The Importance of The Passion Week

The Passion Week or the Holy Pascha (Passover) is the most important period in the year and the richest spiritually. It is a week full of Holy memories of the most crucial stage of salvation and the outstanding chapter in the story of redemption. The Church chose for this week certain readings from both the Old and the New Testaments, which reflect, the most passionate feelings that explain God's relation with Man. The Church also chose some deep hymns and spiritual contemplation to suit the occasion.

In the early Church, our Saintly Fathers used to receive this week with respect and reverence, and act in great humility.

While fasting, they abstained from eating any sweet food like honey or jam, as they considered it not appropriate to taste any sweet thing while commemorating the Lord's suffering for them. Some used not to cook anything during that week, as a matter of devotion, and lest cooking should distract them from worshiping. The majority of Christians used to eat nothing but bread and salt. Those who were physically capable abstained

from Friday night till Easter Sunday. As a sign of devotion during this week, women used not to put make up or wear jewellery. People devoted all their time for worshiping; they gathered in Churches for prayer and contemplation.

The Great Emperor Theodosius was one of the Christian Kings and Rulers who ordered all Government Houses and Business to cease work, to enable people to concentrate on worshiping. Prisoners were also allowed to go to Church and join in the ceremonies of this Great Week, hoping that it would help them to reform. Christian masters also used to relieve their slaves from work all the Pascha Week to enable them to worship the Lord like their masters, without any discrimination. So both masters and slaves were able to worship God and enjoy the effectiveness and depth of this week.

The Passion Week's Rite:

During this week, the Holy Church concentrates on one subject: The Lord Christ's suffering.

For this reason, the Psalm readings and the Canonical Hours which cover various subjects relating to the Lord Jesus Christ including His birth, His ministry, His Resurrection, Ascension and sitting on the Father's right hand and His Second Coming in His Glory, are replaced by a special hymn chosen by the Church especially for the Pascha Week in which we address the Lord suffering for us saying:

E "Thine is the Power, the Glory, the Blessing and the Honor,

 forever Amen, Emmanuel our God and King "

E"Thine is the Power, the Glory, the Blessing and the Honor,

forever Amen, Our Lord  Jesus Christ",

E"Thine is the Power, the Glory, the Blessing and the Honor,

forever Amen ..." adding to it .. "Our Good Savior" from Wednesday night, as the plot to betray the Lord Christ was the practical step towards salvation.

This prayer, is repeated ten times every day.; five during daytime and five at night, ie. during the following hours: First, Third, Sixth, Ninth and Eleventh.

In each of these prayers, we turn to our God and Savior in His passions and say, "we know who You are, for "Thine is the Power, Glory, Blessing and Honor, forever Amen."

With this prayer, we follow the Lord Christ step by step along the incidents of this week that preceded the crucifixion. What then are these incidents? And how does the Church act during this week?

How did The Suffering Start?

On Palm Sunday, the Lord Jesus Christ went to Jerusalem where He was gloriously received as a King: The people praised and cheered Him with palms, spreading their robes under His feet, and the whole city was in turmoil (Matt. 21:10). This annoyed the chief priests and the elders of the people: scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees.

They envied Him for the great love people felt for Him, so they started thinking of a way to get rid of Him! They were more upset when He entered the temple and expelled all who were buying and selling. They then asked Him, "By what authority are You doing these things?" (Matt.21:23). Since then they decided to kill Him, telling one another "Look, the world has gone after Him," (John. 12:19)

The chiefs' desire to kill the Lord Christ was due to their envy, but the puzzling thing is the change in the multitude's attitude; they received Him like a King, then shouted to Pilate, "Crucify Him, crucify Him! " (Luke. 23:21)

When the crowds cheered Jesus, they looked at Him as an earthly King, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David" (Mark 11:9-10). But the Lord Jesus refused a Kingdom on earth, as His is a Heavenly Spiritual one. The plot to get rid of the

Nazarene was then a natural reaction from the Chiefs who lost hope in the long awaited kingdom!!

The church considers the end of Palm Sunday Mass the beginning of the Passion Week, as the plot to kill the Lord Jesus Christ started to develop since then.

During this week the Church's Icons, Pillars and Lectern and sometimes even the walls are all covered with black cloth, creating an atmosphere of mourning. It makes everyone feel that he is sharing in the Lord's sufferings, as said by St. Paul, "that I may know Him and the power of His Resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings". (Phil. 3:10)

General Prayer For the Departed:

Through the Passion Week, the Church is preoccupied with the Lord's sufferings only, there is no raising of incense even for funerals, but replaced by the Pascha prayers and readings.

For this reason, a general prayer for the departed is held after Palm Sunday Mass, for the souls of those who pass away during the Holy Pascha. The priest prays on some water for this purpose, and not for blessing the palms as some may think.

During these prayers we have to confess our sins to the Lord in true repentance, as we never know when our life will end...

After this funeral mass and the dismissing of the congregation, prayers are carried forth outside the camp.

Outside the Camp:

Under the Law of the Old Testament, sin offering was to be burnt outside the camp (Lev. 4:12,21), so it would not. defile the camp with the congregation's sins.

Thus the Lord Christ who took away the sins of the whole world, suffered outside the Holy City. They considered Him a sinner, sent Him outside the Camp and crucified Him. St. Paul explained, and referred to this matter by saying:

"Let us go forth therefore to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach." (Heb. 13:13)

The Holy Church follows the Lord's steps during the Pascha Week and goes with Him outside the camp, closing the veil.

The Church also leaves the first Chancel, the Chancel of Saints, and moves the Lectern to the second Chancel to pray away from the Altar, outside the Sanctuary and the camp, bearing His reproach and saying:

"Thine is the Power, the Glory, the Blessing and the Honor, forever Amen... "

With this hymn, we follow the Lord Jesus Christ in His passion, step by step, contemplating on every word we say to Him in His Passion. 

H. H. Pope Shenouda III 

JONAH IN THE BELLY OF THE FISH - By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

Jonah was thrown into the sea, yet he was not thrown unto death. God's Providence still held him, and God was still with His plan of sending him to the city of Nineveh for the sake of its salvation.
       
Is this man, O Lord, still suitable for this great ministry, after all that he has done?
       
Yes. This Jonah is My son, and My beloved. He is also My prophet, and I will send him to Nineveh. If he sinned I will correct him and make him useful for My ministry. I will save his soul and save the city through him. This unpolished stone, I undertake to chisel until I make it suitable for building.
       
Indeed, God is wondrous in His long-suffering. He does not hastily abandon or become angry with His servants who fall.
       
He received Peter after he had denied Him, and confirmed him in his apostleship. We human beings are characterised by our quick temper, and by our being quick to punish and quick in cut our relationships. Whereas God is not like that. He kept Jonah in his ministry and preserved him safe and sound to accomplish his mission. When Jonah was thrown into the sea, the God of the sea received him to protect him from every evil.
       
When Jonah was thrown into the sea the Divine hand picked him up and carried him delicately that he might not perish or drown. God took him and placed him inside the whale to preserve him safe there.
       
God had “prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah" (Jon. 1:17). He did not prepare it to destroy him but to preserve him. The great fish was not a punishment but a shelter. Jonah was safer and more comfortable in the belly of the whale than if he were still in the ship struggling against the waves and the sea, and against fatigue, cold and wind.
       
This whale was sent by God to carry out the Divine will entrusted to it.
       
It did not have authority to eat Jonah nor to secrete digestive enzymes onto him to absorb him. No, but rather it swallowed him in order to take him into its inner bosom and keep him safe there until he would approach his destination. The whale was a free means of transport by which Jonah reached the nearest point to his embarkation stop.
       
It was as though Jonah was in a protected submarine sailing underwater. That great fish was sent to rescue him from the sea and its tumults. It was like tribulations, appearing fearful from the outside whilst entailing within them all benefit. Jonah was inside the fish for three days, sound and not conquered by the whale, just as Christ was in the tomb for three days and was not conquered by death.
       
So should you be, blessed brother. If the Lord prepares for you a great fish to swallow you, do not fear, neither be troubled, nor grieve. From inside the belly of the fish bless the Lord as Jonah did.
       
Be assured that the whale can swallow you but it cannot harm you. It can never touch you without God's sanction. The time will surely come when the Lord will order it to disgorge you onto dry land where you where before. Is God not the Creator of the whale, and are not its life and direction in His hand? If you are in tribulation, brother, then remember Jonah's whale and you will be reassured. You will know that the Lord is the one who has prepared this whale for you to grant you a particular virtue or a special grace. 

Be careful not to complain whenever you are swallowed by a whale, for the whales of the sea of this world are many.
       
Do not say: "Why do You treat me like this, O Lord? Why did You prepare this whale to swallow me? Where were You, O Lord, when it was swallowing me? And why did You not rescue me?"
       
Know that God's answer is one: "Do not be afraid. It is enough for you that you are with Me. Even if you are in the belly of the whale, I am with you. I will not disregard you nor abandon you." Therefore, my brother, do not be afraid. Remember the saying of the righteous Abba Paul, "He who flees from tribulation has fled from God".

      
That whale was extremely huge. It was "a great fish."
       
There are many huge whales, each one of them like a spacious room, able to swallow a boat together with those in it. When the great fish swallowed Jonah, Jonah looked and found himself as if in a large hall or in a pool. What did he do? He returned to his senses, knelt down and prayed in the belly of the whale, and the Lord beheld him and rejoiced:
       
Ah Jonah! I have wanted this prayer from you since the beginning of the story. The reason for all that has happened was to make you kneel down, even if in the belly of the fish, that we may reason together.
       
"For a long time I have wanted to talk to you and reason together, but you were angry, you fled and refused to talk. But now is an appropriate opportunity to reconcile together.
       
Jonah knelt and prayed to the Lord, and returned once again to his prophetic rites. He returned to his former image as an obedient God-loving man, firmly believing in God's promises. He returned to his former state, trusting God and offering Him thanksgiving.
       
I was greatly affected by Jonah's prayer in the belly of the great fish, which is characterised by the spirit of prophecy, wondrous faith and assurance of the unseen.
       
It is one of the greatest prayers I have ever read in my life. If only he had offered it, or a prayer of its like, before he had thought of fleeing from the Lord! Indeed tribulation is a school of prayer.
       
I was deeply affected by his saying: "I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction and He answered me", and I said in myself, "What is all this, Jonah? How has God answered you when you are still in the belly of the great fish? Would it not be more appropriate to say, 'I cried out to You, O Lord, answer me', so that you plead for your prayer to be answered rather than declaring it?"
       
Jonah saw with the eye of faith what the Lord would give him. He saw it as if it were before his eyes, and not as if he would obtain it later on, thus he said joyfully: "I cried out to the Lord.. and He answered me".
       
Jonah continued his wondrous prayer, saying to the Lord: "Out of the belly, of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice... all Your billows its and Your waves passed over me... Yet I will look again toward Your Holy temple". With this faith Jonah could see himself outside the great fish, looking toward the temple of the Lord.
       
With this faith he was able to turn his prayer from petition into thanksgiving whilst he was still in the belly of the great fish, and thus he concluded his prayer by saying: "But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord." (Jon. 2:9)
       
What made you sure, O holy prophet, that the Lord heard your prayer and answered you, sanctioned that you come out of the whale and return once more to behold His temple? How far was that temple from you? It was far away in Jerusalem whilst you were in the belly of the whale, somewhere in the sea, exactly where you could not ascertain. But the prophet replies:
       
"I am completely confident that I will come out of the belly of the whale and accomplish my mission, because God's word is never disproved nor does it return empty.”
       
"So long as God commanded that I should go to Nineveh, then I will go there and carry out His sacred will, undertake my preaching ministry and then return to the temple of God to worship there. I will sacrifice to the Lord and offer my vows. All this I see clearly and without doubt before my eyes. My present temporary state in the whale and the sea has no effect on this at all."
       
How amazing is this man in his faith! Indeed, he is the man of deep faith chosen by the Lord. We do not deny that a cloud engulfed him and he sinned against God, but his essence was still good.
       
He saw the future full of hope as though it were the present. He offered thanksgiving to the Lord for the salvation which he had not yet received according to time, but which he had actually received according to the gift of revelation granted to prophets; the revelation of the man who has eyes open to see the Lord's visions as in an open book, and who enjoys God's promises before they are fulfilled.
       
When Jonah's faith reached that wonderful level, the Lord ordered the whale to vomit him onto dry land.
       
That whale acted with great discipline according to an assuring predestined Divine plan. It appeared in the proper time and at the right place in order to carry Jonah in its belly. It was as though this prophet was being taken from an open ship liable to being covered and drowned by the waves, into an enclosed and protected ship invulnerable to water and waves. In due time the whale vomited Jonah onto dry land at the place which God defined. There it left him unharmed after it had fully completed its errand.
       
Congratulations, Jonah, on this wonderful submarine in whose bosom you lived for a while. It has brought to your mission.
       
Let us turn over this page in the life of Jonah as if it had never happened. As if the first two chapters of the Book have been forgotten by the Lord. O the Lord returned and said to Jonah anew: "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach the message that I tell you.”



Contemplations on the Book of Jonah the Prophet

By H.H. Pope Shenouda III 

Jonah: When All Things Work Together for Good

by H.H. Pope Shenouda III

Saint Paul the apostle said, “All things work together for good to those who love God.” (Romans 8:28) We have also learned this from the book of Jonah. Even the things that appear to be the source of toil and affliction work together for good. 

The great fish that swallowed Jonah was also the reason for a great blessing. It was a safe submarine that carried Jonah and brought him near the place of his service. This great fish was also able to teach Jonah to pray, for we find Jonah, who did not bow to God in the ship, praying inside the belly of the great fish, making vows to God, speaking faithfully, and leaving the great fish to carry out God's will which he had previously disobeyed.

Do not be afraid if you are the swallowed by a great fish one day. Perhaps this great fish has been sent to/for you by God, Who has prepared it for your sake in order to grant you a special blessing. Therefore, remember the words of the Bible, “all things work together for good to those who love God.”

The waves that nearly overturned the ship worked for good. This tempestuous sea, great storm and clamorous, high waves all worked together for good.

If it were not for this, the mariners would not have prayed, offered sacrifices or made vows. It guided them to believing. Likewise, the worm that ate the plant and grieved Jonah was working for good. It indeed deprived Jonah of the shade, who was struck by the heat of the sun and became faint, but this was for his own good. It was a reason that led to Jonah reproaching God, through which his soul was saved.

God is capable of utilizing everything for our own good. He utilized the betrayal of Judas, the envy of Annas and Caiaphas and the cowardice of Pilate, all to fulfill the great work of redemption. It is sufficient that God transforms any matter that falls into His Hands to good, even if the matter is evil. Joseph's brothers sold him as a slave, but God transformed this evil to good. What is important is that we believe in the goodness of God and His works, and His good intervention in matters. That is why the Bible did not only say, “all things work together for good”, but added, “to those who love God.”

Indeed, for those who love God, all things work together for them for good. All things do not work together for good for all people. Tribulations come to many people and they grumble, murmur, complain and blaspheme. However, when tribulation comes to a person who loves the Lord, he thinks: “What is the blessing that the Lord wishes for me from behind this tribulation?” In this way, all things work together for good for him. There is a beautiful, comforting verse at the beginning of the book of Genesis, at the end of the story of creation, in which the Divine Inspiration says: “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31)

Even the great dragon on the land or in the sea, God saw as very good. We can see all things as beautiful with the vision of faith, love and simplicity. Do you think that the mother ape sees its child as being less beautiful than that of a gazelle? Not at all; but if he were transformed into a gazelle she would mourn over him. Sometimes we see matters as being troublesome, since the trouble is from within us. If we are sound from within, then we would be happy with everything, even with the great fish, which swallows us, and with the tempestuous sea, which almost overturns our ship. God even transformed Jonah's sin in his escape to good. Jonah boarded a ship and escaped from God, so God utilized this escape as a reason for the salvation of the mariners. In the same way, Jonah's stubbornness with God was transformed to good, and so Jonah came out of it with greater knowledge of God and His ways, and with greater maturity in his spiritual life and understanding. He learnt many spiritual lessons from the incidents of the ship, the great fish and the plant.

Life Of Faith - 3 - Degrees And Kinds Of Faith

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit One God. Amen.

CHAPTER 3

DEGREES AND KINDS OF FAITH

Degrees Of Faith

People differentiate from one another in the kind of faith and the degree of faith they have "As God has dealt to each one a measure of faith" (Rom. 12:3).

Some may exaggerate by saying that a person with little faith is not at all a believer. This judgment is against the teachings of the Holy Bible, as we will see later. Some may mix between the word 'believer' and 'the chosen one', as if these two words mean the same thing. Let us then meditate on the different kinds of faith and its degrees.

1. There is the newly converted believer and the apostle ordered not to swell the believer up with pride or else he will "fall into the same condemnation as the devil." (1 Titus. 3:6).

2. There are those with little or weak faith, following are examples from Bible about this kind:

a) Those who complain about God's care in food or clothes. The Lord gave them an example of the lilies of the field, and that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. The Lord then rebuked them by saying "Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" (Matt. 6:28-30, Luke 12:28).

b) The Lord also rebuked the disciples, when they thought that they did not take bread with them by saying "O you of little faith" (Matt. 14:31).

c) The Lord rebuked Saint Peter when he became afraid after walking with Him on the water and began to sink, the Lord rebuked him and said "O you of little faith, why did you doubt" (Matt. 14:31).

d) Similarly, when the disciples got frightened when the waves covered the ship during the Lord's sleep, then the Lord said to them "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" (Matt. 8:26).

Thus fear and doubt in the help of the Lord are evidences of little faith.

e) The apostle gave an example of a person of weak faith who eats only vegetables, the apostle also ordered that one should not judge or mock such a person and said "To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand." (Rom. 14:1-4).

Here I admire the father of the boy with an evil spirit, when the Lord asked him "do you believe?" so as to heal his son, the father answered "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24).

The person with weak faith needs those who pray for him, so that the Lord may help him. We should not mock him for God is able to make him firm in faith.

3. There Is A Third Kind Of Faith And That Is The Limited Faith

We mean by that the person who believes in the Lord but in certain limits, and his faith does not exceed these limits. An example of this kind of faith are Mary and Martha, who believed that the Lord is able to heal their brother from sickness so as not to die. If he dies however, then their faith was not yet that far that his being risen from the dead was possible.

Therefore, each one of them said to the Lord "If You had been here, my brother would not have died." (John 11:21,32). When the Lord said to Martha "your brother will rise again" she answered Him "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day " (John 11:24) and when the Lord went to the tomb and said "take away the stone" Martha said "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days" (John 11:39).

God did not refuse this limited faith but He gave it a chance to grow.

That's why He said to Martha "He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live." and He rebuked her at the tomb by saying "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" (John 11:25,40). He gave her the chance to see the glory of God in rising her brother Lazarus from the dead, so that she believes and also the Jews, who saw the miracle, would also believe.

Here faith came after the miracle and not before it.

May be it happened like that because this miracle was the first of its kind, namely rising a dead after four days of being dead and stinking.

4. A fourth kind, from the weak faith, is the slow heart in faith. Maybe it comes from a slow understanding, or from no comprehension, so the person's faith does not come quickly.

This was the kind of faith the disciples of Emmaus had in respect to the resurrection of the Lord. The Lord rebuked them by saying "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things" (Luke 24:25-26). He then began to explain to them what was written in all the Scriptures concerning Christ. so that they believed, or so that he cures this tardiness in their faith resulting from their little knowledge or little understanding.

In this example we could also say that it is sound to rectify the misunderstandings concerning the faith. It is much better that way than to despise and to mock such persons, it won't bring any good results and it won't read to the real faith.

5. There Is A Dangerous Case Of Faith And That Is The Dead Faith.

Saint James the apostle said, "Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." (James 2:17,20). He also said that this kind of faith can not save the person (James 2:14) and he saw that the living faith should have works or deeds to show it, "I will show you my faith by my works." (James 2:18).

6. There Is Also Faith Which Is Not Firm

An example of that is Jesus Christ before being arrested, said to His disciple Peter "Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail" (Luke 22:31,32). At this time Peter's faith failed but he turned back again to his first power.

7. There Are Other Cases The Bible Describes As Deviating From The True Faith:

a) Saint Paul the apostle said "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his
household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." (1 Tim. 5:8).

b) He said about the young widows when their sensual desires overcame their dedication to Christ "They desire to marry, having condemnation because they have cast off their first faith." (1 Tim. 5:11,12).

c) He also said "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the
faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows " (1 Tim. 6: 10).

d) He said "Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and
contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith" (1 Tim. 6:20,21).

In all these examples, can we deny the relationship between faith and deeds?

With a false deed it is said that a person denied the faith, or refused it, or went astray from it, or deviated from it. May be with these examples as measures we can examine ourselves, doing what the apostle said: "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith." (2 Cor. 13: 5).

8. The Most Dangerous Case Is To Retreat From Faith

The apostle says "In latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons" (1 Tim. 4: 1). The expression to retreat from faith means that they were in faith and then they retreated from it.

The apostle speaks about the great retreat that will happen before the coming of Christ "for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs" (2 Thes. 2:3).

This is from the general point of view but from the individual point of view the apostle says "Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him" (Heb. 10:38). Here he speaks about the retreat of a believer who was living in faith.

So long the believer can retreat so the believers are not the chosen ones, because the chosen ones stay in their faith all their lives until they meet the Lord.

The above are illustrations of negative kinds of faith, let us explain the positive ones.

9. To Grow In Faith

Saint Paul the apostle says to the Thessalonians "We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren,... because your faith grows exceedingly" (2 Thes. 1: 3) and he also said to the people of Corinth that their faith increases (2 Cor. 8:7).

Faith is a virtue like all the other virtues, one can grow in it.

10. To Keep The Faith And To Maintain It.

The apostle says about himself in his last days "I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness" (2 Tim. 4:7-8).

He also says to the Colossians "to present you holy, and blameless in His sight if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel" (Col. 1:23).

11. To Be Firm In Faith

Saint Peter the apostle says about the devil's wars "Resist him, steadfast in the faith " (1 Pet. 5:9).

12. To Be Rich With Faith

Saint James the apostle says "Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?"(James 2:5).

13. To Be Filled In Faith

It was said about Stephen "they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit...And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people" (Acts 6:5,8).

The following qualities are said to be indispensable to faith.

14. Faith Working In With Love

Saint Paul the apostle says "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love." (Gal. 5:6), may be he mentioned the expression 'working faith' because faith without deeds is dead (James 2:20). And the expression 'love' is connected with the whole law and the prophets (Matt.22: 40).

There is a great kind of faith:

15. Faith That Performs Miracles

The Lord spoke about "signs will follow those who believe:" (Mark 16:17), and Saint James the apostle said "And the prayer of faith will save the sick" (James 5:15).

The Peak of this matter is clear in the Lord's saying "All things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9:23).

16. Faith Of Confidence And Believing

It is what the Lord used to ask for from those whom a miracle happened to them. And sometimes He asked "do you believe?".
He asked the blind men who asked Him to heal them "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" (Matt. 9:28).

The Lord blessed this kind of faith, as well as He said to the Canaanite woman "great is your faith! " (Matt. 15:28), and also to the centurion "I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!"(Matt. 8: 10).

17. The Whole Faith

Saint Paul the apostle says "Though I have all faith, so that I could move mountains ... " he considered that this faith that moves mountains is the whole faith, that is, its peak and nothing beyond it.

KINDS OF FAITH

There is a great difference between two kinds of faith: theoretical faith and practical faith.

1. The Theoretical Faith

It is an intellectual or philosophical faith. It is just the intellectual conviction in the existence of God and in the existence of unseen matters without their influence on life.

There is a saying that proves that the devils have this kind of faith. Then Saint James says about the dead faith, which is with no deeds "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble!" (James 2:19). The book of Job gives us an evidence to that point because the conversation
between God and Satan proves this theoretical faith, then Satan says to the Lord "Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!" (Job 1:9-11). When Satan took permission from God to act, he went to work against Job, and in the second time Satan told the Lord "Stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!" (Job 2:5).

Hence Satan believes theoretically that, that is God, and that He is the one who blessed the work of Job, and He is able to strike what he has, and to strike his flesh and bones. Every expression coming out of Job against God is considered a curse towards God. Never the less Satan was fighting the kingdom of God and God's children, and he still does.

The theoretical faith of Satan which Job spoke about is a dead faith according to what the apostle said "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:20). Thus if faith without deeds is dead, then what is the faith that is loaded with bad deeds opposing every goodness.

The theoretical faith is easy. How easy is it to prove the existence of God with the intellectual proofs and the many evidences, the most important is however the practical faith.

This leads us to the important kind of faith

The Practical Faith

It is the faith, which signs show in the practical life, the life of a believer believing that God is in front of him, he sees and feels Him, and he acts worthy of this faith.

He loves this God who he believes in His existence, His care, His protection, and he talks to this loving God through his prayers and his imploring, and he fears to do anything that may hurt His loving heart... and in tranquillity in His actions, he does not fear and does not trouble, but lives in perpetual peace, he yields his whole life to His wise disposal.

In this way, faith leads the believer to many uncountable virtues.

This kind of faith is the subject of this book, as we will as to describe how faith leads our whole life to become

a life of faith.

This understanding takes us to another quality in the qualities of the true faith:

2. Perpetual Faith

We mean by that, that it does not have occasions. Our faith does not only appear when being in church, or in a spiritual meeting, or when praying, or when reading the Bible, or when having communion; but this faith is apparent at any time and in any place, outside the church as well as inside. God is always in
front of us and is always on our minds with faith that does not change. He is not only the Lord of churches or the Lord of the Bible but He is the Lord of the heart and the mind together and
the Lord of life.

3. Faith Without Seeing

This faith does not depend on the senses and is consistent with what the Lord said "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29). It is not like the scientists who
do not believe in anything unless they get it in their laboratories and convince themselves of it with their eyes and instruments, and not like the Sadducees who denied the existence of the angels, the resurrection and the spirits (Acts 23:8), because they have not seen anything from all that...

4. Faith Of Confidence And Test

It is not faith in God what we read about in the theological books or in the religious institutions, or in the churches and in the Sunday schools with all their kinds.

But it is the faith in God that we test in our lives. We were in companionship with Him, we let Him enter in every detail of our lives, and practically tested what David said "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good" (Ps 34:8). We found that God is wonderful, to the most extent, beyond what the mind can imagine.

Our whole life is fellowship with Christ. We tasted His beauty, His love and His care, we also saw His power and His glory.

We saw how He enters into our problems and solves them in ways that could not have occurred to us before.

Because of our test we gained confidence not built on books, but on what we felt by our hands, that's why our faith is a true faith destined in our hearts.

5. A Strong Faith

It is faith that is able to do anything (Mark 9:23), it can overcome any obstacle, it does not see anything impossible. It was said about Zerubbabel "Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!" (Zech. 4:7).

It is faith that can place its foot in water so as to cross the Red Sea in the days of Moses (Ex. 14:22), and to cross the Jordan river in the days of Joshua (Joshua 3). It can walk inside the great sea or river with waters surrounding it like a gate on its right and on its left without any fear.

It is faith that can strike the rock and water comes out of it (Ex. 17:6). It is faith that walks in the desert without any food or guide collecting its food from the manna descending from heaven day by day (Ex. 16:21) guided by the cloud in the day time and by the fire rod at night (Num 9:15-23).

It is the strong faith which Elijah said through it "There shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word" (1 Kin 17: 1), and thus "it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain" (James 5: 17-18), and that is how he could
close and open the sky.

There are many examples about this strong faith. There are many other examples of this kind but they appear in another form.

6. Faith Which Is Steady

It is a steady faith and is not at all affected by external circumstances; it believes in God's love either on mount Carmel or on Golgotha.

Abraham believed in the love of God that gave him descendants from Sarah in hopeless circumstances, exactly how he believed in the love of God as He said to him "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah" (Gen. 22:2).

Abraham when he raised his hand with the knife to slay his son Isaac did not doubt in the love of God, nor in His timing. His faith was never shaken in God, and not even that he will have descendants from Isaac as many as the stars of the sky and the sand of the sea.

Steady faith does not change according to the external circumstances surrounding it, because its confidence is steady in God, and its peace of heart is not affected by the external circumstances but from God Himself, His love and the truth in His timings.

7. Faith As A Gift

There is normal faith and faith which is considered a gift from the Holy Spirit, and no doubt the latter has a higher degree which overcomes the normal faith.

Saint Paul the apostle, says in his speech about gifts "There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. ... But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, " (1 Cor. 12:4-9).

Faith as being among the fruits of the Spirit is also seen in (Gal.5:22).

It becomes clear that we can not separate the faith from the works of the Holy Spirit; either from the fruits of the Spirit, or from the Spirit's gifts; and each of them has its degree.

8. The Sound Faith

How often do people believe in ideas or beliefs political or social, and their belief gives them a power to carry these ideas out and to transfer them to the minds of the people.

The sound faith that has a spiritual nature and has a deep relationship with God "exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints." (Jude 3) this pure and virtuous faith. This lets us say that Faith is not just a belief but a life... or it is a life built on belief, or it is an experienced belief lived by the people and not just ideas in books.

What we want to speak about in this book is this life, the life of faith.


Pope Shenouda III

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Title: Life of Faith

Author: H. H. Pope Shenouda Ill.

Press: Dar El Tebaa El Kawmia.

Edition: August 1989 - First edition.

Legal Deposit No.: 5606/1989

Revised: COEPA 1997


Also See:
Life Of Faith - Introduction
http://coptorthodox.blogspot.com/2012/07/life-of-faith-introduction.html

Life Of Faith - 1 - How Great Is Faith
http://coptorthodox.blogspot.com/2012/07/life-of-faith-1-how-great-is-faith.html

Life Of Faith - 2 - What Is Faith?
http://coptorthodox.blogspot.com/2012/08/life-of-faith-2-what-is-faith.html

Life Of Faith - 2 - What Is Faith?

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit One God. Amen.

CHAPTER 2

WHAT IS FAITH?

Any worshipper of God can use the word `faith' if when he does not believe in the Truth. He may have the name of a believer, but does not have the heart of one.

Faith does not automatically make you a believer if you are born a family which believes in the existence of God. But faith has a much deeper than this, it encompasses the whole spiritual life, performs miracles.

At one occasion, the disciples of the Lord were unable to heal a epileptic boy from the demon, so they asked the Lord for the reason and He answered them "Because of your unbelief" (Matt. 17:20) and rebuked them by saying "O faithless and perverse generation" (Matt 17:17).

A generation be unbelievers, which God came for, but where they really unbelievers? How alarming! Here the Lord says to His disciples "I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, `Move from here to there,' and it will move" (Matt. 17:20). Truly, what is this faith of a seed which can move a mountain? As the apostle says "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves" (2 Cor. 13:5).

The Bible tells us of something strange, more dangerous... what is it? It is the state of a human being who seems to be believing in God, he prays and performs miracles but he does not believe in Truth! and even not accepted in the eyes of God! Here is what the Lord Himself said "Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt 7:21).

The Lord continues "Many will say to Me in that day, `Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' (Matt.7:22-23).

What shall we call those who say 'Lord, Lord... in your name we did this and that'? Are they really believers? Maybe it's only an apparent faith, or faith by name, or only mental faith, but it's not the real faith accepted by God.

What then is the real faith which is accepted in the eyes of the Lord? We ask Him and He answers "Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' ... but he who does the will of My Father in heaven " (Matt. 7:21). This also reminds us of the story of the five virgins who also used the expression 'Lord, Lord,...' and they stood behind the closed door saying "Lord, Lord open the door for us", and they heard from the Lord the clear and terrifying answer "I tell you the truth, I don't know you".

The expression 'Lord, Lord' does not necessarily help if you are awaiting the bridegroom with a lamp without oil, or if you arrive after the door is closed.

Therefore what is faith? and what is its connection to oil which signifies the Holy Spirit? and what is its connection with the will of God who is in heaven?

This faith is alive and is accepted by God as we'll see later... Faith is not simply a belief but also a life.

You can test it by its fruits in your life... as the Lord said "You will know them by their fruits....every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. Therefore by their fruits you will know them" (Matt. 7:16-20).

This is how you can test yourself: Does your faith bear fruit? Because 'by their fruits you will recognise them'.

This is what John the evangelist teaches us "Now by this we know that we know Him" how? "If we keep His commandments. He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him " (1 John 2:3-4). Faith is tested through a life of obedience to God's commandments, and he who does not have this obedience is not considered a believer of Truth, and can not claim to know God.

The apostle Paul lists in his letter to the Hebrews (Heb. 11) wonderful examples of faithful men. They show practical faith in their private lives. Enoch for example; the bible did not say that he defended his belief like other heroes of faith. But Enoch was a hero of faith because he "He pleased God." (Heb. 11:5) and "Walked with God" (Gen. 5:22,24).

You may not be as spiritually knowledgeable as were the apostles, but no doubt you can also lead the same life as our father Enoch, who walked with God. You can live like other men of faith who St. Paul mentioned "They were strangers and pilgrims on the earth... they desire a better, that is, a heavenly
country." (Heb 11: 13,16).

Our father Abraham was a man of faith who "Obeyed when he was called to go out " (Heb. 11: 8), and went out after God "Not knowing where he was going." He was a man of faith in accepting God's timing and even when he was to sacrifice his only son, confident that God can raise the dead (Heb. 11:17-
19).

His wife Sarah is also considered a hero of faith because she believed the Lord for "She judged Him faithful who had promised." (Heb 11:11).

Heroes of faith are not only those who defended their belief, but are also those who believed in the Lord, walked with Him, who were righteous and pleased Him (Heb. 11:33). Also those who
"Were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection." and those who "Had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. .. of whom the world was not worthy " (Heb. 11:35-38) "And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith" (Heb. 11:39). In all these examples, the bible gives us a wide spectrum of the meaning of faith.

Paul tells us that faith "Is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1).

You hope for many things after death. You hope for eternal life with angels and the saints, to see the Lord in Paradise and resurrect from the dead into a spiritual body. You desire eternal peace after the general resurrection. Faith is without any doubt, complete confidence that these matters exist without having seen them.

Faith Is Beyond The Level Of Our Senses
Faith does not contradict but beyond our senses. Faith is a higher power than our limited senses. Our senses are only capable of detecting physical or materialistic things, but there are other matters, which are beyond the material sense. The senses are also limited in what they can physically detect.

Instruments are often used to sense details and gain information which the senses alone can not accomplish. How much more is it for the non-physical, which the apostle called "invisible things". Faith is not what is seen by the human eye (2 Cor. 5:7).

The soul can not be seen or felt by the senses. The fact that the senses do not feel the soul does not mean that it does not exist but rather, unable to detect it. The senses are limited in scope and the level of the soul.

Faith Is Beyond The Level Of The Intellect
The intellect may guide you to the beginning of the way but faith continues with you on the way to the end. Faith does not contradict the intellect, but leads it to a higher level the mind alone cannot reach.

What the mind cannot understand is called unattainable. We often describe God as infinite because He has no limit. The human mind is limited, and can only understand the limited matters. The mind can bring you to know God and some of His qualities but of faith, "God has revealed... to us through His
Spirit." (1 Cor. 2:10). God shows Himself to the believer to what they can bear to comprehend.

The mind may not grasp many things but must accept them. By nature, the mind does not refuse all that it does not understand.

There are for example in our physical world, many inventions only experts can understand. In spite of this, the normal mind can accept and deal with these things without knowing how they work. The mind accepts death, and speaks about it, but does not understand it.

If the mind accepts many things in our world without understanding them, then clearly nothing should deprive the mind from accepting other matters not of this world.

The mind does not understand how miracles happen, but it accepts them and finds joy in them.

A miracle is called a miracle because the mind fails to grasp it and cannot explain it. But the mind accepts it by faith... faith, with infinite power, greater than that of the mind, can perform things the mind fails to understand. This power is the power of God the almighty.

We respect the mind, and at the same time we know its limits.

We can not accept the proud mind which desires to understand all things, refusing that some are beyond comprehension.

The mind should be humble to know its limitation "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith" (Rom. 12.3). The mind should submit matters beyond its
level of understanding to faith.

If the mind wanted to nullify all that it does not understand it would end up destroying itself, lose the element of faith and put itself in a very narrow circle of very limited range of understanding.

Believers are moderate, they esteem the mind and use it in religious and spiritual affairs. There are philosophers and people of high intellect among the believers, who do not depend on the mind in pride or trust in its ability to understand all things.

However, in simplicity and humility they confess that their minds are limited and are unable to understand all this associated with God. With faith, their hearts and minds accept all that is beyond the level of the mind.

The simple and humble mind accepts faith and miracles.

We mean humble in the sense that the mind is not proud of its own understanding or destroys all that is does not understand.

But does not complicate matters or insist on placing everything within its own limits. We will refer to this point later when we speak about the simplicity of faith.

Faith is not only a prayer said, but a life we live. If you are living a life of faith, the fruits of faith apparent in your practical life. Examine your faith against the virtues which are clear in the believer's life and these are many. As the apostle says, "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith" (2 Cor. 13:5).

Conviction Of The Unseen
The apostle said about faith: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1). We want to know what this verse means:
Conviction: is certainty, confidence and belief without doubt. It is not simply an idea, opinion or knowledge gained from reading or hearing about it, but certainty that unseen matters exist.

Here is a clear difference between believers and men of science.

The things that are not seen are not in the working field of the researchers. If they are not sure of something, they investigate it thoroughly with their instruments and apparatus. The same also
applies to men of material beliefs.

Believers are not like this, they follow God's saying "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29).

The believer accepts the creation from nothing. The scientist's research refuses this matter, and refuses that five loaves of bread fed five thousand men (excluding the women and children) and that twelve baskets full of bread where left over.

The believer accepts all this.

The believer accepts firstly that God is powerful. He also accepts everything in a certain range of this unlimited power.

The believer frees himself from the doubts of the researches and the investigations of the unbeliever. Not only does he accept the unseen, but moreover, he lives according to and focuses his mind and affection on the unseen according to what the apostle's words. "While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." (2 Cor. 4:18).

You will ask, how can I see the hidden? And I tell you by faith.

What are then those unseen matters? The first is probably God Himself, His qualities, His works, and all things pertaining to Him.

1- God, His Qualities And Works
God is unseen, as John the evangelist said "No one has seen God" (John 1:18). Actually who can see the divinity? No one!

However, in spite of this, you believe in Him with all your heart, and with all certainty. This faith does not at all rely on your physical senses. You may say you see Him with your trained spiritual senses (Heb.5:14). This non-physical senses were trained to see the unseen, and we have the following examples from the Bible:

David said "I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved." (Ps 16:8). So how did he see the Lord in front of him and at his right hand all times? No doubt he saw Him with an eye of faith. In some of the translations it is written "I have seen the Lord...." that
means that he is continuously seeing the unseen and focusing on Him with mind and feeling.

With the same meaning Elijah said "As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand"(1 Kin 18:15). How was he able to feel that he stands before God? And how was he able to always see the Lord in front of him? Not through the bodily senses since they can not arouse a believer's heart. But it is by faith that the Lord is before him. It is faith that sees the unseen.

If you are in faith, you will have confidence that God is always before you and will act according to this belief, that God sees you and hears you...

If you live in faith, you are sure that God is in the midst of His people, according to His promise "...I am there in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20) and "I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matt.28:20). You do not see Him with the eye of your body, but you believe that He is in our midst. You do not need to see Him physically to believe. You believe without seeing, or you perceive the unseen.
What is a spiritual life my brothers and sisters? It is not simply a shift from what is felt and visible to the unseen.

We live the unseen with confidence that He is in front of us.

This becomes the difference between the believer and the non-believer.

The non-believer desires to see everything with his eyes, or else he can not believe. The believer does not allow his eyes, senses, or external happenings shape his beliefs. But his heart believes in the existence of unseen matters. On one occasion, God rebuked His disciple Thomas who would not believe without seeing when God said to him "Do not be unbelieving, but believing", "Because you have seen Me, you have believed.

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:27,29).

We mentioned earlier, faith in God is among the conviction of unseen matters. Not only faith in the existence of God but also faith in His attributes and in His works.

You believe in His goodness and choices for your good, the almighty who has dominion over all things. You believe that He is able to do everything, for "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God" (Luke 18:27), and you believe in God's love for you and for others.

You may not see all these qualities physically, but you believe in them. You believe that God takes care of the universe, and preserves its beauty. You believe that He labours and takes care
of every individual. You will either see His work or the results of His work or you will not see anything at all.

2- The Timing Of God
The following were described as men of faith "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. " (Heb. 11:13), these people waited for the things promised in faith, and believed in what the Lord said to them.

And things promised "Which God has prepared for those who love Him" were all unseen matters, as explained by the apostle as "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the
heart of man" (1 Cor. 2:9).

God's warnings are also unseen things. Noah believed the Lord when He said that He will flood the whole world even though floods were unknown to Noah. No flood had ever happened before in his days or the days of his ancestors. However, he believed that this which never happened before, would happen.

He laboured to complete the ark, enduring the mockery from others, these were years of faith.

Noah heeded to the warning of God, and was therefore considered a man of faith. Through faith he had seen the flood before it happened. Through faith, he entered the ark with his wife, his sons and his son's wives. Our teacher Saint Paul teaches us, "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not
yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household " (Heb. 11:7). The others, who did not heed God's warning, and had no faith in God's truth were destroyed.

Lot and the city of Sidom also experienced God's warning before it happened. As this was the first time that fire came down from heaven, it was also the first time that a flood happened in the time of Noah.

The people of Sidom who did not accept the warning of God were destroyed as were who also did not believe it in the days of Noah.

God's warning in regard to eternity and judgement lies ever before us. Inspite of this, many are still immersed in evil and sin as if God had not warned them. They do not fear God in their hearts or judgement in eternity.

We spoke about God, His attributes and works, His promises and warmings as unseen matters, we should also add that:

3- Dwelling Of The Spirit And His Work In Us Are Unseen Matters
Samuel anointed David with oil and the spirit of the Lord came upon him (2 Sam. 16:13). No one saw the unseen Spirit of the lord, but it happened.

No one was able to see the Holy Spirit descend on the new believers when the disciples place their hands on them (Acts 8:17). The Holy Spirit also came on those anointed (1 John 2:20,27). No one saw the Holy Spirit but its fruits showed in their life.

You may be aware that there is an inner power working in you and for you, without your seeing it. It is what the Lord said "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you" (Acts 1:8). This power, the power of the Holy Spirit, guides you to do good, helps you and protects you from sin.

Here we say that our whole life becomes in fellowship with the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 13:14).

What is this fellowship? How does it take place? How can we be in fellowship with the Godly nature, this an unseen nature?

We believe in God's active spirit working in the church, we do not see it but we believe in it.

The apostle said, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?"(1 Cor.3:16), "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God?" (1 Cor. 6:19).

We do not see the Spirit, but we see its fruits.

The Lord said that through the fruits of the holy spirit, we can stand before governors and kings, "For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you" (Matt. 10:20).

How does the Spirit of the Father Spirit speak through us? All these things are unseen matters.

4- The Grace Of God In Us Are Things Unseen
We attain visits of grace, which fill us with God's love. We do not see it but we feel it. Grace working in us, is without doubt is the work of the unseen things.

Saint John the evangelist said "Grace and truth came through Jesus." (John 1: 17). What is this grace working in us? And the grace that Saint John enjoyed. He said "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain." (1Cor. 15: 10), and he also says about us "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace." (Rom. 6:14), and urges Timothy to "Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." (2 Tim. 2: 1).

We do not see this grace with our physical eye, it is amongst the unseen matters, but we feel its presence in our lives. The grace of God in us is beyond our senses as we accept this grace from
God. The church grants grace every time it repeats Saint Paul's words "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all." (2Cor. 13:14).

Here we move to another point, the element of blessings

5- Blessing Are Unseen
A blessing can be directly from God, from parents, from the church through the priest and all these are unseen matters.

God said to Abram father of fathers "I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you ... And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Gen. 12:2,3).

Abram saw the fruits of this unseen blessings in his life. Isaac blessed his son Jacob and he became blessed. Esau lamented because he lost this blessing (Gen.27). Jacob blessed Ephraim and Manasseh by saying "The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, Bless the lads" (Gen. 48:16). Ephraim became
exceedingly blessed, more than his brother when Jacob placed his right hand on Ephraim's head (Gen. 48:17-20).

What is this blessing? How was it passed from the hands of Isaac and Jacob? How was it given through the apostles, and from the hands of the men of faith?

All these unseen matters we believe in and in its blessings although we do not see them. We ask for the blessings of our mothers, fathers, from priests and men of God. Abram was a blessing to the world according to the Lord's promise to him.

Joseph was also a blessing in the house of his master and to all Egypt, as was the blessings of Elijah.

Through all the above examples, we would still be unable to give a precise meaning to the word blessings, for it has wider meaning than our limited vocabulary can describe. An unseen matter, which we can only see its fruits. However, a blessing itself, who can see it and define it?

How was Jesus Christ able to bless through His hands the five loaves of bread and the two fish? This food given out was enough to feed thousands of people, and despite this, twelve full baskets were left over? How did this happen? What was the cause and its effect?. All these things are unseen matters.

6-Faith In The Presence Of Angels And Their Works
We believe in the existence of angels, and the unseen spirits. We may not have seen an angel in our whole life, but despite of this, we believe they close to us "The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. " (Ps 34:7). We believe that the angels fill the church, and have confidence that they are with us in all that we do "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?" (Heb. 1:14).

Many are glad if they see the Virgin Mary or the saints in a revelation.

It is far greater to believe that they are around you without seeing them. It is not necessary that God sends you a white dove during your evening church meetings, but you believe without seeing that the church is full of the spirits of angels.

And the wings of the saints flutter upon it, the saints that God sent to serve humanity.

Gehazi the disciple of Elisha was afraid when he saw the enemies surrounding the city, but Elisha, the man with opened eyes saw the angels defending the it against the enemy. He comforted his disciple by saying "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them" (2 Kin 6:16).

Elisha prayed that God would open the eyes of Gehazi to see and the conviction in unseen matters.

7- Belief In The Spirit And The Other World
We can not see the spirit, but presume its existence. When a person dies, we say that his spirit, which we have not seen, has left his body.

Faith is concerned with the destiny of this spirit, if it will go to heaven or to hell. Likewise, with the return of this spirit to the body in the general resurrection, and the destiny of the resurrected person in eternity after the last judgment.

All these matters, the spirit, resurrection, eternity, judgment, heaven, grace, hell, are all unseen matters and through faith we have a conviction in those things. Actually, no one can speak about the eternal life, and all things associated with it, except by faith. Likewise, he who believes in the second life believes in
unseen matters.

8- People Believed In The Coming Of Christ Without Seeing Him
Even the Samaritan woman said to the Lord "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things" (John 4:25).

Thus, everyone knew, according to God's promise that the Messiah was coming. They were eagerly awaiting for Him.

They understood what had Isaiah said, "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). They believed nevertheless, although they never saw the Virgin.

The wait by the Old Testament people through faith for the Messiah is like our wait for the Second Coming of Christ in the New Testament. Waiting for Christ's Second Coming on the clouds according to the Lord's promise (Mat. 24:25) and the two angels who appeared to the disciples (Acts 1: 11).

We probably have not seen the Lord on the clouds in the glory of His Father and His saints. And through faith, we believe in His Second Coming in this form although we have never seen it.

9-Redemption Is Also From The Unseen Matters
Jesus redeemed us by taking away all our sins and dying for us through His love "All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:6). John the Baptist also said about Him "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the
sin of the world!" (John 1:29). John the evangelist said "And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world." (1 John 2:2). St. Paul said "Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us." (Col.2:14), and "having made peace through the
blood of His cross" (Col. 1:20).

We only see the cross; some may see it superficially! But, all gifts the cross has from love, redemption, forgiveness, cancelling of the written code, taking away the sins of the world, and also what the cross carries from peace, all these are unseen matters. We see them through faith.

Peter - before believing in all this - saw the cross as loss and as shame! Therefore he said "Never, Lord" (John 16:22). The Lord rebuked him because Peter did not see the unseen matters...

The cross represents the goodness of God to us. The rulers at that time did not see this because their eyes were blinded, "For had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." (1 Cor. 2:8).

10- The Hidden Benevolences Of God
We only thank God for the benevolences we see and know.

However, there are also unseen things we should thank Him for.

When we enter the life of faith we automatically enter in a life of perpetual appreciation, as the apostle said "Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Eph. 5:20).

In our life, we also have to thank for the temptations, because we feel that they have hidden benevolences in them from God that we do not see. And if we saw them we'll no doubt be singing with James "Count it all joy when you fall into various trials" (James 1:2).

From this, we see that faith gives a spiritual meaning to suffering, pains that God allows for the special grace that is in them. All from unseen matters, but we accept them in faith having confidence in God's love who does good. We also have confidence in what the Bible says "We know that all things work together for good to those who love God." (Rom. 8:28).

11-The Existence Of God In Our Lives And His Power Working In Us
How beautiful is the Lord's saying to Jacob "I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land." (Gen. 28: 15). The Lord was with him and watched over him wherever he went although he has not seen the Lord physically. It is very comfortable for the soul to feel that the
Lord is with us and to believe it. This allows us to live in serenity and joy.

The above was not only a blessing to Jacob but the Lord says "I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matt. 28:20).

Our feeling that God is with us, gives us a feeling that a Godly power is walking with us and protecting us.

This power is working in you and is with you from the moment you receive the Holy Spirit and He then accompanies you for the rest of your life. In the time of the first church the people saw the kingdom of God being established in power (Mark 9: 1), "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness." (Acts 4:31). It was said that St. Stephen was "Full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs" (Acts 6:8), and that he stood before the synagogue "And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke" (Acts 6: 10). That is the power in faith. He who believes but is afraid to show his faith is a person with weak faith, he does not believe in the power of God working with him.

The woman who was bleeding for twelve years felt that if she could just touched the edge of the cloak of Jesus a power would come out of Him to heal her, and that is what happened (Matt. 9:22, Lk 8:46).

If you believe in the power of God and hold steadfastly to it, you will surely obtain it.

Let it be that you have this faith and this feeling in all aspects of your life: in your service, prayer and works.

Even in your fall, believe that there is a power to save you. If you are weaker than the devils then believe that God who loves you is stronger, and that He is able to save you from sin. And in strong faith pray to God to grant you the power you need to succeed in your spiritual life, ask Him who "always leads us in
triumph in Christ" (2 Cor. 2:14).

Even if you have been waiting long time, just believe that the power of God will reach you and save you. This power of God is unseen, but it exists, and is ready to work with those who ask for it by faith. You need to experience this power which is accompanying you, not only in the life of repentance but in all
aspects of your spiritual life so that when you speek, others will feel the strength and the effect of the words you are saying.

The believer is a strong person believing in the power of God working in him.

Paul said, "To this end I also labour, striving according to His working which works in me mightily." (Col. 1:29) and he says about God "To Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us." (Eph. 3:20).

It is faith in the unseen power of God that prompted Saint Paul to claim confidently, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Phil. 4:13).

We ask ourselves: is this phrase only applies to Saints like Paul?

The Lord answers "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." (Mark 9:23).

Perhaps this power is a test for our spiritual lives. Are we in faith? Is it a power we are glad of and live in serenity with?

In the church, we rejoice in the many unseen things.

12-What Happens In The Baptism
Saint Paul says "For as many of you as were baptised into Christ have put on Christ." (Gal. 3:27). How great is this sacrament! Who has seen its promise? Ananias told Saul, "And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptised, and wash away your sins." (Acts 22:16). Who saw these sins being washed away? These are unseen matters, which we accept by faith, as the apostle about Christ, "He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Tit. 3: 5). The salvation we obtain by rebirth is an unseen matter, but we believe in it according to the Lord's saying, "He who
believes and is baptised will be saved." (Mark 16:16).

What is the meaning of a second birth? Moreover, what does it mean to be born from above, from God, and to be born from water and spirit? The Lord spoke about it in (John 3:3-6). They are all unseen matters; the rebirth from God is an unseen sacrament. We see a person immersed in the baptism font but we do not see how he is reborn from the spirit. Blessed are those who believe without seeing. This, the church calls a sacrament.

The apostle says "Buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith ... forgiven you all trespass" (Col. 2:12). He gives the same meaning in his letter to the Romans, and he adds that the old person was crucified with Christ, that we may live with Him (Rom. 6:3-6). Who has seen this death, burial, resurrection, forgiveness of sins, the new life, crucifixion of the old self... these are all unseen matters, but we believe in them.

13-The Sacrament Of The Holy Eucharist
You see in faith the bread and wine in front of you transform into the body and the blood of the Lord. Here you can not rely on your senses to judge, because the bodily senses see only the visible matters. But the spiritual senses heed to what the Lord says "This is my body... This is my blood" (Matt. 26:26,28),
"Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you... My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him." (John 6:53-56).

I do not dispute what the Lord said but I accept it in faith.

In faith we are sure of what we do not see for what is seen is bread and wine. This is what Saint Paul says "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?" (1 Cor. 10:16), and he also says "Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body." (1 Cor. 11:27,29).

How can we know if this is the body of the Lord, so as not to gain judgment upon ourselves? Here, by faith, we go beyond the level of the senses, and the level of the intellect.

Our minds make us tired when we accept the sacraments of the church. Our senses do also tire us. We need the simplicity of faith to believe all what Jesus Christ and the apostles said without discussion.

14-To Accept The Sacraments Of Christianity
To accept the laying of hands that Barnabas and Saul obtained from the disciples, so that they could go on to service (Acts 13:2,3), and also the laying of Saint Paul's hands on Timothy (2 Tim. 1:6). We believe that this is a sacrament.

We accept the power the Lord gave in His saying "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained " (John 20:23) "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Matt. 18:18).

This honour is unseen but we see it through faith. It is not for everyone and no one can take it by himself, but he who is called by God just like Aaron was (Heb. 5:4).

Seeing the unseen is the real spiritual sight: maybe it is what the Lord meant in His saying to his disciples "But blessed are your eyes for they see " (Matt. 13:16). What do they see? It sees Jesus Christ and His miracles. It sees the unseen just like the revelation, which Saint John saw. Further, how Saint Paul saw
the third heaven and many other signs (2 Cor.12: 2,7).

The Lord rebuked those who did not have this spiritual sense by saying "And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes " (Matt. 13: 15) the disciple also wrote the same thing about them (Acts 28:27). The expression they closed their eyes could mean that they did not train themselves to see the spiritualities or that they refused to see the spiritualities because of their interest in material things.
Gehazi did not see what his teacher Elisha saw (2 Kin 6:17).

The companions of Saul did not see anything during the Godly vision he saw, the Bible said that they "Stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one." (Acts 9:7).


Pope Shenouda III

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Title: Life of Faith

Author: H. H. Pope Shenouda Ill.

Press: Dar El Tebaa El Kawmia.

Edition: August 1989 - First edition.

Legal Deposit No.: 5606/1989

Revised: COEPA 1997


Also See:
Life Of Faith - Introduction
http://coptorthodox.blogspot.com/2012/07/life-of-faith-introduction.html

Life Of Faith - 1 - How Great Is Faith
http://coptorthodox.blogspot.com/2012/07/life-of-faith-1-how-great-is-faith.html