Hello 2nd February 2021 - Fifty-Nine Months on Oh Mum...

Greetings and Good-day on this Summer day, the 2nd of February 2021. I would like first to 'THANK YOU' all for taking the time to go through this new article of mine.

Here I come again to greet you all on yet another month in our earthly life. I am greeting you on 2nd of February 2021, which marks 59 months since that 2nd March 2016 afternoon, the day of the eternal sleep of my Mum Bathqyomo Marine Khoury-Issa.

Coincidentally this year, according to the Gregorian Calendar is 'The Feast of St. Simon and the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ to the altar as a baby'. Oh Mum, I recall that there was a tradition at our home that the Christmas tree and the Nativity set will not be removed until we celebrate this feast. It was beautiful.

Allow me here to digress a bit, due to the urgency of the matter, and I know my Mum would have been doing the same as I will be doing here!. Today, I greet you with great worry in the heart, as we witness our beloved city and the southern parts undergoing lock down due to #covid19 - adding to this the major bush fire that is raging and had already burnt several homes. We pray for the lock down to ease, and for the fire to ease - so, those who are suffering will be able to go back to some way of normal life. We pray. God hear our prayers.

Well, I have been recently commencing my entries with a prayer, thus, it would be appropriate to commence this entry with a prayer by St. Ephraim the Syrian, which is a supplication to God the Almighty, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and as St. Ephraim puts it "Who save all those who call upon Him with pure hearts and crowns them with the crown of light." This prayer is derived from 'The Spiritual Treasure on Canonical Prayer by Mor Ignatius Ephrem Barsoum Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, Translated by Rev. Fr. Joseph Tarzi (1999) - As this is usually a prayer to be recited individually, I have taken the liberty to include slight change to transform this prayer into a group prayer... so, please join, and hope God the Almighty will hear our prayers.

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A prayer by Mor Ephraim ??? ????? ??????

To You I [we] beseech, O Christ, the Savior of the world that You may look upon me [us] with the eye of Your mercy and deliver me [us] from the multitude of my [our] transgressions. I [we] have been ungrateful to You for all Your loving kindness towards me [us] from my [our] youth up. I was [we] were illiterate with no understanding and You did fill me [us] with knowledge and wisdom. Your goodness poured upon me [us] and thus You satisfied my hunger, quenched my thirst, and illuminated my mind. I [we] ask You to keep a portion of all this for me [us] on the dreadful day of Judgment. Yes, O my [Our] Lord, have pity on me in that awesome hour and make me a partner to that thief who inherited the Paradise by a mere word from You. Bring my [our] tears before You and use them to cleanse my [our] iniquities and let the enemy of my [our] soul/s be put to shame at the sight of me [us] in the Garden of life. O Jesus, the Holy from Whom all Saints derive their name, I am [we are] bold to speak Your name with my [our] unclean lips calling for help and taking refuge in You from the tyranny of Satan. Therefore, be compassionate, O God, and rescue me [us] from the horrible pit, the dwelling place of dissemblers. Make me [us] worthy to receive the share of Your Saints who rejoice at the sight of Your beauty, O glory of the Saints and their ultimate goal, so that I may aromatize my [our] tongue by singing glory and thanksgiving to You, Who save all those who call upon You with pure hearts and crowns them with the crown of light. Amen.

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Further, and as we have been going through the lock downs due to #covid19, and now some of our city and the region citizens have lost their homes for the fire, I felt what I have seen of a list of the way that we can change the methodology of our thinking. By changing from what we might usually say as "perishable humans", and apply instead what might be said when we handover our lives to "Our God and Lord Jesus Christ".

I will be sharing these verses in both Syriac/Aramaic and English. Some examples of such ways of thinking of the humans, and how those change when we repeat what we learned from the Holy Bible, and depend totally on God and Our Lord Jesus Christ:

Certainly, as perishable humans, we would be afraid as we comprehend all the things that are taking place in the country and around the world, here, we might say ‘I am afraid’, but always remember that God says and through the Bible verses of the second Epistle of St. Paul to Timothy 1:7 ‘I have not given you fear’, so, how come we are afraid – we should not, as far as we have given the authority to God the Almighty to guide us in our lives.

Another example would be, and due to the pressures of life we might end up saying ‘I cannot do it’, but always remember the Bible verses from St. Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians 4:13 ‘You can do all things’.

Other expressions that we might repeat might be

‘I cannot figure it out’ – the Bible verses from the Book of Proverbs 3:5-6 would tell us that ‘God will direct our steps’

‘I am too tired’ – the Bible verses from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew 11:28-30 would say ‘I will give you rest’

‘It is impossible’ – the Bible verses from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke 18:27 would tell us ‘all things are possible’

Indeed, as we are taught in the book of Psalms, God will give me [us] strength:

Oh Mum, this what you have always taught us, to always take refuge in the Holy Bible to strengthen our hearts and minds during the difficult times. In addition, you always taught us to be grateful for everything, always count our blessings, which you always were convinced that such content would lead us to happiness... thus, I have read something similar to your advice in the monthly calendar of the Blue Mountains for the month of February under the title 'Seek your pathway to Happiness' - I will quote this poem but relating the words in this poem to what you taught us:

Seek your pathway to Happiness

If you only did one thing to increase your health and well-being it could be to practice gratitude daily. [Oh Mum ... you taught us to always count our blessings, and be thankful to God the Almighty for what is bestowed on us]

Expressing gratitude is the easiest and simplest way to increase your well-being and sense of happiness, and at the same time improve your optimism. [Oh Mum ... you always had that beautiful smile on your face that was contagious, no matter the difficulties that you might have faced throughout life as you were always depending on God the Almighty and you were full of optimism]

Seeing the value in others and expressing gratitude will also make you feel more valued, giving you personal recognition, and at the same time developing stronger bonds and relationships. [Oh Mum ... you always encouraged us to appreciate others, which was a way to strengthen our relationships with others]

This will lead to a greater sense of personal happiness, a happier you. [Oh Mum... indeed, you raised as happy children, and those beautiful and precious memories are always there to bring a smile to our faces as we think of you - missing you very early Oh Mum...]

Another poem that I have read, in this month's calendar of the Blue Mountain, under the title 'My Mum, my true friend' also felt appropriate to include here:

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My Mum, my true friend,

You are so very dear and close to my heart [our hearts], [indeed, even you are absent in flesh but you continue to be extremely dear and very close to my heart oh Mum...]

Throughout my life, whenever I [we] have needed a helping hand, a shoulder to cry on – someone to listen to my [our] frustrations, to share in my [our] joys, you have always been there for me [us]. [Oh Mum... you were always there, just a simple talk, even a squeeze of the hand from you would bring strength - miss that in flesh - but in the heart and the mind you are there and always take refuge in those beautiful memories oh Mum...]

Regardless of distance or circumstance your heart and door are [were] always open. [Oh Mum... always... we were your priority no matter how busy you were - and now, as you are away from us in the flesh, we know that you are watching over us, and a prayer will reach you immediately oh Mum...]

You have given me [us] such wonderful fond memories, your gentle smile constantly lights up my [our] life like a ray of sunshine each and every day. [Oh Mum... this smile still shines through the beautiful images around us - and of course that smile that would not be erased not only from our memories, but from the memories of those who came to know you... oh dear Mum...]

You are a beautiful inspiration for how I [we] should live my [our] life. [Oh Mum... this is very true - you are a genuine person who did not only inspire us, your children, but others oh Mum...]

Mum, I want you to know that so much of me [us] is because of you. [Oh Mum... I could not have said it better...]

Everything you have taught me shines through my [our] actions and words. [Oh Mum... this too is very true - as you always guided us and taught us deriving from the greatest book ever 'The Holy Bible']

I [we] like to think of me [us] as a younger version of you. [Oh Mum ... we would try, but difficult to be you...]

I [we] cherish you with all my heart. [Oh Mum... forever and ever]

Thank you for being there for me [us]. [Oh Mum... and continue to watch over us.,,]

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Oh Mum, your garden misses you very dearly, yet, as you trained this garden, it continues to give beautiful produce of the specific summer produce ... here are some images, with which I incorporated some flowers, roses and tulips that I wish they can be flourishing like this!:

No matter how much I think, I write or I say - I would never ever repay you the love that you have given me [us] and I know you are still watching over us... oh dear Mum.

Indeed, we miss you very very very dearly oh beloved Mum.

Please continue to watch over us. We pray

Once again, thank you for going through this entry and your ongoing support.

On behalf of the Issa Family

Your Eldest daughter

Theodora Issa

PS: Theodora acknowledges the sources used in coming up with this entry including the Issa Family archives for Mum's image shared in this entry, also some collected beautiful flowers, trees and other plants in the garden images that Theodora photographed this month, the two calendars from the Blue Mountains of 2021. Also, Lamsa Holy Bible, and the Department of Syriac Studies, also the Spiritual Treasure on Canonical Prayer by Mor Ignatius Ephrem Barsoum, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, published by the Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church, Western USA, 1999.