Forgetfulness
Main Idea
Pope Shenouda III speaks about the importance of remembrance in spiritual life, because human beings are often forgetful and continually need reminders of important spiritual truths.
He explains that feasts, fasts, prayers, and Church readings are not merely recurring occasions, but means that help a person remember God’s works, His salvation, and His commandments.
In commemorating the Nativity of Christ, we should not remember only the joys of the Nativity, but also remember God’s love that led Him to become incarnate for the salvation of humanity.
We should also remember our sins, because remembering them leads to humility, repentance, confession, and remorse, while remembering God’s blessings leads to thanksgiving, hope, faith, and love for God.
Spiritual Message
The teaching emphasizes that spiritual forgetfulness can cause a person to forget his weakness, sins, and promises to God, and therefore he needs continual remembrance.
The Church provides daily, weekly, and annual commemorations through which the believer remembers the Nativity of Christ, the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Crucifixion of Christ, His Second Coming, the Judgment, and other truths connected with his life and salvation.
It also points to biblical examples that demonstrate the danger of forgetfulness, such as Zechariah the priest and the Apostle Peter, and how remembering God’s word or His work brings a person back to spiritual awareness.
Educational Lesson
A person should continually keep his weakness and previous falls before his eyes so that he does not become proud or underestimate spiritual danger.
He should also not judge someone who falls, but remember that he too is vulnerable to weakness, and therefore should deal with others with humility and mercy.
The Church uses many means to establish remembrance, as seen in prayers, readings, feasts, fasts, and Church commemorations.
Practical Application
The teaching calls each person to sit with himself, especially at the beginning of the year, to remember his sins, shortcomings, and promises to God, and to offer repentance, remorse, and confession for them.
At the same time, he should remember God’s blessings one by one, so that he may live a life of thanksgiving, hope, and love.
A person therefore needs to continually remember God’s work, His commandments, and his own weakness, so that he may live a spiritually watchful life and avoid falling again because of negligence, carelessness, or forgetfulness.
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