Who is your intercessor ?

St. Mina• Saint Mina loved God so much since he was little

•He lost his parents when he was young, but he did not lose trust in God

•He was always reading in the Bible and the holy books

•He gave everything to the poor and went to the desert to live with God

• St. Mina depended on camels in the dessert. Camels used to greet St. Mina by bowing their heads towards him.

•But the emperor ordered him to serve in the military. St. Mina obeyed and served there for 3 years

•Later on, the emperor asked all Christians to worship the idols.

•St.Mina refused and was martyred in the name of Christ and received three crowns• Virginity• Monasticism • Martyrdom

St.Mina was Pope Kyrillos’s intercessor

What is intercession?Asking the saints to help us with their prayers to God.

Which is more powerful: if you alone ask your dad for something or if your mother, brothers and sisters have

helped you by asking your dad with you?

Sure, if they have helped you. The same goes for our

Heavenly Father.

Why does the priest raise incense in front of the icons of the

saints?

• Incense is a symbol to our prayers/ requests

• When Abouna raises incense in front of the icons of the saints, he is asking for their intercessions/ prayers for us.

The church is asking for intercession

How do we enjoy our friendship with the saints?

• Practise asking for his/ her intercession

• Read/ watch their story many times

• Celebrate their feasts with the church

• Write a letter to them

• Put their pictures up in your room

WHAT CAN WE LEARN?

Saints are our heavenly friends Always ask for their prayersTake your favorite saint (intercessor) as an example

“The LORD says .. for those who honor Me I will honor”

(1 Samuel 2:30)

Abraham's Intercession for Sodom

• Abraham was the first great intercessor in the holy bible

• The people of Sodom did so many sins

• The Lord was sad at them and wanted to punish the city with its people

• But Abraham was worried that the good people would get punished with the bad people.

My dear God, would you punish the city if only 50 righteous people were found?

My Lord, I’m nothing but dust. Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will you punish the whole city because of five?’

God

Abraham

I won’t punish the city if 50 righteous found in the city.

I will not punish it if I find forty-five there

Abraham attempted to further reduce the number of righteous required to save Sodom. First it was 40, then 30, then 20, and finally 10.

I will not punish it for the sake of ten

Bible readingThe wedding of Cana of Galilee (John 2:1-10)