Onwards the preaching’s of Lord Jesus Christ and Saint Apostles, the Church, its clergy and faithful aid the needy. As Prophet David said, “Blessed is he who considers the poor; The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble,” it is in a good will that we must help them. (Psalm 41:1)
Temptations, hardships, pain, diseases and disasters sometimes bring about tears. Especially if the person feels abandoned,or that it is a punishment as a result of his sins. Here, a spiritual factor enters into weeping, its reason being that the person feels that grace has departed from him, or that God has begun to deliver him to the hands of his enemies. He is then grieved and weeps.
Many weep for different of reasons for our world is filled with evil, harm, tribulations and sufferings. This being the result of our sin, we shall seek repentance. Let us look at the some of the exemplary biblical stories.
Laities within the public service or ministry “Liturgy” shares Divine election and services from God, a special gift and privilege of membership of Holy Church. Akin to Church Liturgy, is a corporate religious service offered to God by laities, including worship, baptism and communion. Thus, Laities shall understand as a solemn including God and his worshippers, consisting of an exchange of prayers, praise and graces since it is a sacred time rendered in a sacred space.
“O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have set Your glory above the heavens!
Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have ordained strength,
Because of Your enemies,
That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!”
Anger in the biblical dictionary is defined as “A violent passion of the mind excited by a real or supposed injury; usually accompanied with a propensity to take vengeance, or to obtain satisfaction from the offending party. This passion however varies in degrees of violence, and in ingenuous minds, may be attended only with a desire to reprove or chide the offender.” (King James Dictionary)
The Sermon on the Mount of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, specifically His Beatitudes evokes about blessing, revealed through the beatitude on as to how to be blessed. “To be blessed” means “being in an enviable state of those who are in God’s heavenly Kingdom.” Focusing on a particular Beatitude which is “Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy,” it is important to understand, we shall be merciful for God shall have mercy on us. (Matthew 5:7)
Counterfeit preaching and lies about the existence of evil and the devil as well as his existence in this world confuse people hindering them to reach the truth. However, through learning the words of God, it is probable to understand the truth. One of the best gospel passages for us to learn about the devil, evil and temptation is the reading in Matthew’s Gospel about the Temptation of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (Matthew 4:1-11)
Patience is literally defined as, “The suffering of afflictions, pain, toil, calamity, provocation or other evil, with a calm, unruffled temper; endurance without murmuring or fretfulness. Patience may spring from constitutional fortitude, from a kind of heroic pride, or from Christian submission to the divine will.” (KJV new version Dictionary)
God calls all humans for repentance; He says: “Return to me, and I will return to you.” Repentance is our way to salvation for we shall we be cleansed from our sins. Father Anthony Mourad of Coptic Orthodox Church defined Repentance as, “Repentance is both the Journey and the Destination of our salvation.” He added saying, “The Church labels this phenomenon by stating that there is both Repentance to life, as well as a life of Repentance.” (Malachi 3:7)