St. Thomas Coptic Church HK 科普特正教香港分會

17/06/2026

online bibele study

15/06/2026

Coptic and Arabic Divine liturgy

14/06/2026

14/06/2026

🚨 Mistakes we fall into and convince ourselves are normal (3)


"I've decided to distance myself for my own peace."
"I don't want any more headaches."
"I left the ministry."
"I stopped going to that church."
"I cut off my relationship with those people."

Sometimes, distancing oneself is indeed wisdom...
But often, we label escape as "wisdom" when it is really an avoidance of confrontation.

As soon as someone upsets us...
We leave.
As soon as we disagree with someone...
We withdraw.
As soon as we get tired of a place...
We abandon it.

And sometimes we convince ourselves that this is how we've preserved our mental peace.

But the question is:
Is true peace found in escape?
Or in facing the problem with the Spirit of Christ?

Jesus Christ did not flee from those who rejected Him...
Nor from the betrayer...
Nor from the cross.
Rather, He faced suffering with love.

And the Apostle Paul says:
"If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men." (Romans 12:18)

Meaning, do everything you can first...
Then, if evil persists after all your attempts, you have done your part.

📌 Examples of escape that we've come to see:

❌ A person leaves the church because of a single word they heard.
❌ A servant leaves the ministry because of a disagreement.
❌ A husband or wife lives in prolonged silence instead of dialogue.
❌ A young person changes friends constantly because they cannot tolerate any difference of opinion.
❌ A person runs away from confession because they do not want to face themselves.

The problem is, if you run away from the problem...
It will go with you.
Because the root of the problem is often not the place...
But the way of dealing with it.

Saint Antony the Great says:
"He who flees from the external trial without overcoming the internal one will find it waiting for him elsewhere."

How many times have we left a place, thinking the problem was there...
Only to discover months later that the same problems returned in a new form?

📌 Satan loves escape.
Because escape prevents growth.

How can I learn forgiveness if I flee from everyone who wrongs me?
How can I learn endurance if I leave every difficult person?
How can I learn humility if I refuse to confront my own weakness?

Saint John Chrysostom says:
"A skilled sailor is not known in calm seas, but in the midst of waves."

📌 When is distancing oneself wisdom?
When there is clear and persistent evil.
When the place leads you into sin.
When you have exhausted all means of correction, love, and dialogue.

But fleeing at the first shock...
That does not produce a mature person.

❤️ Ask yourself today:
How many relationships have I lost because I could not endure?
How many ministries have I left because of my pride?
How many opportunities for growth have I lost because I chose escape over confrontation?

Perhaps the problem you are trying to escape from today...
Is the lesson God wants to teach you.

"In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33,)

Christ did not promise us a path without problems...
But He promised us a presence that never leaves us in the midst of problems.

14/06/2026

Sunday Holy Liturgy

13/06/2026

🚨 Mistakes we fall into and convince ourselves are normal (2)


"I'm not judging anyone... I'm just telling the truth!"

A phrase we hear often...
And perhaps we say it even more.

But the question is:
Does every truth need to be told?
And is every critique aimed at correction?
Or is it sometimes just disguised condemnation?

Unfortunately, many times we talk about people's mistakes under the pretext of:
"Well, we need to point out the problem."
"Well, I'm worried about them."
"Well, it's advice."

But if we search our hearts, we'll discover that sometimes we enjoy talking about others' mistakes more than praying for them.

Jesus Christ said: "Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:3)

The problem is that when a person focuses on others' mistakes...
They lose awareness of their own.

Saint Abba Pimen said: "If a person is occupied with their own sins, they will have no time to judge their brother."

📌 Signs of hidden condemnation:

❌ You rejoice when you hear bad news about someone you disagree with.
❌ You spread news of people's mistakes under the guise of "praying for them."
❌ You talk about others' flaws more than you talk about their virtues.
❌ You think you always understand all the circumstances and the whole truth.

But the truth is...
We see only a very small part of people's lives.
There are people we judge based on a single situation...
And we don't know the extent of the pressures they live under.

There are people we consider arrogant...
But perhaps they are wounded.
There are people we consider neglectful...
But perhaps they are fighting a battle no one sees.

That's why Saint Isaac the Syrian says: "Do not condemn the sinner, for you do not know the extent of their struggle nor the severity of their battle."

📌 So what should we do?

✅ Before you speak about someone...
Pray for them.

✅ Before you criticize...
Ask yourself: Did I say this with love, or did I say it to others?

✅ Before you judge...
Remember your own mistakes and weaknesses.

✅ Every time you see a flaw in another person...
Ask the Lord to heal you from the same flaw, or from the pride that makes you think you are better than them.

Saint John Climacus says: "Whoever has known their own weakness no longer sees the mistakes of others."

❤️ Today, instead of searching through others' notebooks...
Let's open the notebook of our own hearts.

Instead of asking: "What did so-and-so do?"
Let's ask: "What do I need to repent of?"

Because the one who is busy with their own salvation...
Won't have time to judge anyone.

13/06/2026

Divine liturgy

12/06/2026

Why is incense used in church?

11/06/2026

"Serious mistakes—the problem is that they don’t appear to us as mistakes...

On the contrary...
We become convinced they are normal...
And sometimes we even think they are a sign of spiritual success!

The most dangerous person is not the one who has fallen into sin and knows they need to repent...
But the person who has fallen and is convinced they are fine.

That’s why the Bible warns us, saying:
'For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.' (Galatians 6:3, NKJV)

📌 The first sign of self-deception:

Thinking that our relationship with God is a to-do list.

Did you pray?
✔️

Attended Mass?
✔️

Took communion?
✔️

Served?
✔️

Paid tithes?
✔️

Then you tell yourself: "I’m fine."

But the real question is:

Has your heart changed?

Have you become more loving?

More humble?

More forgiving?

More patient with people?

St. John Chrysostom says:
"God does not seek many works as much as He seeks purity of heart."

I might pray a lot and still not know how to forgive.
I might serve for years and still love praise.
I might attend every meeting and still my tongue hurts people.

This is what was happening with the Pharisees...
Their outward appearance was excellent...
But Christ said to them:
'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.' (Matthew 15:8, NKJV)

📌 The second sign:

Listening to more sermons than you live out.

A sermon every day.
A spiritual post every day.
A new video every day.

But has even one commandment been put into practice?

The Apostle James says:
'But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.' (James 1:22, NKJV)

Sometimes we consume a lot of spiritual words...
But our lives don’t change.

📌 The third sign:

Being preoccupied with other people’s faults more than your own.

So-and-so is wrong.
So-and-so is negligent.
So-and-so is not spiritual.

But the question is:
And me?

St. Moses the Black used to say:
"Flee from your own sins before you flee from the sins of others."

Sometimes Satan succeeds in keeping us busy trying to reform the whole world...
Except ourselves.

📌 Examine yourself today:

Am I truly close to God?
Or just close to spiritual appearances?

Am I changing?
Or just in a routine?

Am I repenting?
Or just justifying myself?

❤️ The most beautiful prayer we can pray today:

'Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.' (Psalm 139:23-24, NKJV)





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10/06/2026

Does the Big Bang theory mean that there is no creator?