St. Moses the Strong

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this lesson is for the second graders to learn the story of Saint Moses the Strong, the saint of repentance. Also, for the second graders to know that no matter what sin we have done, we can always turn back to God and He will accept us with open arms, as He did with St. Moses the Strong.

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 2 Minutes

Memory Verse
"For all who take the sword will perish by the sword." Matthew 26:52

LIFE OF THE SAINT - 15 Minutes

From: Coptic Synaxarion -- Twenty-Fourth day of the Blessed Month of Paone (July 1)

St. Moses was an Ethiopian that lived in Egypt and was a slave to a person that worshiped the sun. St. Moses was a strong man that liked to eat a lot and drink a lot. He killed, robbed and committed a lot of evil. No one could ever stand up to him because of how strong he was. One day, he escaped from his master and became a ringleader for a group of robbers. His repentance began when one day he looked up to the sun and said "O Sun If you are God, let me know. And you, O God, whom I do not know, let me know who you are."

One day, St. Moses heard a voice saying to him "The monks of the wilderness of Shiheet know the real God. Go to them and they will inform you." Immediately, St. Moses got up and took his sword with him and went to the wilderness of Shiheet. He met Abba Isidore, who right away was afraid of St. Moses because of how he looked. St. Moses told him "Do not be afraid, I have come to you to hear about the true God." Abba Isidore then took him to Abba Macarius the Great who told him all about our Lord Jesus Christ. St. Moses believed and accepted the faith. Abba Macarius baptized St. Moses and made him a monk.

St. Moses lived a very strict spiritual life after that. The devil did not leave St. Moses alone; he fought him all the time. A lot of times St. Moses would go back to St. Isidore, his teacher, to talk to him. St. Isidore would comfort him, strengthen him, and teach St. Moses how to overcome all these bad thoughts.

St. Moses loved to serve others. When the elders of the monastery went to sleep, he would go to their cells and fill their water pots from the well. After many years of struggle with his spiritual life, the devil gave him painful sores on his feet so he couldn't move. When St. Moses realized that the sores were from the devil, he increased in his asceticism and worship until his body became like burnt wood. God saw how St. Moses was patient and how he suffered, so God had mercy on him and healed him from all his pain. After a while he became the spiritual guide for 500 brothers who elected him to be ordained to become a priest. When St. Moses went to the Patriarch to be ordained, the Patriarch wanted to test him, so he bid the clergy to cast him out, reviling him as an unworthy Ethiopian. St. Moses showed great humility and obedience, he obeyed and left. When the Patriarch saw how humble and obedient he was, he called St. Moses back and ordained him to the priesthood and told him "Moses, you have now become entirely white."

One day, he went with the elders to Abba Macarius the Great who said to them, "I see among you one to whom belongs the crown of martyrdom." St. Moses answered and said, "It is probably me for it is written: 'For all who take the sword will perish by the sword'" (Matthew 26:52). Shortly after they returned to the monastery, the Barbarians attacked the monastery. St. Moses told the brethren, "Whoever of you wants to escape, let him escape." They asked him, "And you, O father, why not also escape?" He replied and said, "I have waited for his day for a long time." The Barbarians entered the monastery and killed him along with seven other brothers. One of the brethren was hiding behind straw mats and saw the angel of the Lord placing crowns over the heads of the martyrs and with a crown in his hand waiting for him. He went out of his hiding place. The Berbers killed him and he also received the crown of martyrdom. The Coptic Church celebrates him on the 24th day of the Blessed Month of Paone (July 1). His pure body is located in a shrine in Wadi El-Natroun, Egypt at St. Mary El-Baramos Monastery. Alongside St. Moses is the body of his blessed teacher St. Isidore.

ACTIVITY- 10 Minutes

Have the students gather some sand in a ziplock bag and puncture a hole. As the sand comes out of the bag, recall with the student the time St. Moses was asked to judge his brother and instead was found walkwalking with a bag of sand pouring behind him saying, "The sands are my sins which are running down behind me and I ‎cannot see them, and, even, have come to this day to judge shortcomings which are not mine." And when the other monks heard ‎this they set free that brother and said nothing further to him.‎

DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 5 Minutes

What special things did St. Moses have in his struggle for repentance that can help us?

Prayer - how he prayed much especially in times of temptation -- we need to practice this.
Fasting - Fasting was a very big source of his strength in repentance.
Father of Confession - St. Moses had St. Isidore as his Spiritual father -- we need to have this in our life.
Struggle - St. Moses never gave up, but kept struggling.
Service - St Moses used to bring water for those in need. He channeled his weakness (seeking pleasures of body, lusts) to serve others.
Intercession - we also ask for intercession of St. Moses when we are struggling.

Discuss how important and powerful it is to repent. Repentance changed a non-believing slave who was a murderer, evildoer, and robber into a monk, teacher, priest, saint and a great martyr.

CONCLUSION - 5 Minutes

We have to use prayer to keep the devil away from us. If for some reason we do fall into temptation, repentance and confession is the key to our salvation. No matter how bad the sin is, we must know that you should never be afraid of the Lord. Jesus is always waiting for us with arms wide open.

RESOURCES

Book by St. Paul Brotherhood on St. Moses the Strong

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

Have your second grader tell you the story of the Great Saint Abba Moses the Strong and how he turned from all his bad ways and was martyred for his faith. Encourage your children to ask for the intercession of St. Moses the Strong.