The Virgin Mary and the Virtue of Possibility

His Holiness Pope Shenouda addresses the virtue of endurance (patience in afflictions) and presents biblical and spiritual examples that show how endurance is a path to reward and closeness to God.

Examples of enduring injustice
He cites Saint Joseph the Righteous who endured the injustice of his brothers being thrown into the pit and sold as a slave, and he endured the false accusation of Potiphar’s wife and his being thrown into prison, showing how endurance was a characteristic of his life and God exalted him in the end.

Examples of enduring poverty
He mentions Lazarus the poor as a great example of enduring poverty and need, and that Scripture does not mention any virtue about him except enduring need and pain, but this endurance alone led him to go into Abraham’s bosom and God rewarded him.

Examples of enduring illness
Job the Righteous comes as the most famous example of enduring illness: he bore long pains and trials, and remained consistent in his faith even in the face of negative advice from those closest to him.

The spiritual lesson
Pope Shenouda affirms that endurance is not a negativity but a spiritual virtue that leads to God’s honor and divine reward, and that the believer is called to endure injustice, poverty, and illness with hope and faith, following the examples of the Holy Scriptures.

A call to spiritual imitation
He calls listeners to learn from the lives of these saints how to adopt endurance as a path to spiritual growth and drawing near to God, while adhering to Scripture, the law, and humility in trials.

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