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How do you pray
Hey guys !
One more thing i was wondering how ,if, you guys pray everday and for how long ?
How are all of you like so smart?!! half the stuff you post ,i have no idea about. When i went to the saint anthony monastary in california i bought a bunch of books by bishob Moussa but im not half as smart LOL!
And does everyone have an FOC? i feel like such a loner cuz i have never confessed :( and i am an almost 13 yr old girl and ia m too shy to talk to abouna !!
Well write back PLZZ
GOD BLESS
One more thing i was wondering how ,if, you guys pray everday and for how long ?
How are all of you like so smart?!! half the stuff you post ,i have no idea about. When i went to the saint anthony monastary in california i bought a bunch of books by bishob Moussa but im not half as smart LOL!
And does everyone have an FOC? i feel like such a loner cuz i have never confessed :( and i am an almost 13 yr old girl and ia m too shy to talk to abouna !!
Well write back PLZZ
GOD BLESS
Comments
as marmar said, the earlier you confess, the better. you will find no other person will give u guidance as your foc
and as for prayer- ask your foc, thats wat they're for. to help u out wen needed
but good on ya for being so concerned about you spiritual life ;D
1Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
2And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.
3But if any man love God, the same is known of him.
From
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1 corinthians 8:1-3;&version=9;
I think it might be interesting and good for you to read 1 corinthians 2
I am going to be 20 in july God willing... I may have only confessed once or twice by the time I was your age... and I stopped going to church for quite a long time I think...
when I came back to church I was shy to confess to abouna especially maybe because my sins were very horrible... I regret that I left the church... but now I am back hopefully as long as I live God willing..
In the beginning it might be hard but it might get easier with time.. actually it would be better if we were always embarassed in front of God in the presence of abouna because of our sins maybe because it helps in stopping us from sinning.. I said maybe...
Abounas hear confessions from all sorts of people and he might forget what you confess to him or he might not... It might be better if he does not forget so he knows how to help you better or maybe it will be better if he forgets.. God knows.. in time you might see Abouna as a friend and father who you like to see but still you should be ashamed of your sins in front of him I think..
We should fear God and this should bring us to Him and not away from Him...
Abouna should respect you for confessing..
God does not ask you why did you sin but why did you not repent... same with abouna maybe..
and my sins I think were maybe more horrible and numerous than yours... God knows..
but St Paul and many saints thought they were the worst of sinners.. so I do not say this to make you pride but that you not be afraid to confess because from what people see and mans judgment maybe there are many people maybe worse than you..
maybe there is other reasons why you are afraid of abouna?
I said much of what others on tasbeha.org have said before in the past I think maybe.. maybe someone else can say something else..
I hope I make sense and did not bother you
Psalm 139:23-24 (King James Version)
23Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
24And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
From
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm 139:23-24;&version=9;
You might like to read all of Psalm 139
.. You can read it from here
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm 139;&version=9;
There was someone who repented who did not remember all his sins in a saint movie I watched and it seems God forgave him.. he felt sorry for the sins which he remembered very much it seems.
but if it is what i HAVE to do then i will just have to face it and you should too. but you should pray as much as you want to. i mean that it depends on how much you want to thank the lord, praise the lord and ask the lord.
yeah, i see how you feel copticcross3 cause i have sinned too. i don't want to say it but i never confessed either cause i don't go to church that much cause it is sooooo far away. i am scared to tell abouna all the bad things that i have done too. i don't know what he will think of me cause he comes to our house sometimes and he really likes me. :(
can anyone please tell me some advice about this
Thanks again ! :D :D ;D :-*
God bless
[quote author=egyptianorthobeaut link=board=11;threadid=3285;start=0#msg48481 date=1140456971]
yeah, i see how you feel copticcross3 cause i have sinned too. i don't want to say it but i never confessed either cause i don't go to church that much cause it is sooooo far away. i am scared to tell abouna all the bad things that i have done too. i don't know what he will think of me cause he comes to our house sometimes and he really likes me. :(
ok you HAVE to confess. You CANNOT take communion if you do not confess on a regular basis. if this helps, abouna has taken an oath to forget your sins by the time you're out the door. he is not there to judge you but to guide you.
can anyone please tell me some advice about this
Abounas are meant to have a pure eye and see good in everyone I think... though it seems like he loves you especially he is meant to love everyone.. you might see him say to others come meet me after church because they acted bad.. but you dont see him act kind to those people when others are not there...
Colossians 3:23 (King James Version)
23And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
From
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians 3:23 ;&version=9;
anyway do you want him to believe something that is not true about you? and you should be more ashamed in front of God than abouna..
I might of had more to say...
anyway dont let the devil use this to stop you from repenting to God in the presence of the priest
abouna i wouldnt say likes u better cus he loves all his chuldren, he is just happy that u can trust him enough to open up 2 him, and that forms a stronger relationship between u an ur foc, he respects the fact that u appreciate his trust
i dont know what i would do if i didnt have my FOC... first of all, the advice he gives is amazing. its almost like he has an answer for everything... and if i dont confess, i cant take communion and if i dont take communion.... lets just not get into that lol... abouna's become someone i depend on... he helps me when i have a problem and although sometimes it seems like i exaggerated the problem i come out of there feeling much better...
egyptianorthobeat... glad to be of help ;D
i need help :'(, oh my FOC is soo kind and gentle and he is not strict with me but when i see him talking to the older people he's like 'scary' well i dont mean nething..
but during this last period abouna'd nearly tell me off and i know i deserve more but i cant stand it! i cant benefit from him when he's serious i know it's me who's the problem but what can i do so i can take my life a bit more seriously instead of like lying to myself?
and sorry for a long post!
GBU
It does not matter how long a prayer is but rather it's meaning..so pray from your heart..your question about 'how' to pray can't be answered simply because a prayer is just a message from your heart to God..there's no format or guidelines..just say what your heart desires..thanking God is automatic..it's not necessarily a prayer, it's a duty..
As of being 'smart', it's not as important to just know some church facts that any human being can learn as it is to have faith..Having knowledge about your faith is to some degree important but you shouldn't worry about it too much..concentrate more on spirituality..Personally, I read a lot but that doesn't make me any better than anyone, if not worse for being well aware of certain things yet doing them regardless..
Take your time with the father of confession situation..I started when I was 12 so not much of a difference..don't rush into confessing because a confession is meaningless anyway unless you're ready to repent and have the courage..some people just confess in vain for the sake of it and well, some people rarely do but have a 100x more meaningful confession..so pray and just do it..don't think just because you're advised to 'take your time' that you can wait a life time..be moderate..you have to eventually and it's good to get a head start on your spirituality..and honestly, before confessing, your sins don't mean as much to you as they do after..
Thanx much
luv
mary
Thank u guys this is so grrrrreat ! I am so happy that every one is being sooo helpful. And serventofjesus that makes sense i guess to pray from the heart, i just heard thid thing you had to give god 10% of ur time is that true ,cuz that wuld like be almost 3 hours ! Ne ways i really want to take my time to build up the courage to confess and mean it. But like what some said , that i cant take communion and that is not ..........well yeah !
Thanx much
luv
mary
You are not supposed to give God 10% of your time, but of everything, including health, time, money and everything you have.
health? (no idea)
can u say ...knowledge? (i donno)
love? (huh i sound silly here)
I don't know how you can do that with knowledge, but you definitely can with love.
Can abouna deny absolution?
sorry i din read all the posts but to answer that yes most definately... lyk iwas in a situation and my FOC said to me if i didnt stop hanging around some1 then he woodnt give me an absolution and that means no Holy Commuion... aaaaaaahhhhhh lol but yeh he tends to do that alot which is gd coz its stricter and u make sure u do it
+FROG+