Youhanna Hanna on Prayer

Today, July 13, is the 15th anniversary of the departure/death of my beloved mother Josephine. For this reason I asked Fr. Youhanna Hanna to remember her in his Mass this morning. When I asked him about the fees for his service in the Mass, he reminded me by Jesus' commandment to the Apostles and their followers "Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give" (Matthew 10: 8). I understood from him that Fr. Ibrahim El-Haddad and Fr. Michel Chalhoub too follow the commandment and do not require fees in the Mass prayer. These are good news from priests whose work is the salvation of souls...
In fact, in the Roman Catholic parishes calendar for Masses (New American Bible Revised Edition  - USCCB), today's readings, which I opened this morning, include the story of Joseph son of Jacob who was sold by his brothers to the Egyptians years earlier - This Joseph grew in Egypt and learned from the Egyptians their wisdom and language that Pharaoh brought him up in his palace to be Egypt's second man. When there was a severe famine in Israel, the brothers  hurried to Egypt and were told that they must see Joseph for any supply to foreigners. In spite of the fact that his brothers had sold him and lied to their father while Jacob could not tolerate sending the youngest son, Benjamin, from his beloved Rachel, the oldest brother offered his neck in substitute for the lie. But Joseph could not hold himself and cried in front of his brothers. (Genesis 43, 44, 45)...
Can God cry? Yes. We know that Jesus our God cried to his Father "My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass without my drinking it, your will be done!" (Matthew 26: 36-46). He was so distressed that he was experiencing bleeding. While Jesus accepted the cup in obedience to his beloved Father, I think he did not finish crying, for there are so many sinners over the history of the Church, particularly since secularism and most recently post modernism changed the way things are done. Today large businesses compete to sell their products and services at the cheapest price which benefits the elites and "correct political" leaders become richer. Christ is still crying because many Christians have lost their way to the Truth especially in advanced societies where atheism flourishes. Christ is still crying because we have no time for him. Christ is still crying because "politically correct European leaders are welcoming culturally-foreigner Muslims including terrorists and extremists only to win larger supporters to their sellout policies. Once established in their new areas  Islamic terrorists are able to shoot their culturally-different hosts to eventually make Sharia the law of the land that had been founded on  Christian values.
We can still hope that priests and Christian scholars will help us as Fr. Youhanna Hanna, Fr. Michel Chalhoub, and Fr. Ibrahim El-Haddad do...