In this touching reflection, His Holiness Pope Shenouda III recalls one of his early poems written at the age of sixteen, in the late 1930s. In this poem, he expressed the feelings of loneliness and alienation that he experienced in his youth. The poem begins with the moving question: “Did I truly have a mother who died? Or was I created without a mother?” — words that reveal a deep sense of orphanhood and solitude.

His Holiness explains that this poem was not merely about sadness, but an honest expression of a human experience — the voice of a young soul contemplating its place in the world. He wrote: “God cast me into the world a stranger, I soar in open space and ask, O my time, where can I find a sister, or an uncle, or an aunt?” — expressing his longing for family warmth and belonging.

Despite the tone of sorrow, the poem carries a hidden spiritual depth. In human loneliness lies a call to turn one’s heart toward God, who becomes the true Father and Mother of the soul. Through this early poetic experience, we see the beginnings of the deep spiritual and emotional sensitivity that would later define Pope Shenouda’s life and writings.

🔹 Main Idea: Expressing feelings of loneliness and longing for belonging and human warmth.
🔹 Spiritual Dimension: From the depth of human loneliness arises the soul’s connection to God as the true source of love and comfort.

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