وجبـــــــة روحيـــــ(†)ــــــــــة يوميـــــــــة

[Mary Naeem]

By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

God's beloved, to have an idea about this matter, we have to examine it together. We have to also remember the past, the present and the future in order to recognize what a hidden power we have which we are not aware of. We have to remember that man is the only being created in God's image and likeness (Gen. 1:27). So when you are asked to introduce yourself, say, firmly and confidently, 'I am the image of God'.

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[Mary Naeem]

By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

Being the image of God, you are immortal and not liable to perish at all. For is it possible that a person created after the likeness of God, the Immortal, would perish?!

[Mary Naeem]

By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

See then how great you are than the high mountain, the great sea, the blazing sun and the shining moon. You are greater than the wide desert and the spacious plain, and even greater than the atom which destroys and all the power of nature. All these things pass away as the Holy Bible says, "Heaven and earth will pass away.. ", but you will not, for the Lord Jesus Christ promised you an eternal life (John. 4:14) You, the image of God...

[Mary Naeem]

By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

You are the king (ruler) of the earth and all that is in it:

You, my great brother, are the only divine creature who, of all the earth and what is beneath or on it, are given by God the gift of intellect and utterance given to angels. You are the creature who is given the ability to know God and worship Him and whom God is pleased with... The nature which you sometimes think greater than you, is only made by God to serve you. You can subjugate everything in it according to your will and your power..

[Mary Naeem]

By H.H. Pope Shenouda III







Therefore God first created everything then last of all He created you to dominate over all the other creation...' to dominate over the fowl of the air, the fish of the sea and over the cattle and all that is on the earth '(Gen. 1:26,28). Do you see how you ought to rule over everything though you think yourself weak and fear the hawk, the whale, the lion and other beasts which are in fact your weak servants that served you before?..

[Mary Naeem]

By H.H. Pope Shenouda III





Do not think that you had this before the first sin only, for the righteous in every age has this dignity and authority. Let us examine some examples from the Old Testament: Samson tore apart the lion with his hand and killed it; Daniel was in the lions' den and they did him no harm; Jonah was swallowed by the fish but it vomited him without daring to injure him, and the three lads were in the fire furnace but the fire became for them cold and peaceful. The same can be found in the New Testament: St. Mark and his lion is one example. Another example is St. Paul who the viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand, but he shook it off into the fire and felt no harm; so the people were amazed and said he was a god (Acts 28:3-7). You also are given the power to trod the serpents and the scorpions and every power of the enemy (The Prayer of Thanksgiving).

[Mary Naeem]

By H.H. Pope Shenouda III





Oh, my beloved brother, would you know the value of your soul which you imprison because of your sin in a prison of humility, cowardice and fear! It peeps from behind the bars of your prison looking for its past glory and wishing to be set free if you do allow it.

[Mary Naeem]

By H.H. Pope Shenouda III






You are the divine creature:

You, Valiant, are a divine creature whom God the Son addressed saying, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine." (John. 15:4). You, at whose door God knocks wishing you to open for Him so He may enter and dine with you and you with Him and makes His home with you. (Rev 3,20; John. 14:23)

You are the image of God and you have His attributes.. See how the Lord Jesus Christ - glory be to Him - says about Himself "I am the light of the world" then says to you and your brethren, "You are the light of the world". (Matt. 5:14) .

[Mary Naeem]

By H.H. Pope Shenouda III







You are required to strive to be like God for the Lord of glory says: "Therefore you shall be perfect just as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Matt. 5:48). You are the person whom God is delighted to call His son, though He did not will to call the angels or archangels His sons. He called you alone, you, the divine creature.

[Mary Naeem]

By H.H. Pope Shenouda III







You are the person whom the Lord poured water and washed his feet and wiped them with the towel with which He was girded.

The members of your body are the members of Christ as the apostle says in (1 Cor. 6:15).

You alone are the temple of God and the Spirit of God dwells in you. (1 Cor. 3:16)

You, whom the angels desire to be like.. and who alone partake of the holy flesh and blood of the Lord.. whom the Lord wished to be one with Him and with the Father. (John. 17:21)