Youthbishopric.com Newsletter 15


		The second edition

Letter to a University Student
His Grace Bishop Moussa

I thank God that He has granted you the blessing of entering the academic field. A university is not only a school of knowledge, but also a school of life. The young person who spends the university years with an upright heart builds a mature and effective Christian personality and increases his experiences of life day by day. He is transformed by grace into a faithful witness to Christ in an age in which faithful witnesses are rare.

Beloved Reader,

You may have left your small town and found that your lifestyle has changed totally and radically: here you are in the middle of a vast and limitless city. Here you are experiencing complete freedom with no supervision. Here you go out through the university gates without any questions. You listen to lectures without the daily supervision of your teachers, for you alone are responsible. Here your loneliness and the absence of your family sometimes makes you feel greatly upset and depressed.

The food, clothes, your roommates, the atmosphere at university, the method of teaching, and others things are factors that make you wonder, shock you, pain you, teach you, or make you victorious.

Coptic Lessons

Coptic Phrases

From Fathers of the Desert

A brother questioned Abba Poemen in this way, 'My thoughts trouble me,making me put my sins aside, and concern myself with my brother's faults'. The old man told him the following story about Abba Dioscorus (the monk),'In his cell he wept over himself, while his disciple was sitting in another cell. When the latter came to see the old man he asked him, "Father, why are you weeping?" "I am weeping over my sins," the old man answered him. Then his disciple said, "You do not have any sins, Father." The old man replied, "Truly, my child, if I were allowed to see my sins, three or four men would not be enough to weep for them. "

Learn to Make Better Decisions

If you're still making the same mistakes at 50 that you were at 20, you need to ask God for wisdom.

"The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out" (Proverbs 18:15).

What you are in the present is determined by the decisions you made in the past. Proverbs 14:15 says"A prudent man gives thought to his steps."
If you want to change your future, learn to make better decisions.

Be wise! Here are ten principles to guide you:

1.Never make permanent decisions based on temporary circumstances. If you do, you'll regret it.
2.Don't let your emotions blind your reasoning.Pray, weigh things carefully and base your decisions on mature judgment.

3.Surround yourself with sharp people and draw on their gifts, without being intimidated by their expertise.

4. Take the time to consider all options.What looks good to you today may not look so good tomorrow.

5.You can't fight successfully on every front, so choose your battles carefully.Simply stated: some things are not worth fighting for.

6.Take time to get all the facts; conjecture leads to crisis.

7.Consider the consequences of each action. Ask yourself, "Am I ready to handle this right now?"
8. Make sure your expectations don't exceed your potential and your resources. Be realistic. If you can't count, don't apply for a job in the finance office. If you can't sing, don't try to make an album. Focus on what God gifted you to do. That's where you'll succeed.

9. Time is your most limited and valuable resource. Don't waste it.

10.Allow yourself a 10% risk of being wrong, a 50% likelihood of betrayal, and a 100% commitment to trust God. Go forward and survive it all.

Youth Bishopric News

The Canadian Youth in Cairo in His Grace Bishop Moussa's Ordination Day

Prayer for Students

God of Light and Truth,
thank you for giving mea mind that can know
and a heart that can love.
Help me to keep learning every day of my life,
for all knowledge leads to you.
Let me be aware of your presence
in all things and at all times.
Encourage me when work is difficult
and when I am tempted to give up;
encourage me when my brain seems slow
and the way forward is difficult.
Grant me the grace to put my mind to use
exploring the world you have created,
confident that in you there a wisdom
that is real.
++ Amen ++
Charles Henderson

Q&A for youth

How can I resist thoughts which from time to time weigh heavily upon me and which try to force me to surrender to them?

Pope Shenouda LLL Answers:

Occupy your leisure with some other stronger thought to take the place of such thoughts...don't wait until such thoughts have completely worn you out, before trying to resist them, for it is better always occupy your mind with what is useful, so that if the Devil wants to amount an attack upon your thoughts, he will find your mind occupied and not taking any notice of his ideas, so he will pass you by.

Another solution is to banish the thought by reading, by prayers and prostrations.

Attacking thoughts can also be driven away by engaging oneself in manual work.

If the offending thought is not banished by all this,then the best thing is for the person to break out of his isolation and speak to someone else and not to leave yourself alone with those thoughts, or allow them to be your only concern.