40 Days Log

Today I received the grace of the Sacrament of Priesthood in the Presbyterate.

E Aghapy was ridiculous

The deacons were phenomenal and I am so proud of them. The entire men’s section was full with deacons. It was unbelievable. People from everywhere

Groups from Daytona

Groups from Tampa Bay

Groups from South Florida

Groups from Nashville

Groups from Tallahassee

Family group from New York

Family group from New Jersey

What love the Lord has placed in their hearts to come and attend the ordination and to spend time and money and energy.

And then the congregation of St Rebekah - nothing beats sharing in their joy.

Fr Theophilos’ advice for the Monastery: This is your honeymoon. This is a spiritual time. Spend it with the Lord. Any problems, any concerns, any issues, throw it at the altar. Attach yourself to the altar.

Fr Tadrus Hirmina:

1 - Read a lot. Read about spiritual and read about administrative. Many priests have failed because they were very spiritual and had no administrative. Many because they were administrative and lacked the spiritual. Let this be a period of spiritual preparation. Don’t waste time in the 40 days trying to contribute to the service in your church. If someone calls you with a problem, excuse yourself and say “I’m sorry I don’t have any time in the monastery, let’s sit down and talk when I get back.”

2 - Make a plan. What service do you want to start? What school of thought do you want to instill in people? What service do you want to grow? Make a plan. Diagram it. Write it down. So when you leave the monastery, you know exactly what to do next.

Today I woke up late… Prayers were 4am and I arrived at 4:40am. Should not be staying up so late at night. I will aim for a 8pm or 9pm bedtime going forward to maximize my time in the monastery.

We prayed the Tasbeha and Liturgy with HG Bishop Danial of the Red Sea and HG Bishop Peter of NC, SC, KY. I prayed the Litany of the Sick in Matins - although I don’t know that I “prayed it” as opposed to “I said it.” It was my first time. And I held the censer and I even said ϣⲗⲏⲗ and ⲓⲣⲏⲛⲏ ⲡⲁⲥⲓ. Then I said the last part of the commemoration.

I read Romans 1

I took some rest after the liturgy

Ate lunch with Fr Matthew, Fr Kyrillos, Fr Pachomius Ava Moses and Fr Daniel Ava Moses. I couldn’t attend the Theology lesson with Fr Daniel because I had my first lesson with Fr Pachomius. We did two lessons in one and covered Raising of Incense until the end of the Major Circuit of Incense. I have a lot to memorize and a lot to practice. 

Evening prayers with HGB Daniel, HGB Peter and the fathers and brothers.

I took a walk for about an hour and read On the Priesthood. Introductory chapters and then the chapter about Pastoral Care and the one about Love. Need to re-read the one about pastoral care - if a surgeon doesn’t make an incision deep enough in the patient who needs it, then he will have mutilated him without any benefit. And if he makes an incision too deep in a patient who doesn’t need it, then he will drive him away and make him reject the medicine. Pastoral Care is about giving the patient what they need without being too harsh or too lenient.