I received the following question:

St. Athanasius, the great Pope among the Patriarchs of Alexandria, who fought the good fight against the dangerous Arian heresy and was able to expose it and repudiate it with the grace of God, preserved the pure faith for us until today. This man was steadfast like a mountain, meek like a child, powerful like a gushing river,  ascetic and prayerful, full of grace, bearing the cross of suffering and exile without grumbling, until he became a reflection of the image of the Lord Jesus.

Lets’ continue to present spiritual excerpts from the book of Brother Lawrence, “The Practice of the Presence of God.”

I would like to present to you some deep spiritual experience with God from the book: “The Practice of the Presence of God.” This is from the experience of a French monastic brother in the seventeenth century who experienced Christ on a profound level. This was apparent in a collection of his letters and conversations and notes. I believe we will find it to be of great consolation and edification.

When the Lord Jesus met with Martha, the sister of Lazarus, she said to him: If you had been here my brother would have not died. Jesus said to her: your brother will rise; I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  In addition, whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Here, in talking about the resurrection, Christ does not mean the resurrection of the dead on judgment day. Rather He was talking about the present resurrection, the state of resurrection that is lived by those who believe in Him and enter into a living fellowship with Him. Eternal life is Christ Himself and he who attach himself to Him lives but he who separates himself from Him dies. Therefore, the church always prays, “You are the Life of us all, the Salvation of us all, and the resurrection of us all…” (The litany of the Gospel).

Many people wonder about how the date of the feast of Resurrection is calculated? Why is it sometimes different from other Christian denominations? And what is the history behind this difference?

When Jesus confronted death at the tomb of Lazarus, He clarified to Martha, in full confidence, that He is the resurrection and the life. He also assured her that He is the life giver to those who believe in Him, and that death cannot overcome the life He grants, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” (John 11: 25-26).

Jerusalem is the city of the Great King as Psalm 48 says. It is the city in which God, in the Old Testament, first placed His sanctuary in preparation for redemption. Then afterwards, His sanctuary has been everywhere on earth and in the hearts of all believers.

The enthronement of H.H. Thrice Blessed Pope Shenouda III on the throne of St. Mark was undoubtedly a divine choice.  During his blessed pontificate, the Church expanded both inside and outside Egypt, and the congregation grew in the love of God, in spiritual knowledge, and being closely tied to the church to a great degree.

Before sunset of Saturday, March 17, 2012 H.H. Pope Shenouda III departed to heaven surrounded by the angels and the saints.

We talked about our Lord Jesus the victorious leader in spiritual warfare and that there is victory awaiting us at the end of the journey of fasting. We also talked about the deceptive schemes that our enemy always uses. Now, we will talk about the temptations that the Lord faced for our sake.

In the previous article, we talked about Jesus, our leader in spiritual warfare, who joins our battle and wins victory for us. He accepted the challenge of the devil, and came out to confront him on the mountain of temptation to crush him, and to grant us His victory.