By: H.H. Pope Shenouda III

Dear beloved,

If there is a contest to choose from all the years of your lives, which one of them will be the best? Do not make yourself tired to search the past, but I wish that the New Year will be the best, and to be the ideal year.

May this coming New Year be the most acceptable before God and men. Let us remind ourselves with these words before the beginning of every New Year. Some people train themselves to have an ideal day to spend in the best spiritual and social manner. So, let us have an ideal year in which every day and every hour is ideal.

Her Pious Parents

Joachim and Hannah, his wife, were both pious from the house of David (Luke 1:27) of the tribe of Judah. Both were regularly worshiping, and well advanced in years with no child. Archangel Gabriel appeared in a dream to Joachim, announcing that his wife will have a child who will please his heart. Hannah believed this vision when she heard it, and this vision was fulfilled by the birth of St. Mary. As a devoted virgin, she entered the temple at the age of three to live the life of ministry, devotion and worship among the other devotees at the women’s court. She lost her parents before leaving the temple at the age of 14 when the Lord chose her to be the mother of the Word incarnate. She was betrothed to St. Joseph, since it was not allowed to stay at the temple after this age.

The Lord blessed them with another daughter afterwards, and they called her Mary, like her sister who became a devotee for the temple. This Mary became the wife of Clopas or Alphaeus (John 19:25). She is also the mother of James, Joses, Judas, Simon and their sisters (Mark 6:1-3) who were called the brothers of Jesus. James and his brother Judas (Judas1:1), whose surname is Labbaeus or Thaddaeus (Luke 6:13-16; Matthew 10:3; Acts 1:13) were among Jesus’ disciples.

Dove

The Holy One appeared in a bodily form like a dove at the time of Christ's baptism, as the Evangelist St. Luke said, "… And the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form like a dove upon Him" (Lk3:22).

At the beginning of creation, the role of the Holy Spirit is clear, "… and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of waters" (Gen1:2) as a fluttering dove.

The Holy Spirit also appears as a dove proclaiming peace at the end of the flood, "The dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth" (Gen8:11).

When the Holy Spirit works in us, He makes us spiritual people, characterized by the simplicity of the doves "Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves" (Matt10:16)... As the Groom said to the virgin in the book of Song of Songs, "Behold, you are fair, my love! Behold, you are fair. You have dove’s eyes" (Song 1:15; c.f. 4:1), she became in her Groom’s likeness "His eyes are like doves by the rivers of waters" (Song5:12); moreover, He calls her His dove, "Open for me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one" (Song5:2; c.f. Song2:14, 6:9).