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10/09/2015
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Claire Campbell Smith.
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Script
Good morning.聽
The Monastery of al-Baramus in the desert northwest of Cairo, overlooks the dry emptiness like a fortress, which is what it had to become when it was attacked repeatedly between the 5th and 11th centuries, its churches plundered and its monks killed.聽聽聽
My recent visit there turned into an adventure, when we left behind the groups of pilgrims, praying at saints鈥 relics, and drove out to see one of the hermit鈥檚 caves.聽 We stopped to take photos and to save me walking far in the scorching heat, my companion followed me in the car.聽 Within a few metres, he was stuck!聽 The wheels spun and the vehicle sank lower and lower into the sand.聽聽 I found myself fuming.聽 How could he have been so foolish?聽 Didn鈥檛 he realise what would happen if he left the road?聽 And how many hours were we now going to be stranded here?聽 Instead of being grateful for his kindness, I silently and selfishly heaped blame on him.
The most famous resident of al-Baramus was St Moses the Black -聽 an Ethiopian who鈥檇 led a criminal life, but became one of the monastery鈥檚 most respected spiritual leaders.聽 One day, he was asked to join a council that was meeting to reprimand a monk who鈥檇 committed a particular fault.聽 Moses took a sack with a hole in the bottom, filled it with sand and slung it over his shoulder.聽 As he approached, the other monks could see the sand pouring out and asked Moses to explain himself.聽聽 鈥淭he sand is my sins,鈥 he said, 鈥渨hich are always trailing behind me.聽 Yet today, I鈥檓 coming to judge the errors of my brother.鈥澛
Lord, teach me to refrain from judging others.聽 May I choose loving thoughts, not condemning thoughts, compassionate not critical thoughts, and before I see the speck of dust in another鈥檚 eye, help me to remove the plank from my own.聽 Amen.
Broadcast
- Thu 10 Sep 2015 05:43成人快手 Radio 4