Saint Mina Holmdel, NJ

Articles

The Strong

By Kyrillos Rezkalla

The Church has provided her children with numerous stories of heroes who have overcome the world through their love for Christ. The Church has offered an abundance of martyrs to the Lord as an expression of this great love. St. Moses the Strong, also known as St. Moses the Black, exemplifies the transforming power of the Gospel; his story of victory over the evil that once was ascribed to his name, inspires listeners and readers over many generations to pursue the life of repentance.

St. Moses was born from a Berber tribe in the year 332 A.D. and little is known of his youth and early years. He excelled in the life of evil, and contrary to the stories of his virtue that were to spread concerning him later in his life, he earned a reputation as a murderer, fornicator and thief among the many examples of his

We are at the end of a year and the beginning of a new year that we love to remember ...

+ Remember your weakness, then you will be more cautious and you will not submit to the thoughts of pride and false glory which may at-tack you.

+ Remember the loving kindness of the Lord be-stowed on you and you will always lead a life of thanksgiving. Faith will grow in your heart as well as trust in God’s love and work. Your past experi-ences with God would encourage you in the life of faith.

+ Remember people’s love and their past good experiences with you. Should you doubt their sin-cerity or find out they have wronged you, their old love will intercede and your anger will fade away.

+ Remember death, so all worldly temptations will disappear and you feel that, “All is vanity and grasping for the wind.” (Eccl. 1:14.)

+ Remember that you are standing before God and He is looking at

St. Mina the wonderworker and the life of thanksgiving!

During the month of November of every year, the church celebrates the martyrdom of St. Mina the wonderworker and Thanksgiving. As we reflect back on St. Mina, all the saints and martyrs’ lives, we notice how their lives were filled with thanksgiving. The person who is living a life of thanksgiving is noble as he did

On the 11th day of Tout, St. Basilides (Wasilides) who was a minister and counsellor for the Roman Empire, was martyred. He had many slaves and servants. Emperor Numerianus was the ruler, who was married to Basilides' sister, Patricia, and had a son called Yustus. Patricia was also the mother of Theodore El-Mishreke. Basilides had two sons: Awsabyos (Eusebyus) and Macarius.

When the Persians waged war against Rome, Emperor Numerianus sent to them his son Yustus and Awsabyos, Basilides' son. Then he went to fight another enemy and was killed in that war. His kingdom was thus left vacant without a ruler.

The people chose from among the soldiers a man called Agrippita, who was a shepherd, and they set him over the royal horses, stable. He was a mighty man in action, bold in his dealings. One of the emperor's daughters looked at him and took him as her husband. She made him emperor and called him, "Diocletian." Shortly after, he forsook the Lord God of Heaven and worshipped idols. When Wasilides heard this, he was sorrowful, and he did not return to the service of the new Emperor.