وجبـــــــة روحيـــــ(†)ــــــــــة يوميـــــــــة

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III





Therefore the Virgin Mary was called 'wife' not because she lost her virginity, God forbid, for the Holy Bible testifies that Joseph did not know her. But she was so called because the common Jewish expression for the pledged to be married was 'wife' and the expression for the unmarried girl was ‘woman’. A clear proof of this is that immediately after her creation, Eve was called ‘woman’ ; before the sin, the dismissal out of Paradise and the begetting of children.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III




We notice that the angel did not use the word ‘wife’ after the Virgin had given birth to the Lord Jesus, but said to Joseph: “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt” (Matt.2: 13),

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III




And on Joseph's return from Egypt, the angel said to him: “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel” (Matt.2: 20). Joseph did as he was told on going to and returning from Egypt: “When he rose, he took the young Child and His mother” (Matt.2: 14,21). Here the Holy Bible does not use the phrase 'his wife'.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III





The phrase ‘his wife’ was used before and after the conception so that the Jews would not stone the Virgin Mary because she conceived a Child while she was not a man's wife. But after giving birth to Christ, the Divine Inspiration did not use that expression; not in the angel's words to Joseph, nor in describing what Joseph did, nor in talking about the Magi, of whom the Holy Bible says: “And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother” (Matt.2: 11), nor in talking about the shepherds who “found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger” (Lk.2: 16).

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III


The sentence “before they came together, she was found with child”
St Luke the Evangelist aims at proving that Christ was
conceived of a virgin who did not know any man, for two reasons:
(a) The fact that Christ was not born through the natural way from two parents as all people are, but was born of a virgin, is proof of His Divinity; proof that He was born of the Holy Spirit as expressed by the angel: "...for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 1: 20).

(b) His birth from a virgin convinces us that He did not inherit Adam's sin. Thus He would be able to save us since the One without sin is able to die for the sinners.

Therefore the Apostle concentrated on the Virgin not knowing any man before giving birth to Christ in order to prove the Lord's Virgin Birth. But the fact that the Virgin Mary did not know any man after giving birth to Christ is a self-evident truth.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III



The sentence “did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son”
The word ‘till’ refers only to the precedent clause, and does not imply that the subordinate clause it introduces is opposite in meaning to the precedent clause.
Some examples to illustrate this:

(a) The Holy Bible says that Michel, King Saul’s daughter, “had no children to (till) the day of her death” (2Sam.6: 23). Of course she did not bring forth children after her death.
(b) The Lord Jesus Christ says: “I am with you always, even to (till) the end of ages” (Matt.28: 20). Of course, and after the end of ages as well.
(c) The Lord says to Christ: "Sit at My right hand, till I
make Your enemies Your footstool" (Ps.110: 1). Of course Christ will continue to sit at the right hand of God the Father forever.There are numerous examples of this point. Therefore, the word ‘till’ does not necessarily imply the opposite meaning of what precedes it.
Joseph did not know the Virgin Mary till she gave birth to her firstborn Son, neither did he know her after she gave birth. If he withheld to touch her before she gave birth to Christ, how would he feel after she had given birth to Him; after he had seen the miraculous signs, the angels and the Magi, and after knowing that He is the Holy One, Emmanuel and the Saviour?
Joseph realised that the Child was Christ who completed the prophecy of Prophet Isaiah who said: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Emmanuel” (Is.7: 14) and “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgement and justice from that time forward, even forever” (Is.9: 6,7). The angel must have quoted the last part of this verse when he appeared to the Virgin Mary (Lk.1: 31-33).

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III



The word ‘till’ refers only to the precedent clause, and does not imply that the subordinate clause it introduces is opposite in meaning to the precedent clause.
Some examples to illustrate this:

(a) The Holy Bible says that Michel, King Saul’s daughter, “had no children to (till) the day of her death” (2Sam.6: 23). Of course she did not bring forth children after her death.
(b) The Lord Jesus Christ says: “I am with you always, even to (till) the end of ages” (Matt.28: 20). Of course, and after the end of ages as well.
(c) The Lord says to Christ: "Sit at My right hand, till I
make Your enemies Your footstool" (Ps.110: 1). Of course Christ will continue to sit at the right hand of God the Father forever.There are numerous examples of this point. Therefore, the word ‘till’ does not necessarily imply the opposite meaning of what precedes it

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III



Joseph did not know the Virgin Mary till she gave birth to her firstborn Son, neither did he know her after she gave birth. If he withheld to touch her before she gave birth to Christ, how would he feel after she had given birth to Him; after he had seen the miraculous signs, the angels and the Magi, and after knowing that He is the Holy One, Emmanuel and the Saviour?

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III



Joseph realised that the Child was Christ who completed the prophecy of Prophet Isaiah who said: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Emmanuel” (Is.7: 14) and “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgement and justice from that time forward, even forever” (Is.9: 6,7). The angel must have quoted the last part of this verse when he appeared to the Virgin Mary (Lk.1: 31-33)

[Mary Naeem]