St. Pishoy

OBJECTIVE

The goal of this lesson is to think about how God loves and visits those who love to spend time with Him and serve Him like Saint Pishoy who was given the name "the beloved of our Good Saviour" and whose body did not see corruption because it carried Christ.

INTRODUCTION - 5 Minutes

Last week, we spoke about St. Pachomius and we learned how God answers our prayers to come closer to Him. We also learned how St. Pachomius loved God and established a system of communal monasticism which has spread all over the world.

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 5 Minutes

  • "Men always ought to pray and not lose heart" Luke 18:1
  • "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'" Matthew 25:40-45

LIFE OF THE SAINT - 15 Minutes

From the Synaxarion - Apip 8 (July 15)

St. Pishoy was a monk who loved being in God's presence so much that he tied his hair to the top of his cave so that if he started to fall asleep, the pull of his hair would wake him up. He wanted to be awake as much as possible so he wouldn't miss out on time to be in the presence of God.

St. Pishoy was living in the Kingdom of God, even while he was on earth because he was always aware of the presence and greatness of God. Christ appeared to him as a stranger and St. Pishoy washed His feet, unaware it was Christ sitting before him. While he was washing the stranger's feet, he saw the imprint of the nails in His feet and realized that it was Christ.

When the other monks knew that he had seen Christ, they too wanted the same blessing and asked him to pray for them that they could also see Christ. When St. Pishoy prayed for them, Christ said he would appear to them on a certain day on the top of a mountain at sunset. On that day, the monks rushed up the mountain and there was an old man on the side of the road who asked each monk where he was going. The monk would say he was going up to meet Christ who was going to appear at the top of the mountain. The old man asked each monk to take him with him, but every monk refused, because they were afraid the old man would slow them down, causing them to miss the divine apparition.

Just like the other monks, St. Pishoy rushed to climb the mountain as well, but answered the old man when He asked him where he was going, St. Pishoy told him he was climbing the mountain to see Christ, who would appear there. The old man asked him to take him and St. Pishoy told the old man he would carry him on his shoulder. After he put the man on his shoulder and started walking, the old man got heavier and heavier until St. Pishoy could not walk further. St. Pishoy looked up and saw Jesus Christ sitting on his shoulder. St. Pishoy said "My Lord, heaven is too small for You and earth trembles at Your glory. How can a sinner like me carry You?" The Lord replied, "Because you carried Me, my beloved Pishoy, your body will never decay."

Through St. Pishoy's struggles in prayers, he was counted worthy to see Christ. And when St. Pishoy prayed for the other monks, Christ gave them the opportunity to see Him as well. He is also called "the beloved of our Good Savior"

APPLICATION (Action) - 5 Minutes

  • Teach the kids the Jesus Prayer (Arrow prayer). It is a great way to keep focused on God all the time.
    • Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy on me. Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have mercy on me, a sinner. I love you O my Lord Jesus Christ
  • Help the kids come up with a list of simple things that poor people might need. The list might include water, a snack, toothbrush, tooth paste, soap, etc.. The child can then take this list home and with the help of the parent, they can gather the items and place them into a plastic bag. He/she can prepare 4 or so of these care packages and hand them out to poor people they might see on the street.

DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 5 Minutes

  • Let's practice the Jesus prayer during our regular prayers and try to spend more time in prayer
  • Let's practice the Jesus prayer at school, at throughout the day
  • Throughout the week pretend that you are looking at the world through the eyes of St. Pishoy, where/in whom will you see Christ?

RESOURCES

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

  • Encourage the children to use the Jesus prayer this week and carve out more time for prayer.
  • Encourage the children to ask for the intercession of Saint Pishoy in their prayers this week.
  • Create care packages for the poor with the children.