Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States

The Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States is composed of 34 priests serving the 27 churches and 26 Coptic communities. More

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The Season of the Church

Holy Great Fast

Feb 8 - Mar 26, 2010
Meshir 1 - Paremhotep 17, 1726

Today's Readings

March 17, 2010
Paremhotep 8, 1726

Journey through the Holy Great Fast

There are three things, my brethren, by which faith stands firm, devotion remains constant, and virtue endures. They are prayer, fasting, and mercy.
Prayer knocks at the door; fasting obtains; mercy receives. Prayer, fasting and mercy - these three are one, and they give life to each other.
Peter Chrysologus, Bishop of Ravenna: 450

Listening: Root & Fruit

We hear the Word of God more often than not. However, we might go unmoved by it; or perhaps do exactly what is contrary to it. The problem is then not in the Word nor in the hearing but in the listener's heart. King David the prophet and psalmist defined a good listener in the first verses of his first psalm saying, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper" (Psalm 1:1-3).
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The Holy Great Fast and Spiritual Discipline

The Holy Great Fast is often referred to as "The Spring of Our Spiritual Life". Spring being the most beautiful season of the year and a time of spiritual renewal.
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The Great Repenter

Of all things difficult to bear in life, one of the most burdensome is sin. It is a dark abyss. Sin is a storm cloud that covers all the bright daylight in a persons life; a chilling wind that puts out in a persons heart the smallest candles of joy that still flicker. Anyone who has lived a life of sinful pleasure will tell you that the one thing that most characterized his life was not pleasure, but bondage. The Holy Bible calls sin a slave master, a yolk, a lie.
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