The Papal Encyclical of the Glorious

[Mary Naeem]

قداسة البابا تواضروس الثاني

Who will roll away the stone for us? The stone here represents a difficulty for man. Who will move it? Of course, it is clear to us that the Marys were women who stood in front of a large stone that was blocking the door of the tomb, and it was not easy for them to move it. It caused a problem. In our daily lives, we face many problems and the question comes: Who will roll away the stone? Who will solve the problem? Who will remove this difficulty? Who will open the dead end? I remind you of the rich young man (Mark 10:17-22). The rich young man who lived and went to ask Christ a very beautiful question and said: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” A wonderful question. A young man searching for his eternity. After Christ had explained to him how to keep the commandments, He said to him, “All these I have kept from my youth.” And he said to him, “You still lack one thing.” One step left. What is the remaining step? “Go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me, taking up your cross.” The Bible tells us, “When the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful” (Matthew 19:22). There was a stone in front of him, and this stone he could not step over. His wealth was the stone. I can remind you of the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14). When they entered to pray, the Pharisee was faced with his self. His self and the feeling that he was the best. But the tax collector left justified, because he said one thing: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13). Who will roll away the stone for us?

The second point: The Marys, although the question occupied them and there was difficulty before them, but - in fact - they had diligence, they had struggle. What did they do? They prepared the spices and began to prepare themselves and began to go out and walk early in the morning (Mark 16:1) to go and put these spices on the body of Christ who died on the cross. But they had a concern: Who will remove the stone? This question did not make them idle. Rather, it motivated them to have a struggle, to have activity, to have hope, and to have a strong faith that things will happen. St. Paul the Apostle tells us a beautiful verse when he says: “Never be lazy in zeal, but be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11).