:164). Only during the day? He also told him, “I remembered you on my bed,” (Psalms 63:6), when he came to sleep, and “in the morning watches [I sang to you]” (Psalm 5:3), [] and “my eyes stay open through the watches of the night that I might meditate on your word” (Psalms 119:148), [and] “at midnight I arise to praise You for your righteous judgments” (Psalms 119.62). And after all this, he tells Him: “O God, you are my God, early will I seek You. My soul thirsts for you…” (Psalms 63:1). After all this, your soul [still] thirsts for Him?  This is the one who wants to pray. He does not tire from prayer, he is patient, he prays with long-suffering, and whenever Satan says “enough,” he tells him, “depart from me, you have no business with me. This is between me and God.” [] — [1] Arabic: سلاه [2] lit. “stand intently/earnestly;” Arabic: نقف بإتصال [3] i.e. John of Dalyatha [4] In instances such as this, when His Holiness misremembers the source of a verse or passage, it is important to note that His Holiness, in his usual manner, delivers the majority of his homily from memory and without much, if any, reference to written materials). [5] See  Monday Ⲑⲉⲟⲧⲟⲕⲓⲁ, Fifth Part — To hear the sermon by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III in its original Arabic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIrTdvbo1Jg (Starting at 45:05 in the video)

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< Back "He is the One led like a lamb and slaughtered like a sheep; He ransomed us from the worship of the world as from the land of Egypt, and He set us free from the slavery of the devil as from the hand of Pharaoh, and sealed our souls with His own spirit, and the members of our body with His blood. This is the One who clad death in shame and, as Moses did to Pharaoh, made the devil grieve. This is the One who struck down lawlessness and made injustice childless, as Moses did to Egypt. This is the One who delivered us from slavery to freedom, from darkness into light, from death into life, from tyranny into an eternal Kingdom, and made us a new priesthood, and a people everlasting for Himself" (Melito of Sardis, On Pascha 67-69). The Holy Pascha General Hymns: The Prophecies (Ⲉ̀ⲃⲟⲗϧⲉⲛ) Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Gospel Reading — Holy Pascha Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Ⲟⲩⲕⲁⲧⲏⲭⲏⲥⲓⲥ Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Ⲕⲉ ⲩ̀ⲡⲉⲣⲧⲟⲩ Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Ⲉⲑⲃⲉ Ϯⲁ̀ⲛⲁⲥⲧⲁⲥⲓⲥ Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Ⲫⲁⲓ ⲉ̀ⲧⲁϥⲉⲛϥ Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad The Mournful Ⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Great Ⲕⲩⲣⲓⲉ̀ ⲉⲗⲉⲏ̀ⲥⲟⲛ Dr. Daniel Girgis Covenant Thursday: Ⲡ̀ⲣⲁⲝⲉⲱⲛ ⲧⲱⲛ Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Ⲓⲟⲩⲇⲁⲥ — Judas Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Ⲁⲩϭ̀ⲛⲟⲛ Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Gospel Response — Laqqan of Covenant Thursday Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Ⲁⲥⲡⲁⲥⲙⲟⲥ Ⲁⲇⲁⲙ — Laqqan of Covenant Thursday Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Ⲧⲟⲩ ⲇⲓⲡⲛⲟⲩ — Greek Cantor Bola Mounir Ⲧⲟⲩ ⲇⲓⲡⲛⲟⲩ — Arabic Cantor Bola Mounir Gospel Response — Liturgy of Covenant Thursday Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Ⲁⲥⲡⲁⲥⲙⲟⲥ Ⲁⲇⲁⲙ — Liturgy of Covenant Thursday Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Good Friday: The Mournful Ⲧⲁⲓϣⲟⲩⲣⲏ Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Ϯⲉ̀ⲡⲓⲥⲧⲟⲗⲏ Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad The Sixth Hour Litanies of Good Friday Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Ⲟ̀ ⲙⲟⲛⲟⲅⲉⲛⲏⲥ Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Confession of the Thief Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Ⲱⲟⲩⲛⲓⲁⲧⲕ for Demas the Thief Cantor Zaher Andrawis The Short Mournful Ϯϣⲟⲩⲣⲏ Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad The Long Mournful Ϯϣⲟⲩⲣⲏ Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad The Ninth Hour Litanies of Good Friday Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Ⲡⲉⲕⲑ̀ⲣⲟⲛⲟⲥ Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Ⲅⲟⲗⲅⲟⲑⲁ Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Bright Saturday: Psalm 151 Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Coptic Ⲯⲁⲗⲓ Ⲃⲁⲧⲟⲥ — Matins of Bright Saturday Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad English: Dr. Daniel Girgis & Dr. Samuel Girgis Arabic Ⲯⲁⲗⲓ Ⲃⲁⲧⲟⲥ — Matins of Bright Saturday Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Doxology — Bright Saturday Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Coptic Pauline Epistle — Bright Saturday Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Coptic Psalm — Bright Saturday Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad The Gospel — Bright Saturday Various Cantors Matins Gospel Response — Bright Saturday Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad The Concluding Canon (Matins) Higher Institute of Coptic Studies (HICS) Ⲉ̀ⲣⲉ ⲡⲓⲥ̀ⲙⲟⲩ Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Response of the Churches — Revelation 2-3 Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Reading and Responses of the Tribes — Revelation 7 Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Response of the Alleluias — Revelation 19 Cantor Gad Lewis Reading and Responses of the Foundations — Revelation 21 Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Acts Response — Bright Saturday Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Ⲡⲁϭⲟⲓⲥ — Bright Saturday Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Liturgy Gospel Response — Bright Saturday Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Ⲁⲥⲡⲁⲥⲙⲟⲥ Ⲁⲇⲁⲙ — Bright Saturday Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad Ⲡⲁⲛⲟⲩϯ Ⲡⲁⲛⲟⲩϯ Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad The Concluding Canon (Liturgy) Archdeacon Cantor Ibrahim Ayad

< Back “Music is very profitable unto understanding the words of spiritual glorifications. And this is on account of two reasons: The first is that a canon, while the text is uttered slowly and the enunciation is prolonged, not being murmured superficially and hastily, gives the intellect the opportunity of understanding the spirit of the text and grasping its meaning. The second is that the text, being pronounced with the delight inherent to it, is more easily accepted by the soul and so becomes an object of love. On account of this, the soul will not shrink from scrutinizing the sense of the text; it will be zealous to examine it, being insatiable in contemplating its tenor” (Ethicon, Maphriyano Mor Gregorios Yuhannon bar ‘Ebroyo). User's Guide The Worshiper’s Companion is a tested and proven tool carefully designed to help you learn, memorize, internalize, and study the hymns of the Coptic Orthodox Church in a simple, structured, and repeatable way, regardless of your degree of hymnological experience. Rather than replacing the purifying and spiritually nourishing “ascetical” work of memorizing hymns with reliance on external aids, such as complex “hazzat” sheets, musical sheets, and other sorts of markings — the learning of all of which requiring as much effort as, if not more than, learning the hymn itself —, which not only alienate their user from properly internalizing and coming to embody the spirit, teaching, and meanings of the hymns, but also render him or her permanently dependent on such crutches so as to be found helpless when they are not accessible, The Worshiper’s Companion taps into the power of human memory — as the cantors of the Coptic Church, most of whom were blind, have done for centuries — to enable the learner to properly internalize, understand, retain, and recall the hymns of the Church on demand, with minimal or no need for assistance. As you use this resource, you will naturally gain proficiency as you learn the internal logic, system, and common musical features of the hymns. Learning will therefore become easier as you go, as is true of any discipline. What is needed from the user, therefore, is commitment, perseverance, and consistency. If we act in this manner with our studies and jobs, for material ends, how much more should we apply the same principles and discipline to the things of God, for spiritual growth, ecclesial immersion, and ultimately the peace and joy that knowing the hymns and prayers of the Church causes us to enjoy by bringing us into the presence of God and enabling us to walk with Him no matter where we are or what we are doing? The one who knows by heart the hymns and praises is able to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), rejoicing in the Lord always (see Philippians 4:4) with “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). And what is more, such a person is able to intelligently appreciate the depths of the Church’s worship and enjoy the intended efficacy of her liturgical experience, no longer being an outsider to her spirit and system of prayer, or a passive, distant observer of her spiritual practices, but a personal disciple of her liturgical tradition, a competent sharer in her liturgical life, and so a firsthand beneficiary of her formative and transformative power. With The Worshiper’s Companion , learning the hymns so as to enter into this joyful life of prayer and praise — the life of the Church — has never been easier. If you wish to embark on this rewarding journey, read on to learn how to use the resource. How to Use The Worshiper’s Companion 1. Access Each hymn is hosted in its own playlist on SoundCloud and is directly linked through the associated season page here . To access a hymn: Click into the desired season at the landing page of The Worshiper’s Companion on DossPress.com, then click the name of the cantor or teacher from whom you wish to learn under the hymn you wish to access; or Access playlists directly on SoundCloud: @DossPressPlay . With either method, you will find a playlist containing the desired hymn in its entirety, parsed into multiple numbered tracks, along with instructional and live recordings. Each numbered track represents a specific section of the hymn, set forth in consecutive order. ⸻ 2. Method Rather than approaching a hymn all at once, The Worshiper’s Companion divides each into manageable subparts, capitalizing on associative and cumulative learning methods both within each hymn and across hymns to maximize efficiency, retention, and recall. Start with hearing the complete hymn, both the instructional track and live recording(s), many times; then Learn the first numbered section, listening to it prayerfully and carefully and repeating it as many times as needed while attempting to sing aloud along with it; and Focus on accuracy in melody, pronunciation, and rhythm as you learn the section. This method prevents overwhelm and builds confidence early. Once you are familiar with a section: Try to repeat it without listening; Then replay the track to confirm and correct yourself; and Continue until you can confidently recall it from memory. You may also wish to record yourself singing each section and compare your recording to the teacher’s rendition to identify missed notes, pitch deviations, and other errors to shore up as you refine and improve your mastery of the hymn. And be sure to take your time — mastery of each part is key, and this meticulous process of refinement is essential to long-term retention. After learning the first section: Move on to the next section; Learn and memorize it in the same way; and Then connect it to the previous section. Example: Learn Part 1 → memorize Learn Part 2 → memorize Chant Part 1 + Part 2 together This cumulative approach ensures the hymn becomes one continuous, unified piece. ⸻ 3. Live Recordings As noted above, each playlist includes live recording(s) of the full hymn, enabling you to deepen your familiarity beyond formal instructional recordings and isolated sections so as to relegate the hymn to your long-term memory while enjoying beautiful recordings of the hymn you’re learning! Before you begin systematic learning, listen to the hymn in full, from the instructional track and the live recording(s), to absorb its flow and structure. Replay it as often as you can to become naturally familiar with its “skeleton” and progression. As you progress in systematically learning the hymn section by section, hear the complete instructional and live recordings often, and chant the parts you have learned along with them as you go. Chanting with live recordings helps you: Reinforce memorization; Maintain proper pace and continuity; Experience the hymn as it is offered in worship; and Fill your mind and heart with prayer and the praise of God as you learn the hymns. It also allows you to simulate real liturgical chanting, bridging the gap between practice and actual worship. ⸻ 4. Review and Reinforcement As you progress: Regularly go back and review earlier sections; Chant larger portions together as they become familiar; and Use the full playlist to eventually follow the hymn from start to finish. Repetition is not just helpful — it’s essential. ⸻ 5. Learn at Your Own Pace There is no rush: Some sections may take longer than others; It’s normal to revisit parts multiple times; and Consistency matters more than speed. Even a few minutes a day leads to lasting retention. ⸻ 6. Using the Companion as a Long-Term Resource The Worshiper’s Companion is not just for learning new hymns — it’s also for: Reviewing or refining hymns you already know; Comparing different musical features and sections carefully, both within a single hymn and across different hymns; and Strengthening precision and confidence in chanting. ⸻ Final Thoughts and Future Plans Hymnology is the language of the Church’s worship, and the hymns of the Coptic Church are especially renowned for their depth, beauty, and reverence. But the efficacy of the hymns — their ability to accomplish their goal of forming our spiritual and theological constitution and bringing us into an acute awareness and experience of the presence of God — depends on both our prayerfulness and reverence in offering them, and our ability to pray them competently and beautifully. We firmly believe that everyone, no matter how young or old, or how experienced or inexperienced with hymnology, can learn a 30-second, 45-second, or even 60-second piece of music, and so, with structure, consistency, and commitment, can learn even the longest of the Church’s hymns. We also believe that the hymns are for all to learn, enjoy, and pray in their hearts, homes, parishes, and everywhere else, if only we desire to learn them and recognize their irreplaceable value for our spiritual lives and ecclesial experiences! The Worshiper’s Companion acts on these foundational beliefs by parsing each hymn into short, simple, and easily learnable sections, intuitively transforming what can otherwise feel difficult or intimidating into something approachable and deeply rewarding not only for the one who learns, but also for those who are able, through the learner, to hear and become edified by the hymns of the Church. While formal hymnological training is invaluable, and learning the hymns from a personal teacher is ideal, not all have access to, or the ability to enjoy, such opportunities for learning the hymns. We therefore hope that this humble resource enables all who are interested in becoming proficient in the hymns, so as to come to embody them, enjoy the faith, peace, and joy they bring to the one who holds them in mind and heart, and offer them well, but do not have the ability to learn them from a cantor or at a formal institute, to be able to do so in an accessible and encouraging manner. Besides simplifying and unpacking hymnological learning for convenience and approachability for beginners, this resource also provides a helpful means for more experienced practitioners of hymnology to review, study, compare, research, and analyze the hymns in a readily accessible manner. Whether you wish to brush up on a specific season or hymn, or compare different cantors’ renditions, or even comparatively analyze specific musical sections across multiple hymns, the Companion will enable you to do so in an effective and convenient manner. As we look ahead, we ask for your prayers as we continue our gradual release of this resource, which will include, by God’s help, adding: (1) the rest of the Church’s seasons, with their respective hymns; (2) other cantors and teachers; (3) a structured curriculum for self-directed learning; (4) recorded live lessons by the cantors and respected hymn teachers of the Church; (5) hymn-specific, alongside cantor-specific, playlists, aggregating a variety of instructional renditions as to each hymn; (6) educational insights with respect to each hymn and season; and (7) instructional lessons for the hymns of the priest — the transmitted tune of the priest’s prayers in the three Divine Liturgies practiced in the Coptic Church. The hymns are for everyone, and no one is above learning, reviewing, and deepening their mastery and understanding of the hymns and their meanings. Let us therefore learn and live the hymns together, in humility and love, so as to build ourselves up for our own salvation, the edification of our brethren, and the glory of God. ⸻ “Well, then, they who do not . . . chant the divine Songs intelligently but simply please themselves most surely are to blame, for praise is not befitting in a sinner's mouth. But those who do sing as I have indicated, so that the melody of the words springs naturally from the rhythm of the soul and her own union with the Spirit, they sing with the tongue and with the understanding also, and greatly benefit not themselves alone but also those who want to listen to them . . . When, therefore, the Psalms are chanted, it is not from any mere desire for sweet music but as the outward expression of the inward harmony obtaining in the soul, because such harmonious recitation is in itself the index of a peaceful and well-ordered heart . . . so he who sings well puts his soul in tune, correcting by degrees its faulty rhythm so that at last, being truly natural and integrated, it has fear of nothing, but in peaceful freedom from all vain imaginings may apply itself with greater longing to the good things to come. For a soul rightly ordered by chanting the sacred words forgets its own afflictions and contemplates with joy the things of Christ alone” (Saint Athanasius, Letter to Marcellinus).