The Departure of Our Lady, Virgin Mary, the Mother of God
On The twenty-first Day of the Blessed Month of Tuba, Our Lady, the pure Virgin St. Mary, the Mother of God, departed. When she was praying in the Holy Sepulchre, the Holy Spirit informed her that she was about to depart from this temporal world. When the time of her departure arrived, the Mount of Olives virgins came to her, together with the apostles who were still alive, and they surrounded her bed. The Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is the glory, with a host of thousands and thousands of angels came to her and comforted her and told her about the eternal joy that was prepared for her, and she was pleased to hear this. The apostles and the virgins asked her blessing. She stretched her hand and blessed them all and she gave up her pure spirit in the hand of her Son and God, and He took it to the heavenly mansions.
The apostles prepared the body in a fitting manner, and carried it to Gethsemane. On their way, some of the Jews tried to disturb the pro-cession. One of them seized the coffin with his hands and his hands were separated instantly from his body and they remained attached to the coffin. He regretted his evil deed and wept bitterly. Through the sup-plications of the saintly apostles, his hands rejoined his body, and he believed in the Lord Jesus. When they buried the body, the Lord con-cealed it and hid it from the apostles.
St. Thomas the apostle was not present at the time of St. Mary's departure. He wanted to go to Jerusalem and a cloud carried him there. On his way, he saw her pure body carried by the angels and ascending to heaven with it. One of the angels told him to make haste and kiss the pure body of the Virgin Mary and he did.
When St. Thomas arrived where the disciples were, they told him about St. Mary's departure and he said to them, "You know how I conducted myself at the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I will not believe unless I see her body." They went with him to the tomb, but they did not find the body, and everyone was surprised. St. Thomas told them how he saw the holy body and the angels ascending with it. At this moment, they heard the Holy Spirit saying to them, "The Lord did not want to leave her body on earth." The Lord had promised them to let them see her in the flesh once more. They were waiting for this promise to be fulfilled, until the sixteenth day of the month of Misra, when they saw her.
The years of her life on earth were sixty years. She was twelve years old when she left the temple. She spent thirty-four years in Joseph's house until the Ascension of the Lord, and fourteen years with St. John the Evangelist, according to the commandment of the Lord which he told her at the cross, '"Behold, this is your son." and to St. John, " Behold, this is your mother.''
May her intercession and blessings be with us. Amen.
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Chicago Copts is dedicated to connecting members of the Coptic Community in Chicago, strengthening bonds within the community, and to promoting and preserving Coptic culture. Chicago Copts motivates Coptic Americans to become active in Coptic issues by empowering the community through education and social networking events. Chicago Copts is committed to reaching out to our Coptic brothers and sisters in Chicagoland and abroad.
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Words Of Thanks
"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy."
Proverbs 31: 8-9
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We wanted to thank all those who attended the lecture given by Fr. Mattias Nasr Mankarious. There was a great turn out. We also want to thank the following:
Fr. Isaac Tanios
St. Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church, Palatine
Fr. Yohanna Nassif
St. Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church, Palatine
Fr. Wilbur David Ellsworth
Holy Transfiguration Antiochian Orthodox Church
Pastor Rev. Raouf Boulos
The Moody Church
We especially want to thank Fr. Mattias for being our speaker. Fr. Mattias was eager to go back to Egypt and, as he said, to be next to his children
in their time of need. We want to thank him for being a beam of light for Christianity and standing up for the preservation of Christianity in Egypt.
The Bible teaches us in the Book of Matthew: " ...let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who
is in heaven." (Matt 5:16).
Thank you Fr. Mattias for being the light for us to all see and for being the father teaching your children the love, peace, and mercy of Christ. We know
how hard it is for you to see your children murdered, but we know that you are consoled to know that in dying in the name of Christ, they will be saved.
These things I have spoken unto you,
that in Me ye might have peace.
In the world ye shall have tribulation,
but be of good cheer:
I have overcome the world.
(John 16:32-33)
To download the power point presentation, click here.
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