He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Matthew 11:15; Luke 8:8)

A Homily Given by His Holiness on Sunday, November 23, 2025, in St. Mark’s Cathedral in Abbasiyya – Cairo

The Gospels of the Sundays of the Month of Hatoor

The phrase “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” is an extremely important phrase. We notice that it is repeated to our ears in the gospel of the parable of the sower which is read on the first and second Sundays of the month of Hatoor, in the gospel of the third Sunday, and again on the last Sunday of Hatoor in the gospel of the rich young man who asked the Lord Jesus a very important question: “What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17 NKJV). The Lord began to discuss with the young man until He reached the point of weakness which revealed that he did not have an inner ear for hearing.

There is a strong relationship between the ear and the heart, for the Lord Jesus does not mean physical hearing through the ear as an organ in the human body, but rather He means the hearing of the inner heart, referring to obedience. Therefore, the phrase is repeated in the Sundays of Hatoor because this is the principle for whoever wants to benefit from the Advent Fast.

Our Mother the Virgin as a Role Model

The Church presents for us a whole month about Saint Mary the Virgin whom we call “the Pride of our race.” Why?! Because she is a model of a person who applied: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Her ear was present, and when the glad tidings came to her through the mouth of the angel, and it was strange and astonishing news, we found her with the inner ear saying: “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38), giving us a model of one who has the inner ear.

Here comes the question: whom do we hear, and what do we hear?

The First Voice: the Gospel

The voice that we must hear and obey is the voice of the Gospel with all its books and verses. It is a message sent from God to each one of us, and this message is renewed in its meanings and in how it is received. You can receive a verse today and on another day receive it again and find that new horizons have opened before you. For this reason the Church instructs us to read the Gospel every day to hear the voice of God every day and benefit from every word—“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

We do not read the Gospel for the sake of knowledge but for the sake of spiritual edification. The word of the Gospel fills you and builds you spiritually—“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

Spiritual listening to the voice of God makes the soul refreshed. When a friend or beloved person speaks to you, you find that simply hearing his voice refreshes and gladdens you. If just the voice of a friend refreshes you, what if you sit with him? And what if you become his companion morning and evening as Scripture says: “And in His law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2)?

We have in history an example from the story of Saint Anthony, the father of all monks, who heard in the Church the verse: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (Matthew 19:21). It was heard as a personal message to his heart. He heard it, carried it out, and walked in asceticism in the desert and became the first of the monks and founder of monastic life.

But beware of falling into the mistake of wanting to hear the voice of God and opening the Gospel randomly. This is a mistake because the Word of God is organized, and therefore your relationship with it must be one of order and commitment.

The Second Voice: the Calls of Prayer

The calls of prayer are messages that we must respond to. For example, in the Liturgy, we find the priest praying, the deacon giving prayer calls, and the people saying the responses.

Among the calls of prayer is the deacon’s saying: “Greet one another with a holy kiss,” so we greet one another with the hands according to the liturgical order—not as a mere outward movement but intended to mean reconciliation with every person, for it is not fitting to attend the Liturgy and partake of Communion while in a state of enmity with anyone.

A second call is the deacon’s saying: “You who are seated, stand.” He says it while we are already standing, but what is intended is: “You who are seated in sin, leave sin and stop any evil or wrong thing.”

Among the deacon’s calls also: “Look towards the east,” as we all are already facing the east according to our Church’s rite, but what is intended is readiness for the Coming of Christ who will come from the East, the homeland of light. And perhaps He comes now—so be in continuous readiness.

The Third Voice: the Counsel of the Father of Confession or the Spiritual Guide

Seeking counsel is among the important matters in hearing the voice of God through the father of confession or the spiritual guide. In the formal confession session, when the priest lifts his heart to God, God places upon his mouth the suitable words for the confessor, and this becomes the voice of God. Whoever walks in the counsel of his father of confession is a successful person who hears experience, counsel, guidance, and wisdom and applies spiritual training.

The Fourth Voice: the Nature Events and Daily Events

Everything that happens in the world happens only by God’s permission, for He is the Pantocrator. Everything is under His dominion, and therefore there are messages that God sends through daily and life events to each of us, so we learn, hear, and understand. Blessed is he who hears, understands, and benefits from the events of nature and the events of life.

What happens in family events, or with others, or what you learn through reading—all these the person learns from. God draws with His own hands a plan for each of us in his life, and blessed is he who receives God’s plan with acceptance, listening, and obedience, and whose life is in the fear of God and pleasing before God.

Contemplate on how our mother the Virgin was obedient and humble in her heart, and how she was tender and shared the needs of others as we saw her at the wedding of Cana of Galilee.

Conclusion of the Nicene Celebrations

In this blessed morning we are joyful that we conclude the celebrations of the Coptic Orthodox Church marking 17 centuries since the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea.

We rejoice in all the graces God has given us in our celebration throughout this year in our churches here in Egypt and abroad. The celebrations were at all levels and varied in form, size, thought, culture, art, and research in a wonderful manner.

Last May our celebration was through the Syriac, Armenian, and Coptic Churches in a joint Liturgy in this cathedral, presided over by the three Patriarchs. In October, the Church hosted for the first time the International Conference of the World Council of Churches in honor and appreciation of the Fathers of the Council of Nicaea; foremost among them Pope Alexander I and the deacon Athanasius who later became Pope Athanasius the Apostolic. Then in these days we celebrated some theatrical performances, hymns, and beautiful poetry that revived and renewed in us the feelings of the Council of Nicaea which we owe for issuing the Creed and formulating the faith in canonical form that we repeat and pray with continually.

There was also an opportunity for a major research contest about the Council of Nicaea with about 120 researchers participating. The organizing committee chose eight papers which were presented in the presence of many bishops, priests, professors, monks, nuns, and instructors from the theological colleges. These presentations were extremely beautiful, diverse, and beneficial.

Moreover, today we conclude the celebrations with this Liturgy in which five of the beloved bishops were elevated to the rank of metropolitan in the Church. This adds experience, work, renewal, development, and blessing to our holy Church.

The five beloved bishops serve in five different countries: His Grace Bishop Youannis of Asyut (Egypt); His Grace Bishop Sarabamoun of Atbara & (Sudan; Sudan and Egypt are countries on the Nile River); His Grace Bishop Antony of Ireland, Scotland, and Northeast England; His Grace Bishop Barnaba of Torino and Rome (Italy); His Grace Bishop Demian of Northern Germany. Through them, the service of our Coptic Church was established in the European countries because they were the first fathers who labored so that the Coptic Church would have a presence there. Yesterday, they gave speeches in the languages of those countries so that we may understand the extent of our Coptic Church and the expansion of service and preaching.

I ask you all to always pray for the work of the beloved metropolitans and bishops as we mention them in the liturgies, for they do a great work and they have an extremely serious responsibility before God.

May our Christ grant us that our Church always be in joy, honor, and gladness, to Him be all glory and honor, now and forever. Amen.

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