Saint Mina Holmdel, NJ

The Prodigal Son

Imagine you are in a big garden, one with flowers of all beautiful bright colors imaginable, with bright blue skies and clear blue waters flowing smoothly like silk; the sun is shining a gentle warmth you’ve never felt before, and the grass is the perfect shade of green. Imagine being carefree, no responsibilities of the world to worry about, just as you were as a child. Imagine having all this and remember God’s promise to us: that He will give us “what no eye has seen nor ear heard”: a true Paradise indeed, one so good that we cannot even imagine it. Such is the promise that we are hoping and waiting for.

Do you want to be made well?

Fifth Sunday of the Great Lent:

There have been many great events throughout the history of the world, many with riveting results. But none can begin to approach the earth-shattering impact made by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Whether one is a devout Christian or a vehement atheist it would be impossible for any honest historian to deny this. No atomic bomb, world war, genocide, or trip to the moon could come close to the significance of St. John’s opening words in his

Jonah "The Lord, his God"

"Where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into Heaven, You are there; if I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me" (Psalm 139:7-10).

Jonah, according to Hebrew tradition, was the son of the widow, whom Elijah, the prophet, raised from the dead at Zarephath of Sidon (II Kings 17:10-24). He was a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel around 825-784 BC. Therefore, Jonah prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II, the King of Samaria (II Kings 14:25).

The Holy Book of Jonah in the Old Testament tells the familiar story of Jonah, the fleeing prophet. Forty-eight verses comprise the entire story. This is a story of a legendary character with a nature similar to our own. Jonah, a contemporary of the prophet Amos, had faults, shortcomings, and weaknesses.

The Holy Epiphany

By: GEORGE YOUSSEF

The word “Epiphany” comes from the Greek word ‘epiphaneia’, meaning ‘manifestation’ [1]. This refers to the event in which the Holy Trinity as a whole had been revealed to Mankind. Another, more direct term often used in place of “Epiphany” is the word “Theophany” which means ‘the manifestation of God to humankind’ [3]. Not to be mistaken for the Baptism of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Epiphany was a result of His baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. This is clearly explained in the Gospel of Luke: “When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the

A New Image of the Coptic Martyrs of Libya, by Nikola Sarić

I recently stumbled across this interesting new piece of work by Mr Nikola Sarić, a Serbian artist currently living in Hannover, Germany. (Reproduced here with his kind permission.) It represents the martyrdom of the Coptic Martyrs of Libya, a group of Egyptian Copts who, as I am sure most of our readers will remember, were working in Libya when they were captured by Islamic fanatics, and had their throats cut on the