وجبـــــــة روحيـــــ(†)ــــــــــة يوميـــــــــة

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III




St. John the Visionary said: "I, John, both your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lords Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,... Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet" (Rev. 1:9-13). Who is this One like the Son of Man, but the Lord Jesus Christ who said: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last"? And John the Visionary emphasizes this, saying

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III




And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, 'Do not be afraid, I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen"' (Rev. 1: 17). Who is He who lives and was dead except our Lord Jesus Christ who rose from the dead?

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III




This meaning is repeated once more in the last chapter of the Book of Revelation in which the Lord says: "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last... I, Jesus..." (Rev. 22:12-16).

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III




God says in the Book of Isaiah: "I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last" and repeats these words several times. The Lord Jesus Christ says in the Book of Revelation: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last" and repeats these words several times. How can these verses fall in with each other, unless Christ is God? Let God be true.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III




The Lord Jesus Christ said that He is the First and that He is the Alpha, This means that there is none before Him. This phrase can not be interpreted other than that He is God Himself, otherwise God would not have been existing because there is none before the First and none before the Alpha. How can the saying of Christ that He is the First fall in with the saying of God: "I am He, before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me"? The only conformity is that the two sayings were said by the same Speaker.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III




To be present everywhere is a quality which belongs to God alone. David the Prophet said to God: "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there, if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me" (Ps. 139:7-10).

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III





There is no doubt that the Being who is present everywhere is Infinite. God alone is Infinite and consequently the quality of being everywhere belongs to Him alone because there is no Infinite Being besides Him. God is in heaven and at the same time He is on earth, because heaven is His throne and earth His footstool (Matt. 34:35); (Is .66:1). His presence in places of worship is but a type of His general presence everywhere. Thus Solomon the Sage said at the consecration of the temple: "Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!" (1 Kin. 8:27)

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III





No Being other than God can be present everywhere, otherwise he will be infinite and this quality belongs to God alone. If we prove that Christ is present everywhere, then we will have proved that He is God.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III





Christ gives those who believe in Him a promise which none but God can give. He says to His believers: ,,For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20). This means that the Lord Jesus Christ is present everywhere on earth because the Church spread and reached the ends of the earth. Imagine a Sunday, for example, and all the Christians in the whole world gathering together in the name of Christ to pray in their churches, and Christ amidst each gathering. Does this not mean that He is present everywhere on earth?

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III





While Christ is present everywhere on earth, He is also in heaven because He ascended to heaven, as the Apostles saw Him (Acts 1:9), and He is at the right hand of the Father, as St. Stephen saw Him (Acts 7:56).