Watch here:

Or click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-08YZF87OBQ

Hello everyone,

Here is one of my favourite song, it is named “There will be a day” by Jeremy Camp followed by the devotional video about it.

Listen to the song here:

Or click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8gkDiTvloc

Watch the devotional video here:

Or click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8gkDiTvloc

Januray 7, 2010
Papal Message
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III
Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark

My beloved children in the lands of Immigration, both clergy and laity,

I send to you my sincere love to each one of you, wishing you a
joyous life in the lands of immigration. May the Lord keep you without
fault, loving one another with true love, that each you be careful to
edify his brother, without offence.

I would like to congratulate you all with the start of the New Year,
and the Glorious Feast of Nativity. May it be a blessed and happy year,
carrying to you what the birth of the Lord carries from inspirations to
the soul and also deep spiritual memories.

The Lord Christ came as a Savior to the world, as the angel said to the shepherds: “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) And the Lord has said concerning Himself that He came “to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)

In addition to all of this, He had an important message in teaching,
and in leading the people to the knowledge of God, having said to the
Father: ” And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3). He also said to Him: “And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:26)

Did all of these people not know God, till Christ came to tell them
about Him? Of course not, for without doubt they knew His Hebrew name:
Elohim, Jehovah, Adonai, that is, the One who is and is to be, God and
Lord. But this mere knowledge of the mind is not enough.

They knew that the One God is the Creator of heaven and earth and
the only One who works wonders. But they did not have a relationship of
the heart with Him, even in their prayers! Therefore God said
concerning them: ” …these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me.” (Isaiah 29:13)

They had an outward worship only, without spirit! Prayer without a
connection!! For this reason God rejected their prayer. He said to
these people: “When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes
from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your
hands are full of blood.” (Isaiah 1:15)

God desired the pure heart that is full of love towards God and people. Thus the Lord Christ said to God the Father: “And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:26)

The Lord Christ came teaching people about love, through His life
and words; so that they will know that God is Love (1 John 4:16); and
that every virtue void of love is not accepted before God… Thus He said
to His disciples: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34) He also said to them: “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35) It was said about Him that He “loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” (John 13:1)

He taught them to love everyone, even the enemies, saying: “But
I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to
those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and
persecute you…” (Matthew 5:44) He explained this by saying: “For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?” (Matthew 5:46)

As long as God is Love, then anyone who is far from love is far from God…

With this we understand the meaning of prayer. It is not merely
talking with God, or merely a duty that we perform, instead, prayer is
a desire for God, as the psalmist says in the Psalm: “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.” (Psalm 42:1)

The prayer that is distinguished by the love from the heart to God
is a spiritual enjoyment, during which the heart enjoys the company of
God. The sign of this is that when a person starts prayer, they do not
want to finish it, desiring to continue in the enjoyment of talking
with God. The ending of the prayer to this person is like snatching the
suckling infant from his mothers’ breast…

The Lord Christ offered God to people with a lovely name of heavenly
Father. He taught us to call Him saying: “Our Father Who art in
heaven…” He is the Father who is full of beauty and compassion, and
He is the source of all goodness…

We love God Who gives to us without us asking, and above what we
ask. We love Him for He is the Good Shepherd, who makes us lie in green
pastures and leads us beside the still waters (Psalm 23). He is the
true Shepherd who said about Himself: “I will feed My flock, and I
will make them lie down … I will seek what was lost and bring back what
was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick…”
(Ezekiel 34:15,16) With all of this the Lord Christ came as a Good
Shepherd, giving Himself for the sheep (John 10:11, 15). He gives His
sheep eternal life, and they will not perish forever (John 10:28).

Blessed is the Lord in His incarnation, in His love to us, in His
care which is sacrificial and redeeming. We thank Him for all of this,
and glorify His Name from now and forevermore, Amen.

A blessed season to you all.

(Signed)
Shenouda
Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark
January 2010

One of the most important habits that you can develop for sustained spiritual growth is the habit of a daily Quiet Time with God. Quiet Time is more than just sitting in silence. It is a daily time that you set aside to be alone with God. The goal of Quiet Time is to get to know God more intimately through His Word and through prayer.

Guide to Quiet Time: Guide-to-Quiet-Time.pdf

Schedule for daily Quiet Time – 2010: Quiet Time Guide 2010

Source: Saint Mark Coptic Orthodox Church of Washington, DC

Hello all,

I’ve always found the Annual Collection of the Catholic Church of Montreal ads to be very good, catchy and modern. I wanted to present you my favorite one that was used in the 2009 campaign.

Cell phone companies have offered rate plans that include unlimited incoming calls option for some time now. The message we get from this ad is that Jesus want to tell us that he has this specific plan since the beginning, that we can take advantage of it and call him whenever we need him and he will always answer and be there for us.

To see the ones of the previous years please visit: http://www.diocesemontreal.org/accueil/collecte/index_eng.htm

Thanks,
Karim Aziz

Hello friends,

there is a lot of junk on the web, isn’t it? HeavenIsOpen.com is truly a website worth looking at filled with very good content.

Here are some of the interesting articles:

The tears of Jesus: http://www.heavenisopen.com/newsletter/tearsofjesus.html
You are a precious pearl…: http://www.heavenisopen.com/newsletter/pearl.html
God’s goodness in your agony: http://www.heavenisopen.com/newsletter/goodness.html
Heal your heart: http://www.heavenisopen.com/newsletter/come.html
Get a pure heart!: http://www.heavenisopen.com/newsletter/pureheart.html
You are precious: http://www.heavenisopen.com/precious.html
See God’s wonders!: http://www.heavenisopen.com/wonders.html
Death or life?: http://www.heavenisopen.com/suicide.html
The greatest miracle…: http://www.heavenisopen.com/jesuschrist-cross.html
I Love You!: http://www.heavenisopen.com/love.html
Does God exist?: http://www.heavenisopen.com/god.html
Heaven is Open!: http://www.heavenisopen.com/jesus.html

And last but not least, my personal favorite one “You are an Elijah, Moses, or David under construction!“: http://www.heavenisopen.com/newsletter/elijah.html

Go have a look!
Karim Aziz

Watch here:

Or click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejzynSKdNDs


Lyrics:

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?
This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.


Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?


Mary did you know.. Ooo Ooo Ooo


The blind will see.
The deaf will hear.
The dead will live again.
The lame will leap.
The dumb will speak
The praises of The Lamb.


Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb?
The sleeping Child you’re holding is the Great, I Am.

COPTS DEMAND EQUALITY…

Copts (Christians of Egypt) are not asking for special treatment to compensate for centuries of discrimination and persecution. They are only asking for equality. They don’t want anything more, and they will not settle for anything less. It is hard to believe that , at the turn of the 21st century,equality to Copts remains a luxury they still dream of. This at a time when the rest of the civilized world considers equality a birth right to be taken for granted.

1- Copts want the antiquated 19th Century Hamayouni decree be abolished. It is inconceivable to require that the president of Egypt must approve permits to build a church or even to repair a toilet in a church. Mosques in Egypt are being built with no restrictions.

2- Copts want equal air time on the government controlled TV and Radio stations to broadcast there belief to their people.  The 15 million Copts living in Egypt pay for the TV and Radio from their tax money and they should have time allocated for broadcasting.

3- Copts want to have the church’s trust lands returned. The income generated by these lands was used to provide for needy Copts. The lands were seized by the Ministry of Islamic affairs, even though the courts had ordered that the lands must be returned to their legitimate owners; the Copts.

4-Copts want an end to forced conversion of Christian girls, who are kidnapped and raped by Muslim extremists. There are reports of police
protection given to the abductors.

5- Copts want all Egyptian citizens to have the freedom of belief, including the freedom to change one’s religion. Christians are welcomed to convert to Islam, so Muslims should be free to convert to Christianity, if they so chose. Those converts are usually subjected to imprisonment and torture.

6- Copts want religious affiliation be removed from national ID cards, job applications,.etc…so Christians could not be identified and discriminated
against.

7- Copts want educational curriculums to be revised to guarantee that they do not contain any denigrating references to Christians and Christianity, but to encourage students to accept and respect each other. Mandatory courses in human rights in all public schools is strongly recommended.

8- Copts want the Government controlled media to refrain from conducting a campaign of hate against Christians, labeling them as infidels, thus creating a climate of intolerance, in which attacks against the Copts can be easily propagated. The media should also allow Coptic programs to be aired.

9- Copts want an end to discrimination in job appointments and promotions. Very few Christians are appointed to key jobs such as ministers, or other government officials. At the present time there are no Christian governors, mayors, chief of police, president of City council or college deans in Egypt.

10- Copts want an end to discrimination in government controlled school admission against Christian students.  Very few Christians are admitted to the police academy, military schools.  Very few Christians are appointed to teaching assistance positions in all medical collages, pharmaceutical collages, engineering collages and all top education collages.

11- Copts want the Egyptian government to be serious about apprehending those who murder Copts, and to punish them to the fullest extent of the law, and to adequately compensate the victims of these crimes. No killers of Copts have been sentenced to the same punishment as that of a killer of Muslims. Even the terrorist Haridi, who murdered thirteen Christians including small children, in Sanabu in 1992, did not get the usual punishment for murder for his horrifying crimes.

12- Copts want immediate orders be issued to rebuild Kafr Demian village, which was burned down by Muslim extremists in 1996, this must be done at the expense of the State.

13- Copts want certain mechanism to be established to create an adequate representation for them in the Egyptian parliament. One suggestion is to have certain areas be closed to Coptic candidates only. Political exclusion of Copts must stop. The governing national party failed to include any Copts in their list of candidates to the parliament.

14- Copts want the center for handicapped children, which was destroyed by the army in December 1996, be rebuilt at the expense of the government, and as soon as possible.

15- Copts want to be treated with honor and dignity inside Police Departments and in the Sermons of Muslim Sheiks in Mosques…etc. There is no
justification for humiliating somebody just because he is different in religion.

16- Copts want to see an end to the religious discrimination that prevails at all levels of the Egyptian educational system, especially in hiring of
teachers and professors, and unfair grading practices aimed at Christian students.

17- Copts want their history, language, and culture be taught in schools and colleges in Egypt where their sons and daughters attend.

18- Copts want to feel that Mr. Mubarak is a president for both Muslims and Copts. They want him to care for them and address their concerns. They want him to meet with their religious leadership, and perhaps pay visits to their churches, something other presidents used to do, but he has never done. This , no doubt, will break down walls of mistrust, and build bridges of tolerance and harmony between Muslims and Christians.

19- Copts want to be allowed to enroll in all schools, which are publicly funded, such as Al-Azhar University, police and military academies, without
any restrictions. At present time there is a 5% maximum place on Coptic enrollment to police and military academies, and this percentage is not even met by actual enrollment.

These are just a few examples of the discriminatory practices imposed on Copts. They represent a starting point, and taking care of them will show good faith. The most important thing is that there must be a will to correct the wrongs being done to the Copts. When the will is there, everything else will fall in place. Then, Muslims and Christians will live together, in harmony, as brothers and sisters on the land of our beloved Egypt.  This is our hope, and this is our prayer.

Source: http://www.copts.com/english/?page_id=20

Words to live by…

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009 .
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don’t over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn.Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Source: Thanks to Mary Habib, my cousin, who forwarded me this email! 🙂

Here is a very nice wallpaper that I found few months ago for your computers, Enjoy!

Click on the thumbnail to see the full image, save it on your computer and set it as your wallpaper.