17 - BE RELEASED OF THE FEELING OF POSSESSION - By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

17 -  BE RELEASED OF THE FEELING OF POSSESSION          

By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

The following is a collection of articles entitled, "The Release of the Spirit" written by HH Pope Shenouda III for the Sunday School Magazine from the year 1951 before starting his monastic life.  

These articles were published in the form of a book in the year 1957 including some of his poems which were published in the magazine as well.. 

It was his first published book and it gained the approval of many and was reprinted many times. 

17 -  BE RELEASED Of THE FEELING OF POSSESSION      

Many people think themselves rich and think they possess many worldly things.. ..But as for you, my beloved brother, you were relieved of this feeling of possession since the time you realized that possession restricted your spirit.

Certainly, you have come to the world poor like me, possessing nothing in it.. You have come naked out of your mother's womb, not even possessing the swaddling clothes which you were wrapped in or the cradle in which you were lain...

Anything you had afterwards is only a gift given by God to you.. This was not a possession but a charge entrusted to your hand for a limited time ie. your lifetime.. When you pass away from earth, you will be as poor as you entered it.. naked as you were born.. As for the things which you thought you have possessed in this world and which you were forced to leave behind, someone else will claim a right to possess them and when he also passes away a third will claim the same right and so on...

Then you ought to know that you own nothing, not even yourself.. because you had no existence before. Before you existed you were nothing, then God created you.. When you fell, this self became possessed by death... But God purchased this self and redeemed it with His blood, so it became His own...

So, as you see you own nothing, not even yourself. Thus, a person who sins against himself is in fact committing sin against God Himself That is because he is corrupting a soul which is the ownership of God and corrupting a body which God-after taking possession of found pleasure in making it a temple for His Holy Spirit..

The same may be said of the person who sins against others.. It is a sin against God Himself whether directly or indirectly... David sinned against Uriah the Hittite and his wife Bathsheba but he addressed God saying "Against You, You only, have I sinned" (Ps. 51:4). He said so not only because he transgressed against God but also because he sinned against two persons belonging to God..

If you become aware of this, my beloved brother, you will recognize how dangerous is sins.. You do not possess your self so that you may dispose of it as an owner..

Regarding property, we have explained that we own nothing, but all we have is a gift from God.. You are just a person entrusted such property to manage it with honesty as a good steward. You will be asked about it when God says to you, "Give an account of your stewardship." (Luke 16:2) 

Therefore we find a very rich king like David realizes the real state of matters and says, "I am poor and needy" (Ps. 70:4).. According to the wrong human measure David the King was not poor.. but in fact, according to a spiritual eye, he owned nothing..

Therefore also, the holy fathers vowed to live in voluntary poverty and considered this one of the main bases on which their monastic life depended.

This gives you the true meaning of doing charitable deeds.. You do not give out of your own property but you do give God's creation out of God's property.. If you know this, you will find no cause to feel self-righteousness or pride.. You will find no cause also to avoid the praise of others by praising yourself in a concealed way as by giving some money under the name of "a good doer".. Once I found a donor who wrote in place of his name "an evil doer who asks your prayers for him" I admired such a person..

The only One who can give of His own money to people is God..

So, I do not like to consider a charitable deed a virtue because it is not a favor done by the giver.. He is just a means to carry God's grace to others..

What is said about charity applies also to other good deeds which cannot be considered as a favor offered by anyone. 

Another point attached to the charitable deeds is receiving thanks for them.. Let me ask you, my brother; 'how can you agree to let people thank you for something you have not given out of your own money. It is God's property, how can you receive thanks for it? How can you accept thanks? Give glory to God and hide yourself that God may appear who did all the work.

The feeling of possession restricts your spirit and makes you feel what you do not really have.. So, to escape from this feeling does not mean that you deny yourself but it means that you recognize the truth about yourself.. I pray that God may be with you...

 The Release of The Spirit

 By H.H. Pope Shenouda III 

16 - BE RELEASED FROM THE DESIRE TO BE TEACHERS - By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

16 -  BE RELEASED FROM THE DESIRE TO BE TEACHERS         

By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

The following is a collection of articles entitled, "The Release of the Spirit" written by HH Pope Shenouda III for the Sunday School Magazine from the year 1951 before starting his monastic life.  

These articles were published in the form of a book in the year 1957 including some of his poems which were published in the magazine as well.. 

It was his first published book and it gained the approval of many and was reprinted many times.

16 -  BE RELEASED FROM THE DESIRE TO BE TEACHERS     

The desire to be a teacher involves a great danger.. So, avoid it, my beloved brother, and fly from it as far as you can.

You want to teach people.. Well, what things do you want to teach them?

Do you not agree with me, my dear brother, that we are not yet mature enough nor have complete knowledge of all things? There are certain things which we consider from one point of view only and so we misunderstand them. For example when we interfere to teach others religion, we do not teach it to them in its true concept but as we understand it in our age and in our particular level of spirituality and mentality.. But as we grow older and perhaps our spirituality and mentality develop and our understanding of religion differs.. what then would be the state of those who learnt from us in the beginning?

For this and other reasons as well, St. James the Apostle says, ".. let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgement. For we all stumble in many things." (James 3:1-2)

Jeremiah the Prophet also says to God, "Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth" (Jer. 1:6). And Isaiah the Prophet speaking about himself says, ".. I am a man of unclean lips." (Is. 6:5)  We have St. Bachomius as another example.. when people used to come to him seeking a word of benefit, he refused to speak but introduced to them his disciple Tadros. And the Spirit of God spoke on the mouth of that holy disciple..

Another old father when one of the young monks came to learn something from him, he said to him, 'Stay in your cell and it will teach you everything'. And the young monk returned to his cell benefiting from those words..

There are many other stories which I leave to you to read by yourself and take the benefit which God gives you through them. Here, before moving to another point I want to remark that many of the teachings of the holy fathers have reached us by one of two means: Either one of the monks wrote down the words of the old father during his talks with other brother monks, or the father himself recorded his meditations for his own benefit and they were found in his cell after his passing away and people benefited from them.

My beloved brother, there is a very great difference between the ministry of teaching which the Holy Bible entrusted to certain persons and the love of being teachers..

The last is of great danger.. It sometimes becomes a disguised devil.. The love of teaching is often accompanied by a hidden or apparent feeling of personal worthiness and of superiority to others.. When such a person who loves to teach is given more chances to teach, this feeling grows within him. He even enters the church not with purpose to have benefit but to criticise and teach even the teachers. He never feels need to take but he always gives.. There will be a time when such a person finds nothing to give, for what he has will dry up...

Unlike this person were the fathers who used to learn continually and benefit from everything..

· St. Anthony the great monk was able to benefit from the words of a woman who was not ashamed to take off her clothes to bathe before a monk..

· St. Macarius also, the father of the desert of Shihit learned a lesson from a young boy.

· St. Arsanius who studied the wisdom of the Greeks and Romans learnt also from an illiterate Egyptian..

All those fathers had souls which flew like an active bee to gather nectar from every flower!

Another danger behind the love of teaching is to become so involved in teaching and you forget yourself. I remember this in regard to a Zealous person who used to read the Holy Bible not with purpose to get benefit but in order to prepare a lesson..

When he gave alms, this was not out of love for the poor but to be as a model to people.. He used to be cautious in his actions not being convinced with doing so but in order not to offend others.. Even when he sat with some people, he did not learn something from them but his only concern was to examine what they said as a master and then wisely explain the proper situation.. He once said that when he stood to pray and it happened that God's Spirit worked within him giving him a certain feeling, or a certain meditation, he did not hesitate to stop his prayer and sit down to record such things to teach them to people.. Hence the means of grace have lost their objective in the life of such a person and teaching became everything to him.

Another word I want to whisper in your ear, is beloved to my heart, ie. What do you want to teach people? Is it religion? Do you think that religion is mere knowledge which one may fill the mind with? I fear most, my dear striver, that this way of teaching religion will turn it into a subject to be studied and people examine it like any branch of learning.. In fact, religion is spirit and life as you certainly know..

The Zealous person then asked me, 'But I am a teacher in the church, what can I do then? 'I answered him, "I wish you to be alive in spirit, my dear brother. I'll tell you the truth, you do not in fact teach those souls entrusted to you but you love them.. Such souls which you see surrounding you are attracted not by your teaching but by love.. the 'love' which never fails because it is God's.

 The Release of The Spirit

 By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

15 - LEARNING FROM GOD - By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

15 -  LEARNING FROM GOD         

By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

The following is a collection of articles entitled, "The Release of the Spirit" written by HH Pope Shenouda III for the Sunday School Magazine from the year 1951 before starting his monastic life.  

These articles were published in the form of a book in the year 1957 including some of his poems which were published in the magazine as well.. 

It was his first published book and it gained the approval of many and was reprinted many times.

15 -  LEARNING FROM GOD    

There are some people who did not obtain any education. There are some who were taught by people and those are more ignorant.. But the true educated people are those who are taught directly by God.

When God created man, He gave him plenty of knowledge.. and whenever He needed more knowledge he was taught by God Himself.. If man has continued along this path, he would have become a scholar and would have deserved to eat of the tree of life and live for ever.. But the man accepted to take knowledge from another source than God and so he began to be ignorant.. His first lesson was from the serpent, and it resulted in eating of the tree of the knowledge and thus he became ignorant. Man seeks knowledge away from God and he only gains ignorance upon ignorance..

Man is God's temple and God's Spirit dwells in him.. the Spirit whom the Lord Jesus Christ said of, "He will guide you into all truth" (John. 16:13) and St. Paul said about Him, "For the Spirit searches all things. Yes, the deep things of God."  (1 Cor. 2:10) 

However, due to the great misery and ignorance of the man, he seeks knowledge not within himself, from the Spirit of God dwelling in him, but seeks it outside, with people, and in the books which he thinks can give him life ... ! 

Thus, there are many scholars and wise men in these generations while the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God.. St. Augustine walked along this path for a long time, seeking God outside himself, but when he found God, he sang to Him this everlasting song which says * *,

‘Too late did I love You,
O Fairness so ancient and yet so new!
Too late did I love You!
For behold, You were within,
and I without, and there did I seek You..
I unlovely, rushed heedlessly
among the things of beauty You made..
You were with me,
but I
was not with you..'
 

 When Augustine found God within him, he became a saint...

You also, my beloved brother, will lose the way if you try to seek God outside yourself .. But sit alone, consider and meditate, go deep into yourself and seek God.. You will find Him there, in your innermost depths. You will see Him face to face and feel Him as a pouring and overflowing fountain of love.. Only then you will be greatly astonished and cry out in silent joy 'I have seen God'

This was the means which our father saints resorted to. They went out of the world leaving behind its crowd, tumult and noise. They left everything and sought God within themselves and they were able to see Him through continuous

Praise and meditation.. On the other hand, the ideologists, philosophers researchers and scientists sought God in the books and with people and could only suffer ignorance, mystery and weariness.

While I mention this I feel pain for them.. and also for some fathers who left the world to the desert but began to seek God in the books or in projects and ministry. In fact God was within their hearts wishing them to leave all these occupations and sit with Him. He wanted to reveal to them secrets which no one else knew and show them what no other eyes have ever seen.,

This applies not only to the monks but to all people.. Do you know, dear brother, what is the proper way for spiritual education? Certainly it is not to teach a person something new, for he possesses everything and the Spirit abiding in him knows much more than what you want to teach him.. But a proper way is to free a person from any wrong knowledge he actually has, ie. from any knowledge he obtained from the world or from people.

A child is born with a great beautiful idea about God within his heart, mind and imagination.. Then society begins to teach this poor child and provide him with ideas about God which differ from what he knows, and present to him certain pictures of God and the saints that limit his open imagination.. Thus the idea of the child about God and holiness is replaced by customary idioms concerning good and evil as known by people. The child takes of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which Adam and Eve ate from and he becomes ignorant like them.. Here comes the role of the true spiritual guide who must not provide the child with more knowledge but must drive out any false knowledge he had obtained from customs and from the wrong concepts of people regarding religion.. When his spirit is released from all this, he would know God the true knowledge because God is not far from him but dwells in him.

* * The confessions of St. Augustine, Book X. Ch. Y-XVII-38.

 The Release of The Spirit
 By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

14 - I WANT NOTHING OF THE WORLD - By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

14 -  I WANT NOTHING OF THE WORLD         

By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

The following is a collection of articles entitled, "The Release of the Spirit" written by HH Pope Shenouda III for the Sunday School Magazine from the year 1951 before starting his monastic life.  

These articles were published in the form of a book in the year 1957 including some of his poems which were published in the magazine as well.. 

It was his first published book and it gained the approval of many and was reprinted many times.

14 -  I WANT NOTHING OF THE WORLD    

This is the first thing which the person ought to say if he likes to attain the release of the spirit.

I want nothing from the world.., for the world has nothing to be desired.. but only temptations for the beginners..

I want nothing of the world, for the world is too poor to give me.. If what I want is available in the world, the world would be a heaven.. But it is still an, earth as I see.. there is nothing in it except material things.. in fact I search for heavenly matters, for the Spirit, for God..

I want nothing of the world, for I am not of the world.. I am not dust as they think, I am a divine breath.. I was with God from eternity, and God placed me on the earth.. But I shall leave it after a while and return to God.. So I want nothing of this earth.. 'I came forth from the Father, and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father"

(John. 16:28) 

I want nothing of the world, all that I want is to get rid of it, to be released from it, from the flesh and from the earth! I want to return to God-as before-to be again a holy breath not defiled by any worldly thing..

I want nothing of the world because I seek eternal immortal things and the world has nothing that is immortal.. All that is in the world is passing away, even the world itself will perish and come to nothing..I do not seek perishable things..

I want nothing of the world .There is He whom I ask to give me.. He who is rich and powerful, in whom I have found satisfaction and nothing is lacked .. He gives me before I ask Him, He gives me what is good and of benefit to me.. Since I have put myself in His hands I need nothing of the world.

I want nothing of the world, for the world does not give me benefit but with purpose to subjugate me.. Those who received what the world gave them became slaves to the world.. It gave them the pleasures of the body and took from them the purity of the spirit.. The world gave them the worldly enjoyment and took from them the blessing of the heavenly Kingdom.. Satan gave them all the kingdoms of the world and their glory to make them fall down and worship him.. He always gives all that he has to make people lose their souls.. As for me, “I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ" (Phil. 3:8) 

This world takes more than what it gives.. It subjects those who desire it... So I want nothing of it.. 

I want nothing of the world, for I am superior to it.. I am a son of God - in the image of God and after His likeness.. I am a temple for the Holy Spirit and a place of dwelling for God.. I am the only creature who partakes of His holy flesh and blood.. I am superior to the world and the world is asking me to give it.. for I have the keys of the heavens and earth.. I, whom God, in His loving-kindness and humbleness, willed to make me the light of the world and the salt of the earth. (Matt. 5:13,14) 

I want nothing of the world, because I want to live as my fathers did; those whom the earth was not deserving to trod on .. They lived so, received nothing of the world. On the other hand they were a blessing to the world.. For the sake of their prayers God sent water on the earth.. and for their sakes God preserved the world till today..

I want nothing of the world, because sin entered it and corrupted it.. In the beginning God saw everything and behold it was very good, as sin had not yet entered the world. Even the great sea creatures were blessed by God to be fruitful and to multiply.. But now, the marvellous picture which God has drawn is scarred. Therefore I reject the world which loves the darkness more than the light and I no longer desire anything of it.

I want nothing of the world, because I want You alone; You who loved me till the end and gave Yourself up for me; You who formed me out of nothing and was not in need of my service but it is rather I who was in need of your sovereignty.. 

Therefore I want to be released from the world and be united to You, who gave me the gift of knowing You.

 The Release of The Spirit

 By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

Also Please Refer To The Following Link: 

http://orthodoxtube.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/h-h-pope-shenouda-iii-i-want-nothing-of.html

13 - BE RELEASED FROM THE INFLUENCE OF THE SENSES - By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

13 -  BE RELEASED FROM THE INFLUENCE OF THE SENSES    
By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

The following is a collection of articles entitled, "The Release of the Spirit" written by HH Pope Shenouda III for the Sunday School Magazine from the year 1951 before starting his monastic life. 

These articles were published in the form of a book in the year 1957 including some of his poems which were published in the magazine as well..

It was his first published book and it gained the approval of many and was reprinted many times.

13 - BE RELEASED FROM THE INFLUENCE
        OF THE SENSES    

You trust your five senses to a far extent and if your spirit opposes these senses, you reject your spirit.. When will you be freed from the influence of your senses and attain the release of the spirit..

You only believe the thing which you see with your eyes, hear with your ears, or touch with your hands.. You suspect anything else.. What is the reason for this!! The reason is simply that you still live in the flesh and believe in the flesh and its senses.

You look here and there and when you find no one to see or witness you, you commit the fault which you avoid to commit in the sight of others.. But do you think that really no one sees you! There are certain eyes which look on you in compassion and censure.. You do not see those eyes because you still live in the body... It is God who observes you and you do not see Him.. If you are in the Spirit, released from those deficient senses, you will be able to say along with Elijah the Prophet, "As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand... "  (1 Kings 18:15)

Whenever you are encompassed with dangers, you look to the right and to the left and seeing yourself alone, you become afraid and terrified... In fact God is at your right hand that you may not be shaken (Acts 2: 25). You do not see Him because your eyes cannot see everything, for they are material and cannot attain the spiritual matters.. I wish, dear brother, that you would release your spirit from the influence of such bodily senses.. This spirit of yours, to "..searches all things yes, the deep things of God" (1 Cor. 2:10). Let is soar freely to see God at your right hand and whisper joyfully, "... though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me." (Ps. 23:4)

The poor Gehazi, the servant of Elisha was very afraid seeing the great army of the enemy nearby and there was no hope whatever.. But Elisha who lived in the spirit was confident.. He saw with the spirit things which no eye could see and heard what no ears could hear.. He felt pity towards the young man and prayed to the Lord to open his eyes... "Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha" (2 Kings 6:17).. So he was comforted..

Do not trust your senses for they are weak and cannot comprehend the matters of the spirit. The widow of Zarephath of Sidon, saw with her human eye only a handful of flour in the bin and a little oil in the jar.. She thought that was only sufficient to make a cake for her and her son that they might eat it and die... But Elijah, the man of God saw something else with his spirit.. he saw that neither the bin of flour nor the jar of oil would dry whatever she took from them.. This actually happened as we see in 1 Kings 17:14-16

Elisha was standing at the River Jordan. His bodily eyes saw a river were one would drown if one walked through .. But his spiritual eye was not confined to this vision.. He saw the Jordan as a ground fit for walking through. So, Elisha took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him while he went up in the chariot of fire and struck the water. The water was divided and Elisha crossed the river(2 Kin 2:14). The bodily eye would see the mantle of Elijah just as a mantle but Elisha saw it with the spirit as a great power given by God and not a mere garment.

My dear friend, your eyes are deficient even regarding material things.., for there are some substances which you cannot see.. Though they exist, they defy your weak eyes.. You may only see them through a microscope..

If there is not a microscope available, and you cannot see such tiny bodies with your naked eye, would you then deny their existence, merely because you do not see them? If this is the case regarding material things.. what would you say concerning spiritual matters?
With respect to spiritual matters, let your spirit guide you, and do not force it to submit to the body.. Let it soar freely and swim in a world of divine matters as it is said: "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29)

Certainly, my beloved brother, you have heard before of the visions in which the spirit swims in the world of the angels and saints and see things which no mortal can see.. In such cases, the spirit is released from the influence of the body and uses the members of the body merely for its spiritual purposes.. Hence, the senses yield to the spirit and not the spirit to the senses..

One day, someone told me that he had heard that St. George appeared in a certain church but he did not believe. He went to see by himself and to prove that it was only a false superstition and he went and saw nothing..

I do not want to make any comment concerning this story but I only present a point of view ie. such a person and others like him cannot see any visions because of their weak faith. They want to subjugate the spiritual matters to the senses of the body, while God reveals to the simple only the mysteries of His Kingdom.

 The Release of The Spirit
 By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

12 - BE RELEASED FROM YOUR EARTHLY DESIRES - By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

12 - BE RELEASED FROM YOUR EARTHLY DESIRES  

By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

The following is a collection of articles entitled, "The Release of the Spirit" written by HH Pope Shenouda III for the Sunday School Magazine from the year 1951 before starting his monastic life.  

These articles were published in the form of a book in the year 1957 including some of his poems which were published in the magazine as well.. 

It was his first published book and it gained the approval of many and was reprinted many times.

12 - BE RELEASED FROM YOUR EARTHLY DESIRES   

Do you know what things you ought to escape from? Escape from the interests, the hopes and desires... Escape from all such things if you really want to attain the release of the spirit.

My beloved brother, please let me go a little deep into your heart to talk to you frankly: You have great hopes which you are much concerned about and which occupy part of your heart. They even occupy your imagination and so when you are alone they come to you as daydreams and when you are asleep you dream of them.. You have certain aims which you know most and cannot deny.. You want to be of a great importance, you want to be known by others and venerated by them.. You have hopes regarding fame and good reputation, authority and power, hopes regarding wealth, social positions, knowledge, titles, future, appearances and credit.. You have certain desires concerning residence, food, clothing and various pleasures of the body.. You do not live in the world but in fact it is the world that lives in you, and dominates over your heart, your mind, your imagination and your will.. As for your spirit, it is imprisoned within all this; it desires to be released of the fleshly desires.. as "the flesh lusts against the Spirit."  (Gal. 5:17)

These hopes and interests make you miserable, my beloved brother, because not all of them can be achieved..

This of course makes you discontented.. You long for such things and this longing makes you unhappy.. So, you make your arrangements and seek the means to achieve them: you think, meet certain persons, write down papers, go and come, strive and try hard; then you sit and wait.. You may get bored and tired of waiting and of having hope.. You may get desperate and become anxious or feel afraid of failure. Thus you become unhappy and perhaps your labour and your attempts end for nothing and you do not attain your desire and this makes you more unhappy .

A more dangerous thing is that you may go astray because of such hopes and desires and fall in deceit, beating about the bush, fawning and flattery, lying or what is worse... This is what one of the wise men once said, 'A person will certainly fall in hypocrisy if he wants to hide something within himself.

I know that you feel tired and I pity you.. But when will you live in the fire of hopes! What is amazing concerning such worldly desires is that they make you unhappy even though they are realized. For when you attain what you desire, you will be pleased and such pleasure leads you to seek more.. as the Lord Jesus Christ said: “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again." (John  4:13)  And when one feels thirst one seeks water to quench one's thirst and the more one drinks, the more one will feel thirst and desire for water..

So, my beloved brother, I want to discuss the matter with you calmly.. Why do you hold fast to certain worldly desires while you know that ".. the world is passing away, and the lust of it." (1 John  2:17)  You are-like me-a stranger on earth and the hour will come when you will quit the world and all its possessions .. As you have come naked from your mothers' womb, you will return naked there. (Job 1:21)  You will be forced to leave the world with its glory, wealth and fame and descend into a pit in the ground like any base person.. Whatever authority, pleasures or fame you attain in this world, this will not protect your mortal body against corruption or prevent the worms from feeding on your body leaving nothing of it.. On the day of judgement, you will stand before God destitute of all worldly possessions. You will keep nothing from the world except your works whether they be good or evil.

Therefore, my beloved brother, it is not good for you to confine your interests and hopes to this earth. Do you not remember that this earth brought forth to you thorns and thistles! It had once accepted the blood of Abel the Righteous.. and the cisterns hewn in it can hold no water. (Jer. 2:13)

Take the example of the father saints who lived on the earth before us and whom the earth was not deserving to be trodden on with their feet.. Those holy fathers did not attain that holiness except when they emptied their hearts of the love of the world and the worldly things.. They had no longer any desire or lust, nor any possession in the world.. And because they did not hold to anything in the world, it was easy for them to quit it and they even longed for that..

As for you, my beloved brother, you still have some worldly desires and, ".. where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matt. 6:21)  Your heart clings to the dust and its glory, so, the spiritual matters lose their value in your sight.. This is the same temptation with which the devil tried to tempt the Lord of glory, ".. the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”  (Matt. 4: 8-9) 

Now, consider, if you do possess all such things and lose your soul which you imprison in a golden cage of desires, what will this avail you? Your soul wants to be set free...

 The Release of The Spirit

 By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

11 - YOUR SELF IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD - By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

11 - YOUR SELF IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD 

By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

The following is a collection of articles entitled, "The Release of the Spirit" written by HH Pope Shenouda III for the Sunday School Magazine from the year 1951 before starting his monastic life.  

These articles were published in the form of a book in the year 1957 including some of his poems which were published in the magazine as well.. 

It was his first published book and it gained the approval of many and was reprinted many times.

11 - YOUR SELF IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD 

Again, my beloved brother, I want to talk to you about your 'self; that which you sometimes love and trust more than God... Unless you deny yourself, you will never enjoy the beauty of the release of the spirit. 

As love is the first commandment in Christianity, self-denial is the main path leading to love.. You cannot love God and people as long as you are concerned only about yourself and your pleasures.. So, be released first from this self, for the Lord glory be to Him says, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."  (Mark. 8:34) 

Thus, the Lord made self-denial the first requirement.

My beloved brother, let your aim be to conceal yourself in God so as not to have an independent existence separate from Him.. Say along with St. Paul the Apostle, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me."  (Gal. 2:20) 

If you ever wish to have glory, let your glory be from God and in God's sight.. and repeat always the verse which says, "O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself." (John 17:5)  Do not seek glory in the worldly things because".. the world is passing away, and the lust of it" (1 John 2:17)  But you, who are the son of God.".. you are the temple of God and.. the Spirit of God dwells in you.." (1 Cor. 3:16)  You are born,"..  not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:13)  That soul of yours is from God, a breath of His mouth.. In every Mass, you partake of the Holy Flesh and Blood of God to be one with Him and abide in Him as He wants.. Why then do you neglect such a great glory to seek another in the dust? 

Why are you concerned about what others say of you and why do you become pleased when they praise you and defend yourself when they attack you? Why do you beg their approval by talking about yourself My brother, I am afraid you still love the dust and the glory of it! Is your self still an idol which you give sacrifices and offerings to? Deny yourself, my dear, and give all your love to God alone.. Say along with John the Baptist, "He must increase, but I must decrease."  (John 3:30) 

I hear you grumbling, 'I do not want to decrease'.. Know then that you will not lose except the dregs that spoil your purity, and the worldly glory which is the dust that sticks to you.. You have to remove yourself of such glory to return clean as God has created you and as He wants you to be always. 

That concerns your relations with the others.., but I want to talk to you concerning your look towards yourself and how you ought to stand in the presence of God.. If you want the release of your spirit, stand before God as nothing.. Deny any knowledge or wisdom you have.. deny your intelligence and experience.. Stand in God's presence as an ignorant person who knows nothing.. But I do not mean that you feign ignorance or pretend this because God cannot be deceived and does not like those who pretend.. 

What I mean is to be convinced-in every matter-that your self must be concealed so that the Lord Jesus Christ may appear, not only before people, but also before yourself.. Say to Him, 'O Lord, I judge according to the appearances.. I am weak and cannot resist the devils.. The results of any work are in Your hand.."  Ask God to intervene and guide you, or to dwell in you and work through you.. Then, when the required thing is performed, thank God because it is He who did it not you.. And when people come to praise you do not boast or pretend to be humble but seize the opportunity and chant to them the psalm which says, "If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, let Israel now say-If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive... Then the waters would have overwhelmed us, the stream would have gone over our soul."  (Ps. 124: 1-4) 

When you are fought with a certain sin, do not trust your power nor depend on your past triumph because sin, "..has cast down many wounded, and all who were slain by her were strong men." (Prov. 7:26).. But, be sure that victory is the Lord's and if He does forsake you in the slightest sins, you will be like the people of Sodom.. Chant then that beautiful psalm which says, " .. You knew my path. In the way in which I walk they have secretly set a snare for me. Look on my right hand and see, for there is no one who acknowledges me. Refuge has failed me; no one cares for my soul.. I cried out to You, O Lord: I said, 'You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living... Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are stronger than I... (Ps. 142: 3-6)  

My beloved brother, you are nothing, and you have to admit this before God and before yourself.. Whenever you think that you are able to do something, come to your self and say: "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt? " (Ex. 3:11) 

However, if God convinces you that He will be your mouth and will speak through your tongue and that you will be just an instrument, then proceed on your way. Though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you will fear no evil; and though an army encamps against you, you will be confident in this.. At such time remember me, the unclean dust, so that we may meet together.. there..

 The Release of The Spirit

 By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

10 - BE RELEASED FROM YOUR 'SELF' - By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

10 - BE RELEASED FROM YOUR 'SELF' 
By H.H. Pope Shenouda III 

The following is a collection of articles entitled, "The Release of the Spirit" written by HH Pope Shenouda III for the Sunday School Magazine from the year 1951 before starting his monastic life.  

These articles were published in the form of a book in the year 1957 including some of his poems which were published in the magazine as well.. 

It was his first published book and it gained the approval of many and was reprinted many times.

10 - BE RELEASED FROM YOUR 'SELF'

If you are still concerned about how people may judge you trying by any means to make them have a better idea about you, it will be difficult for you to attain the eminence of the release of the spirit.. 

Sometimes, people do not praise you or they praise others more.. In such a case, instead of being pleased and rejoicing because the devil of vain glory is unaware of you even for some time.., I see you seeking to trouble yourself.. You beg the praise of people in such a way that does not fit your dignity as a son of God.. by proceeding to talk about yourself..

Would you, dear brother, let me discuss the matter with you with the same frankness we used before?

1. Why do you talk to others about yourself ? Do you want them to admire you? Then tell me frankly, 'Do you, in your heart, admire yourself No doubt, there are many defects in you which you are in fact bothered about.. Why then do you want them to glorify a personality which you yourself are not convinced that it deserves to be glorified?' 

2. If we do approve the principle of talking about oneself.. let me ask you, 'Do you give a true picture of yourself ? Or do you mention only the bright points and leave the shameful and vile points which would make them hate you? My friend, do you not know that half the facts are not all facts? Does not your talk about yourself include then some deceit and lies? Do you not present only one side of a picture which has its defects.. those defects which you know well and your spiritual father also knows?

3. No doubt, you know also that talking about your 'virtues' would deprive you of the reward.. And certainly you have read the Sermon on the Mount and saw what the Lord said, ".. do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing" and, ".. your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly" (Matt. 6:3,4). I feel pity for you, my beloved brother because you strive much for a certain virtue and in a moment of rashness, in which the cursed self-righteousness prevails, the devil comes and robs you of all your striving.. And behold, all your labour is wasted in vain...

When I see you talking about yourself, I imagine you as a person who planted some plant and when God gave the fruit you set fire to it instead of reaping the fruit and rejoicing.. or you let the devil reap it for you!

My dear friend, whenever you feel a desire to talk about yourself, listen to the divine words singing in your ears, "Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward".  (Matt. 6:2)

4. Another harm results from talking about yourself which is obvious in the following story: Once, on a certain occasion I was talking with enthusiasm and admiration about a blessed person whom I love and esteem.. But one of my spiritual fathers said to me, 'Please do not proceed in this talk, because by this you gather the devils around him to fight him.. Leave him to labour calmly, for he is still a beginner and needs many prayers'. Thereupon I stopped talking, feeling that I did something wrong against such a person..

The devils cannot bear to hear about a person doing something good. So, if God does something great through you, let it be in secret between you and God. Do not talk about it lest the devils should envy and fight you; in which case you will not only lose your reward, but will also be subject to a hard war the results of which are unknown..

5. Those were some of the harmful results that befall a person who talks about himself..  But can you tell me of one advantage on the other hand that may be gained from praising yourself ? Of course the sinful feeling which a person feels when he sees the admiration of others for him is not an advantage.. It is in fact a sin which needs to be cured!! But there is a real advantage which I draw your attention to, ie. If the desire to talk about yourself presses hard on you and you are unable to resist it, then tell the others about your weakness and your shortcomings.. Tell them about your falling in sins and how you would have been like the people of Sodom had it not been for God's help.. Ask them insistently to pray for you that God may have mercy upon you..

6. Another word I want to tell you frankly though I hesitated long before whispering it in your ear is that people feel disgusted of anyone who talks much about himself .. They even call him the boastful or self-conceited.. Thus such a person shall gain neither heavens nor earth..

7. Lastly, I want you to remember that the works which fight you with self-righteousness are not all due to your efforts.. There are the surrounding circumstances which help you to perform such works, the role played by others in this concern and the abilities given you by God..

No doubt you would be exaggerating if you ascribe to yourself all this forgetting God's work through you..

I am afraid I have annoyed you, my beloved brother, with my frankness? Forgive me then this weakness and pray for me.

 The Release of The Spirit

 By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

9 - YOUR SELF AND THE OFFENCES - By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

9 - YOUR SELF AND THE OFFENCES 

By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

The following is a collection of articles entitled, "The Release of the Spirit" written by HH Pope Shenouda III for the Sunday School Magazine from the year 1951 before starting his monastic life.  

These articles were published in the form of a book in the year 1957 including some of his poems which were published in the magazine as well.. 

It was his first published book and it gained the approval of many and was reprinted many times.

9 - YOUR SELF AND THE OFFENCES 

My beloved brother, unless you are released from your "self" which you worship in place of God, and which you exalt and elevate in front of people, you will never attain the eminence of the release of the spirit... 

Perhaps you sometimes like to be praised by people.. and we have discussed in a previous article what you ought to do when others praise you.. Now, in this calm meeting I'd like to ask you, 

'What do you feel and how do you behave when others offend you or mistrust you?'

Perhaps you would think that you are insulted.. and perhaps you would be much concerned about your dignity and the awe and respect due to you.. This would make you angry and furious.. You may avenge or defend yourself.. I do not deny you this right, for I am in the flesh like you and have experienced all such feelings or rather have been tempted by them... But come, let us discuss the matter together.. 

What benefit does anger avail you?.. It disturbs you, and destroys your nerves.. Moreover it deprives you of the peace of heart and of comfort.. Do you not remember the words of St. James the Apostle,

"For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. " (James 1:20) 

Getting angry for the sake of your self is no doubt that kind of anger meant by St. James the Apostle.. I hear you saying that such anger relieves your sorrow and gives vent to the agitation suppressed within you! But why do you have such suppressed agitation which needs to come out? Of course the reason is obvious which is that you are much concerned about yourself! Be released, my beloved brother, from this self and you will have comfort.. 

If anyone insults you, do not think of yourself being insulted, but of the person who insulted you.. He is your brother.. and you-being a spiritual person full of love ought to think what can you do for that brother who sinned against you..

Of course, you do not want his precious soul to descend into hell, or that your insult stand in the way of his salvation.. Therefore you have to ask God not to count that sin on his behalf or punish him for it.. You have to pray that God may deliver him of such sin so as not to commit it again against you or others.. 

When you think of the brother who insulted you, try to find out the reason which led him to do so.. Perhaps he was ill, or nervous, his mind agitated or his strength exhausted or overloaded with social, scholastic or financial problems.. Consider what you can do for him.. Perhaps you can arrange for him a nice journey or a picnic or try to provide him with some means of amusement or entertainment.. If you find yourself unable to do anything for him, at least show compassion for him and ask God to give him special help..

People, my dear brother, are not wicked by nature, because when God made man, "God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good". As for evil, it comes to people from without; it is alien to them...

There may be other reasons which led that person to insult you.. He might have misunderstood you.. In such a case you can argue with him to convince him gently and lovingly..

However, there may be some persons who insult others merely because they like to do so, depending on their tolerance, to make of them a subject of their jokes and fun.

Avoid dealing with such persons, or address them, in a severe and firm but polite way to show them their faults and warn them against falling in such faults again..

This, you have to do not with purpose to avenge yourself or to retain a personal dignity but out of love for the person at fault. This would give him no chance to repeat the fault or fall again and destroy himself... 

There is a great difference between blaming a sinner with a desire to take vengeance in such a way as to arouse his wrath against you, and blaming him out of love in a firm but calm way so that he may feel that you love him...

This concerns your attitude towards the person whom you feel has insulted you.. but let me go a little deeper into your self to argue concerning your inner feeling..

1. Why do you consider the words of the others an insult or an abuse?  Why do you not consider such an insult - as you take it to be - a plain word useful to reform yourself 

If you get annoyed due to this, that is because you like to be praised and want all people to speak well of you.. You ought to rejoice, my brother, when people criticise and rebuke you.., because this is for your good. It purifies and benefits you in your coming life.. 

When someone criticises you, you thank him, for perhaps his voice is the voice of God..

I mean that God who loves you may have sent such a person to you to guide you and reveal to you your wrongdoing so that you may stop doing it.

2. Perhaps God is punishing you with such insults for other sins which you have committed in the far or near past..  When David the Prophet heard an insult, he said humbly, "Let him curse, because the Lord has said to him: 'Curse David?"  
(2 Sam. 16:10)

My beloved brother, when someone insults you, remember your past sins and know that you are not perfectly pure so as to be beyond reproach...

3. Sometimes, God performs a successful act through you, but you take such success as a weapon to vaunt and right yourself with, feeling self-righteousness. So, God fearing that you may fall through pride, permits someone to insult you.. This may make some equilibrium within your feelings and eliminate your pride a little. Many of the persons who are insulted by others are proud.. while the Bible teaches us that the meek are raised by God from the dunghill and seated with the princes of their people (Ps. 113:8)

4. Perhaps your conduct has offended others though you are not aware, and so they insulted you... Therefore it is good to know the point of view of the person who insulted you for he may be right..

5. Such an insult may be a lesson for you to teach you love and long-suffering.. One of the spiritual fathers said about some monk who lived in seclusion not mixing with the brethren, 'Being with the brethren in the assembly is necessary for a monk, because if he cannot endure the quarrels of the brethren, how can he endure the wars of the devils in his solitude as St. Isaac says!!'

6. What harm is caused to you if someone judges you wrongly or thinks you are at fault? Would this hinder you from attaining God's Kingdom or would God judge you according to what the people say!

7. Or do you like to be praised and favoured by human beings who are created of dust like you?  My friend, remember that your Master, ".. was oppressed and was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth." and, "He was numbered with the transgressors." (Is. 53:7,12).. He accepted that cross..

8. Lastly, my beloved brother, when you are insulted and when you feel annoyed and resent the insult though you are a sinner like myself, remember then how we insult God and how He endures patiently, loves us and accepts us! How great our compassionate God is! He has no likeness among gods...

   The Release of The Spirit

 By H.H. Pope Shenouda III