The Holiness of Sacred Times
The Main Idea
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III speaks about the sufferings of the Lord Christ as not merely events in the Passion Week, but a complete way of life that Christ lived from His birth until His crucifixion, carrying the salvation of humanity.
A Life of Continuous Suffering
He emphasizes that Christ lived a life full of hardship and persecution منذ His childhood: poverty, threat, escape, fatigue, hunger and thirst. Suffering was not a passing moment, but a continuous journey showing His love for البشر.
Suffering of Humiliation and Rejection
Christ endured insults and false accusations: He was called a sinner, a deceiver, and possessed by a demon. He was rejected by His people and loved ones, and even His disciples left Him in His hardest moments.
Inner and Spiritual Pain
The suffering was not only physical, but also psychological and spiritual, as Christ grieved over human sins and their سقوط, seeing how humanity lost the divine image because of sin.
Bearing the Sins of the World
In Gethsemane, Christ carried all the sins of humanity—past, present, and future—and this burden was the greatest suffering He endured.
Redemption Instead of Defense
Christ did not defend Himself, because the goal was not His acquittal but the redemption of humanity. The true defense was His shed blood which He offered for the world.
Practical Love
Christ showed His love through action, not words, as He offered Himself willingly, presenting the greatest example of true love: to lay down one’s life for others.
The Cross as Glory and Victory
Despite the suffering, the cross was glory and victory, through which Christ defeated death and Satan and opened the way of salvation for humanity.
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