Preservation for students and teachers
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III speaks about the value of “memorization” in the life of students and teachers, and presents its practical and spiritual benefit especially in childhood and the summer vacation.
Main idea
Memorization has two intertwined benefits: it fills spare time and extends with spiritual benefit. The child has a fertile memory and ease of memorization, therefore this natural inclination should be invested.
Suggested memorization contents
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Verses arranged by alphabetical letters.
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Verses about daily life, the church life, and doctrines.
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Hymns, tunes, psalms, prayers, Coptic words, and doctrinal responses.
Practical implementation during the summer vacation
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Distribute papers and printouts with verses and hymns to teachers so children memorize them.
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Hold competitions with prizes to encourage memorization and make the activity a useful opportunity instead of mere recreation.
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Include memorization as part of summer activities alongside clubs and scouts.
Spiritual and educational impact
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Memorization prepares the heart and transforms spare time into spiritual time, and strengthens the child’s ability to answer doctrinal questions.
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Learning prayers and hymns enables the servant to pray at all times without a book and preserves him from spiritual stumbling.
Advice for teachers and servants
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Prepare memorization materials and distribute them at meetings so each teacher takes a paper.
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Practical encouragement: competitions, prizes, and incentives so the child continues memorizing.
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Memorization is not only for children but is useful for teachers and servants also to fix psalms and parts of prayers.
Spiritual summary
Memorization is a practical means to generalize teaching and doctrine and to plant spiritual life from childhood, and it should be part of service and care for the spiritual climate within the church.
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