Search me, God, and know my heart

¹ You have searched me, LORD,
   and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
   you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
   you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
   you, LORD, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
   and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
   too lofty for me to attain.
 ⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
   Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
   if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
   if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
   your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
   and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
   the night will shine like the day,
   for darkness is as light to you.
 ¹³ For you created my inmost being;
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful,
   I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
   when I was made in the secret place,
   when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
   all the days ordained for me were written in your book
   before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts,^[a]God!
   How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
   they would outnumber the grains of sand—
   when I awake, I am still with you.
 ¹⁹ If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
   Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
²⁰ They speak of you with evil intent;
   your adversaries misuse your name.
²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD,
   and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
²² I have nothing but hatred for them;
   I count them my enemies.
²³ Search me, God, and know my heart;
   test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
   and lead me in the way everlasting.

His Grace Bishop Iakovos visiting FOCUS this Wednesday‏

Dear FOCUS members,

 

This Wednesday at 1pm we will be extremely blessed to welcome His Grace Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis at our fellowship. Bishop Iakovos was enthroned earlier this year and made history by becoming the first ever Australian born Orthodox Bishop. He grew up in Sydney, but currently acts as an assistant bishop in Melbourne. 

 

This rare honour of a Bishop visiting our university is perhaps a once in a lifetime opportunity.  We will not only hear him talk, but will be able to ask questions and have a discussion with His Grace.

 

Please make every effort to come this Wednesday so that we can give Bishop Iakovos the best welcome possible.  This is an opportunity for all of us which cannot be missed!

 

We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday,

 

FOCUS UNSW

 

Our meetings are held on Level 3 Squarehouse at 1pm.  Sometimes we use the large room (Room 301) which is near the top of the stairs, other times we are in the small office which can be found down the corridor and to the left. 

If anyone has trouble finding our room on the day, or for any other inquiries, please contact Kosmas on 0400 734 538

Photos from our Forum: The Problem of Pain

"That way ~>"

Fr Dimitri and Pan Tsomis

Our beautiful uni

Anastasia Chrisos and Fr Nicholas

Isn't it nice?

Life of Our Holy Father, St. Poimen The Great

The Monk Poimen the Great (Abba Poimen) was born in about the year 340 in Egypt. With his two brothers, Anubios and Paisios, he went into one of the Egyptian monasteries, and all three accepted monastic tonsure. The brothers were such strict ascetics that when their mother came to the monastery to see her children, they did not come out to her from their cells. The mother stood there for a long time and wept. Then the Monk Poimen said to her through the closed door of the cell: "If thou bearest with the temporal parting from us now, then in the future life wilt thou see us, since we do hope upon God the Lover-of-Mankind!" The mother was humbled and returned home.

Fame about the deeds and virtues of the Monk Poimen spread throughout all the land. One time the governor of the district wanted to see him. The Monk Poimen, shunning fame, reasoned thus: "If dignitaries begin coming to me with respect, then also many of the people will start coming to me and disturb my quiet, and I shalt be deprived of the grace of humility, which I have found only with the help of God." And so he relayed a refusal to the messenger. For many of the monks, the Monk Poimen was a spiritual guide and instructor. And they wrote down his answers to serve to the edification of others besides themselves. A certain monk asked: "Ought one to veil over with silence the sin of a transgressing brother, if perchance one see him?" The elder answered: "If we reproach the sins of brothers, then God will reproach our sins, and if thou seest a brother sinning, believe not thine eyes and know, that thine own sin is like a wood-beam, but the sin of thy brother is like a wood-splinter, and then thou wilt not come into distress and temptation." Another monk turned to the saint, saying: "I have grievously sinned and I want to spend three years at repentance. Is such a length of time sufficient?" The elder answered: "That is a long time." The monk continued to ask how long a period of repentance did the saint reckon necessary for him -- a year or forty days? The elder answered: "I think that if a man repenteth from the depths of his heart and posits a firm intent to return no more to the sin, then God would accept also a three-day repentance." To the question, as to how to be rid of persistent evil thoughts, the saint answered: "If a man has on one side of him fire, and on the other side a vessel with water, then if he starts burning from the fire, he takes water from the vessel and extinguishes the fire. Like to this are the evil thoughts, suggested by the enemy of our salvation, which like a spark can enkindle sinful desires within man. It is necessary to put out these sparks with the water, which is prayer and the yearning of the soul for God."

The Monk Poimen was strict at fasting and did not partake of food for the space of a week or more. But others he advised to eat every day, only but without eating one's fill. For a certain monk, permitting himself to partake of food only on the seventh day but being angry with a brother, the saint said: "Thou wouldst learn to fast over six days, yet cannot abstain from anger for even a single day." To the question, which is better -- to speak or be silent, the elder said: "Whoso doth speak on account of God, doeth well, and whoso is silent on account of God -- that one doth act well." And moreover: "It may be, that a man seems to be silent, but if his heart doth judge others, then always is he speaking. But there are also those, who all the day long speak with their tongue, but within themself they do keep silence, since they judge no one."

The saint said: "For a man it is necessary to observe three primary rules: to fear God, to pray often and to do good for people." "Malice in turn never wipes out malice. If someone doeth thee bad, do them good, and thine good will conquer their bad." One time, when the monk with his students arrived at an Egyptian wilderness-monastery (since he had the habit to go about from place to place, so as to shun glory from men), it became known to him, that the elder living there was annoyed at his arrival and also was jealous of him. In order to overcome the malice of the hermit, the saint set off to him with his brethren, taking along with them food as a present. The elder refused to come out to them. Thereupon the Monk Poimen said: "We shall not depart from here, until we are granted to see and pay respect to the holy elder," -- and he remained standing in the bright heat at the door of the cell. Seeing such perseverance and lack of malice on the part of the Monk Poimen, the elder received him graciously and said: "It is right what I have heard about you, but I see in you the good deeds and an hundred times even more so." Thus did the Monk Poimen know how to extinguish malice and provide good example to others. He possessed such great humility, that often with a sigh he said: "I shalt be cast down to that place, whither was cast down Satan!"

One time there came to the saint a monk from afar, to get his guidance. He began to speak about sublime matters difficult to grasp. The saint turned away from him and was silent. To the bewildered monk they explained, that the saint did not like to speak about lofty matters. Then the monk began to ask him about the struggle with passions of soul. The saint turned to him with a joyful face: "Here now thou well hath spoken, and I must speak for it needs answer," -- and for a long while he provided instruction, as to how one ought to struggle with the passions and conquer them.

The Monk Poimen died at age 110, in about the year 450. Soon after his death he was acknowledged as a saint pleasing to God and received the title "the Great" -- as a sign of his great humility, modesty, uprightness, and self-denying service to God.

Source: http://members.cox.net/orthodoxheritage/Venerable%20POIMEN%20The%20Great.htm

The Problem of Pain

We have all experienced grief, suffering and pain both physical and emotional. We all know there is gross injustice in the world. We have all wondered how God can allow natural disasters, or let 'bad' things happen to 'good' people.

Therefore, the Orthodox Christian fellowships of UNSW and USYD have asked a group of speakers to answer our questions and to share their experiences and opinions.

The name of the forum is:

THE PROBLEM OF PAIN: Making Sense of Human Suffering

Our speakers include:

Fr Dr Dimitri Kokkinos is a priest and neurologist who has examined the issue of suffering throughout his life, and experienced its effects in both parishioners and patients.

Fr Nicholas Stavropoulos is our second priest, and the CEO of St Basil's Homes, examining the suffering particular to the field of aged care.

Anastasia Chrisos is a social worker at Saint George hospital who, rehabilitates and helps people work through their pain.

Pan Tsomis is a forensic psychologist, dealing with both people who cause pain, and the aftermath of trauma with patients.

All four of our speakers have experienced first-hand the issues we are raising in this forum, both in their professional and spiritual lives. We know their experiences will be beneficial to questions about pain and suffering.

WHERE:The forum will be held in the Scientia building, Ronald Lu room, UNSW Kensington Campus.

WHEN: September 1st 2011

TIME:  6:30-9pm

Refreshments will be provided.

We look forward to seeing you and hearing your questions.

Please invite your friends and get the word out about this forum!

Q&A Forum: The Problem of Pain

St Andrew's Seminary Patristic Symposium

Psalm 102 (103): Bless the Lord, O my soul (Ευλόγει η Ψυχή μου τον Κύριον)