Spiritual Service and the Spiritual Servant (2)
Spiritual Service and the Spiritual Servant (2)
Memory Training for Sunday School and for All Believers
What Should You Memorize? Memory training is very beneficial—both within the context of Sunday School for servants, students, and children, and equally so for all believers. What we mean by it is the memorization of psalms, prayers, hymns, and melodies, as well as verses or passages from the Holy Bible. A memorization program may also include: memorizing some famous sayings of the Fathers, and some Coptic words with their meanings.
- Concerning the Verses:
Verses can be memorized alphabetically and used in competitions. A book has been prepared to help with this.
Verses can be memorized relating to the sacraments of the Church and its doctrines, and to necessary theological knowledge—including those suitable for theological dialogue and for refuting doubts, heresies, and false teachings.
Also, verses concerning virtues and spiritual life, and on the other hand, verses that respond to specific sins.
Verses can be memorized concerning daily life and what we use in it, and then verses about the Church and what is in it.
For children and the young in general, short verses may be memorized such as: “God is love,” “I am the light of the world,” “I am the good shepherd,” “He who believes and is baptized will be saved”… The length of verses should increase gradually as the child grows.
Children can also memorize prayers from the Scriptures such as “Our Father,” “Remember me, O Lord, when You come into Your kingdom,” “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy,” “Teach me Your ways, O Lord,” etc.
As for adults, besides individual verses, they may memorize whole passages—such as the Beatitudes (Matthew 5), the chapter of Love (1 Corinthians 13), or certain chapters about virtues like Romans 12, 1 Thessalonians 5:12–28, Philippians 3:7–14, and the Gospels of the Agpeya hours.
What adults memorize can also become material for meditation.
- Memorizing Psalms and Prayers:
One can begin with short psalms such as: In Morning Prayer: “Blessed is the man,” “Lord, why have they multiplied who trouble me,” “How long, O Lord, will You forget me.” In the Third Hour: “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.” In the Sixth Hour: “May God be merciful to us,” “O God, make haste to help me,” “The Lord reigns.” In the Ninth Hour: “The Lord said to my Lord,” “Praise the Lord, O young men.” In Vespers: “I lifted up my eyes to the mountains,” “If the Lord had not been on our side,” “Many times they have fought against me from my youth.” In Compline: “Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord,” “Behold, how good and how pleasant,” “Bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord.” Gradually, longer psalms can be memorized.
Memory training may also include memorizing the Gospels of the Agpeya hours and their absolutions.
Also, each of the seven canonical hours’ prayers can be memorized.
Common prayers said in all hours may also be memorized, such as the Prayer of Thanksgiving, Psalm 50, “Holy God, Holy Mighty,” “Holy, Holy, Holy,” “Have mercy on us, O God, then have mercy on us” (at the end of every prayer), and the Creed with its introduction.
Children may memorize parts of the Agpeya prayers and psalms according to their level.
- Other Things to Memorize: Children can memorize some simple melodic hymns, such as: “Ring, O bells, call all the people to attend the Liturgy, ring, O bells, ring,” or “I was sick and weak, and we performed the Unction,” which includes a ritual meaning, or “O believers, will you not accompany us with flutes and lyres to Bethlehem,” along with some simple short tunes or parts of them. Many churches form deacon choirs from young children who can memorize responses from Vespers and the Liturgy. Children have a great capacity for memorizing hymns and melodies. As for adults, they progress from simple tunes to major hymns and the hymns of feasts and occasions, along with memorizing some chants, praises, and parts of the Psalmody.
Benefits of Memorization:
There is no doubt that memorization has many benefits. The very act of memorizing allows a person to spend spiritual time in meditation and in understanding the words being memorized, feeling them in a spiritual atmosphere.
Through memorization, one can complete prayers at any time, in any situation, and in any place—even among others—without needing to open a book and expose one’s prayers.
By memorizing, one can pray while walking, or traveling, or even sitting among people talking about matters that do not concern him; he can remain silent, appearing attentive, while actually praying in his heart unnoticed.
Through memorization, one can pray in the dark, keep his mind pure through prayer during travel or long walks, and be helped in prayer even when sharing a room or facing criticism.
We often repeat this saying for its great benefit: “Memorize the Psalms, and the Psalms will preserve you. Memorize the Gospel, and the Gospel will preserve you.”
By memorization, spiritual thoughts are planted deep within the subconscious and memory, to benefit later when recalled.
By memorizing and reciting what you have memorized, you occupy your mind away from the stumbling blocks of society, keeping it pure and spiritually active—gaining benefit both positively and negatively.
By memorizing Bible verses, you can respond to any thought that wars against you, recalling the verses that defeat it.
Through memorization, your heart becomes enlightened in divine matters and in spiritual studies, and the Word of God dwells within you—in your heart and mind.
By memorizing, you can respond to doctrinal doubts and in theological dialogue, if you have memorized the related verses.
Memorization helps you use your free time beneficially, saving you from boredom caused by wasting time. Your time thus becomes a source of spiritual joy.
Memorization serves as a spiritual program during summer vacations, trips, and church club activities.
Important Notes:
Memorization should be an essential part of the Sunday School program, so that every lesson includes a story and a verse. The verse should be repeated for the child to memorize and then reviewed by the servant.
Do not waste the children’s age of memorization—meaning early childhood, when their memory is still unfilled and ready to absorb everything it hears. Know that if you do not fill their memory with what is beneficial, society will fill it with its own content!
Memorization is not only for children, but also for servants. They are not merely sources of spirituality! For the Bible says: “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine.” The Sunday School servant, besides what he helps the children memorize and memorizes with them, should have a separate, higher-level memorization program.
Memorization is also a training program for priests in their pastoral visits, as they help families memorize verses and famous sayings of the Fathers—and they can only do so if they themselves have memorized them.
Teaching children to memorize is also the responsibility of parents. The Lord said: “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house” (Deuteronomy 6:6–7).
Teaching children to memorize comes through repetition, encouragement, praise, and rewarding those who memorize well. Competitions can also be held in churches for memorization.
Memorization is beneficial even for the uneducated and illiterate who cannot read or write, as well as for the blind.
Memorizing verses is connected with using them and practicing them.
Article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, published in Watani newspaper on March 4, 2007.
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