Serenity

Main Idea

Pope Shenouda III speaks about calmness as an essential quality in a spiritual person, for the spiritual person is calm both inwardly and outwardly.
Calmness appears in the voice, speech, manner, facial expressions, and movements, as well as in the way a person deals with others and with problems.
A calm person does not turn a discussion into a conflict, but discusses, disagrees, and persuades calmly, aiming to win the person rather than to defeat him.

Spiritual Message

Pope Shenouda connects inner calmness with peace of heart, faith, and surrender to God, for the person who trusts in God’s providence can place his matters in God’s hands and does not live in fear and disturbance.
He also explains that sin and a troubled conscience can deprive a person of his inner peace, while confession and repentance restore peace to the heart.
True calmness is not merely external silence or hiding one’s feelings, but a genuine peace within the heart, mind, and emotions.

Educational Lesson

Pope Shenouda teaches that calmness is a virtue that requires continuous training, such as training oneself to have a calm voice, use peaceful words, maintain a calm manner during discussions, and avoid haste or impulsiveness.
A calm person can also wait, be patient, and think before acting; therefore, he is better able to face problems and solve them without making them more complicated.

Practical Application

To attain calmness, a person should put his heart, conscience, mind, and life in order, turn away from sin, and live a life of faith and surrender.
He should learn to face problems calmly and should not allow an external problem to enter his inner life and take away his peace.
Pope Shenouda emphasizes that true calmness does not come from escape or temporary external means, but from an inner peace that grows through faith, training, patience, generosity of spirit, and understanding.
Thus, a person becomes calm in his heart, speech, and actions, and is able to become a source of comfort and peace to those around him.

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