SGY eMagazine Nov12
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Transcript of SGY eMagazine Nov12
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Heaven TogetherST. GEORGE YOUTH
NOVEMBER EDITION
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E-MAGAZINE 2012
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THE 118TH POPE ANNOUNCEDBy Sandra Abdelmalek
Recently something tremendous happened in our life5me. The 118th Pope was announced! Pope Tawadros, the successor of Pope Shenouda. I had mixed emo5ons, missing the smile, humour and wisdom of Pope Shenouda. But I was also super excited; having witnessed a moment in history live; courtesy of Aghapy. AEer all the fas5ng and the suspense surrounding who will lead the Cop5c Church, God has selected the one He feels is most suitable.
I haven’t heard much about Pope Tawadros before. So here are a couple of things from his life I found par5cularly interes5ng. His birthday falls on the 4th November. He graduated with a degree in Pharmacy from the University of Alexandria.He managed a state-‐owned pharmaceu5cal factory, when he entered the monastery in Wadi Natrun to study theology
for two years. He was ordained a priest in 1989.
Papal elec5ons aren’t like presiden5al elec5ons like the one between Barrack Obama and MiT Romney. They don’t campaign, adver5se themselves or make promises to secure your vote. It is God’s decision not the peoples, and rightly so. It’s a huge responsibility leading a whole church worldwide and being held accountable for their salva5on; a responsibility I can’t even imagine and we don’t want to get something like this wrong. So we don’t vote, we let God work. They selected the pope with an altar ballot.
The ceremony to choose the pope from the three candidates was held at Cairo's St Mark’s Cathedral. Before the mass, Metropolitan Pachomios, sealed the chalice with the names with red wax and put it on the altar. He then told the congrega5on:
"We will pray that God will choose the good shepherd." Following a moment of silence, a blindfolded boy then picked Anba Tawadros' name from the chalice. The en5re congrega5on then erupted in ova5on, tears or prayer. In reac5on Bishop Tawadros II the newly elected pope said, from the monastery at Wadi Natrun: "We will start by organising the house from within. It is a responsibility. Most important is...that the church, as an ins5tu5on, serves the community."
2012 is definitely a year I will not forget. A year where our Beloved Pope Shenouda was united with Christ. A year where the Cop5c Church rejoices for their prayers for a shepherd have been answered.
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NEWS
Papal election
The Coptic community worldwide rejoices as the 118th Pope is selected. In an intricate ceremony where people attended St Mark’s Cathedral in Egypt and many more were watching the ceremony live; a mass was held. Our very own Bishop Suriel too was in attendance.
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YOUTH UPDATE
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A young child was blindfolded. He then selected the name of the next pope.
Metropolitan Pachomios then opened the sealed name to reveal it to be Anba Tawadros. Now he is Pope Tawadros, the 118th Pope of the See of St Mark.
We congratulate Pope Tawadros- our shepherd and the head of our Church.
-Putting a face to the name. Pictured left is His Holiness Pope Tawadros II.
By definition, war is a state of armed conflict between nations or states or different groups within a nation or state. Often when we ask why do we have wars, the most popular answers include defence, power, population control, peace, rights, religion and resources. However, ‘war’ also means death, bloodshed, and immense grief to those outside and around the front line. So then, is the war a legitimate means to achieving what, so called nations, set out to do? War - what is it good for? Edwin Starr (the guy who sang that song), says ‘absolutely nothing.’
In today’s political world, it seems war has become a means for power, and the largest nations in the world will let nothing get in their way. They are resilient, and determined. They will negotiate, yes, but only with their best interests at heart. However, when a nation goes to war, it keeps in mind its men and women who go to fight, their families, and the rest of the nation who may never again have the same luxuries if their country loses.
Still, despite the conventional definition, a war can also be a personal battle, one between
ourselves, our friends or family, or even broader, human kind.
As humans we have constant wars with ourselves. Whether we wish to lose 5kg, or maybe 10kg. Whether we want to get that job with that nice fat salary, or study hard enough to get into that course we’ve had our eyes set on for years. We strive and push ourselves to achieve our goals, because if we didn’t our lives would be pointless. We are born to be resilient!
Sometimes we even have spiritual wars with ourselves. A war to beat that sin that we just keep falling into. A war against distractions; to read two chapters of the Bible a day, instead of one, or even instead of none. Possibly even a war to sacrifice that late Saturday night movie, or that extra half an hour of sleep, so that we could attend the Sunday liturgy. Some would even say, we constantly fight the world and all of its impurities, lest we give up to conformation.
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War-what is it good for?By Jenny Awad
However, just as when nations go to war, there is destruction alongside peace, which some would say cannot be coupled in the same sentence, let alone the same thought; sometimes our own personal wars leave behind their own paths of destruction. At times, we create wars with our friends, siblings or colleagues, as an outlet for our angst. Although it is good to talk about our stresses and fears when embarking on our personal battles, they are not reason enough to fight with others. Though we despise the idea of war between the largest nations of the modern world, fighting with others can, at times, come so easily to us at times, come so easily to us.
But really, do we need to trample on our colleagues to get that promotion? Do we need to delay giving our classmate the notes they missed out on, just because we think it’ll give us an edge come exam time? Do we need to shout at our siblings to be quite, just so we could peacefully read the Bible?
Maybe we just have to pick our battles. Simple enough? But how cliché is it – easier said then done. But then again, practice makes perfect (yes another cliché)!
Let us be armed with Christ on whatever wars we decide to embark on, only the ones that would be according to His will of course. If we set out on our battles with love of all that God has created, at least our conscience will battle with us, that we may pick battles of benefit, to either ourselves, or those around us, rather than those of detriment.
‘For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound
mind.’ (2 Timothy 1:7)
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Trust in GodWORDS OF WISDOM
Putting your trust in God is the most wonderful experience someone can have. By doing this we experience His love, His compassion, and His marvelous mystery in our lives.
Brothers and sisters, it is hard to give your trust to someone we cannot see as the rational mind is weak; to comprehend the incomprehendable has lead us to doubt Christ our God. We feel scared to want to put our trust in Him because we don't know Him the way He wants us to know Him. He speaks to us every moment in our life and we don't realise it. It is scary because we don't want to take the risk.
For example, giving your first pay check to God when you have financial problems. We are scared not knowing that it is the greatest benefit we will take in our life. To put our trust in God means we risk our worldly desires to be with him. The 12 disciples left their jobs, there money, their nets and boats, their wives to spend their life with Christ; the one whom we love.
We must learn to trust in God like Job trusted in God. We must learn to trust in God like Abraham and Isaac trusted in God, and like Jeremiah trusted in God. When we pray, we ask Him to help us to trust Him, because brothers and sisters, trust in Christ prevented the lions from attacking Daniel and gave St. Paul comfort to his suffering for Christ.
The reason to why we are scared is because we don't know who we worship, we lack confidence in Christ and when it comes to the end of days, what will God say; imagine, Christ telling us, I do not know you because you did not know me, and you say to yourself but I served the church, I'm a Sunday school servant, I've done discipleship, I know all this information and knowledge of the church. No, where is our relationship with God, that we may put our trust in Him. Without this, all this service means nothing. This service becomes service to the people for a self-uplift rather than service in God’s name. I urge us to let the voice of God dwell within us so that we may put our Trust in him.
A person who claims that he has acquired love and abides in intimacy with God, may become heedless and loses the spirit of a contrite heart.
-‐ His Holiness Pope Shenouda III
The secret of the Lord is with those you fear Him. Psalm 25:14
Why is fear of God important?
The answer is that there are three kinds of people: those you are greatly affected by love, those who take advantage of love and thus become negligent and inconsiderate and there are also those who do love God but lack the will and implementation. If you are any of the latter two, then your remedy is the fear God. It is deKinitely true that not all people are the same which is why Saint Jude says “on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the Kire, hating even the garment deKiled by the Klesh” (Jude 1:22, 23). Thus, the fear of God can be used to save our souls.
The advantages of the fear of God
1) The fear of God leads to repentance and abiding by the commandments.
2) The fear of God is the beginning of the spiritual road and a fortress for spiritual life, so one may not deviate from God’s way.
3) If you fear God you will obey his commandments.
4) The fear of God teaches one to be cautious and circumspect, lest he fall into sin and hurt God’s feelings. St. Peter warns us saying, “Do not be haughty but fear” (Romans 11:20).
5) Many of those who abandoned the fear of God became vain and profane.
1) One who practices the fear of God becomes polite when communicating with God.
2) The fear of God leads to us to be serious and committed in our spiritual life.
3) God’s fear leads us to humility and a contrite heart. Let us all say as Abraham said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord” (Genesis 18:27).
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Spiritual Monologue
Fear of God
1) One who dears God is always submissive in his prayers and in all his worship and in the fear of God he is always inKlamed and may pray with tears and a contrite heart.
2) One who lives in the fear of God always examines himself for every deed whether big or small, since whatever is recorded about us here will be proclaimed on the Day of Judgment before the angels and all the human beings.
3) Thus, the fear of God not only leads a person to self-‐judgment, but also to self-‐rebuke, to regret and repentance. Listen to St.Makarious’s saying, “My brother, judge yourself before they judge you” so that “the fear of God burns all evil thoughts and casts away all vice in man” as stated by St.Bakhomios.
4) God’s fear leads to purity of hear as it drives one to strive and labor for the sake of God in order to please him.
5) The fear of God leads to spiritual growth. 6) One who has the fear of God in their
heart is concerned not only about themselves, but also about others, thus he tried to proclaim the kingdom of God.
7) The fear of God leads to prayer as one Kinds that his efforts are not enough thus he continuously prays, asking for God’s grace to help himself and others.
8) The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7). So you don’t fall into ignorance, a person reads and seeks guidance. Remember, “lean not on your own understand”.
9) The fear of God leads to good interactions with others as one does not want to hurt others feelings so that he does not upset God himself also.
How to attain the fear of the Lord
1) By knowing that the abomination of sin and its consequences. Sin is separation from God, the angels, saints and practically all aspects of spiritual life.
2) We have to keep in mind His punishment and the Fearful Judgment. We are told in Romans 6:23 that “the wages of sin is death”.
3) Read the prayers of the Agpeya, the psalms and the rites of the church as they teach us how to pray and puts before us always that we “know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming” (Luke 12:40).
4) Be circumspect in examining yourself and remember the words of the Lord, “I know your works” (Revelation 2:3). We also attain God’s fear through repentance and humility.
5) Through respecting our elders, for is someone does not fear his father whom he sees, how can he fear God whom he does not see?
6) Be submissive and revering the holy places. When you stand to pray, remember before whom are you standing? You are standing before the King of Kinds and Lords of Lords.
7) Train yourself to fear God in your closed room so that you will deKinitely fear God in public when people can see you.
8) Have fellowship with those who fear God, and get away from evil society where there is no fear of God.
A wise person starts the road from its beginning, that is from the fear of God, then this fear will lead him to the love of God. -‐ His Holiness Pope Shenouda III
Whenever we are tempted by sin, let us say as Joseph said, “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9)
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Youth Meeting Updates
Patristic Lens Bible Study
Wednesdays at 7pm
Youth Meeting
Fridays at 7.30pm
Followed by an outing
SGY Annual Camp
Date: 30 Nov-2nd Dec
Place: Forest Edge CYC
Register on Fridays
A Magazine for Youth
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HEAVEN TOGETHER ST. GEORGE YOUTH E-MAGAZINE NOV 2012
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