Today commemorates the departure of H.H Pope Shenouda III. When speaking of H.H Pope Shenouda III, words fail us because of his rich personality, uniqueness and his multiple talents. So to be inspired by his life experiences and words, I will speak about some of the principles of man’s daily life. These principles make his mind soar above distress and pain, thus peace fills his life. We previously spoke about the time when man decides not to surrender to sadness or self-pity when facing crises of life. He rather offered himself an example of strength, patience and perseverance, so he becomes an inspiration to those who meet him. For example, Sparsh, the young man, Nicholas Vujicic or “Nic” the man who lives offering great inspiration to the world. On this issues, H.H Pope Shenouda III says, “A difficulty is called, so as the heart found it difficult to bear, as for the strong heart, nothing is difficult for him” .The first step of overcoming problems and difficulties of life is to begin considering the issue thoroughly, to train ourselves to have a wide heart to deliver ourselves from the difficulties and adopt a positive outlook toward them so as to find a meaning to our lives. Throughout the process one must trust in God’ support and protection, so he would overcomes the pain and reaches his goal as H.H said before, “Put God between you and the difficulty so the difficulty will be hidden and the loving God will remain before your sight”
People in distress must have others in their life to help them overcome difficulties and turn into inspirational characters. Their role is important and effective. Some may think and act in a negative way believing that a smile or word of encouragement would never help soothe difficulties and they would never change the reality. But my opinion is that they will change a lot.
H.H Pope Shenouda says, “Give out of your heart before you give out of your money”. So when you give others, You should offer great abundant love poured over words and stands, before you offer financial help or allotments. Many people are in need to those who can feel for them and their distresses. They need another person to listen to them and share their pain. May be these positive feelings my help a person who is fighting amid the fierce wind of despair and will help him see the light amid the gloominess of his life, so that he can sail to the shore. Let us practice giving and doing good deeds so that we could offer them as we learnt from H.H. Pope Shenouda III, “Let goodness be part of you that comes spontaneously and effortlessly”
General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
