In this poem, His Holiness Pope Shenouda III reflects on his deep sense of spiritual exile in the world—a feeling he had since his youth. He wrote these verses in 1945 or 1946 while still a university student. The poem begins:
“A stranger I lived in the world, a sojourner like my fathers; a stranger in my ways, in my thoughts, and in my desires.”

🕊 Main Idea:
The central theme is that a true believer lives as a stranger to the world’s spirit, not drawn to its noise or pleasures but walking a different path, guided by the longing for God alone. It is a holy form of exile, expressing detachment from earth and communion with heaven.

🌿 Spiritual Dimension:
For the Pope, this sense of estrangement is not sorrowful or lonely—it is a sacred state of being for those who sincerely seek God. In solitude and stillness, he finds joy in communion with his Creator, appearing to others as a shadow, yet inwardly filled with peace and spiritual richness.

💧 Educational Message:
The poem teaches that being “a stranger to the world” does not mean withdrawing from it, but living within it with an unbound heart—finding joy in divine fellowship rather than worldly pleasures. Those who choose purity, quietness, and contemplation do not live in deprivation but in hidden joy and heavenly peace.

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