His Holiness Pope Tawadros II delivered his weekly sermon at Wednesday’s meeting this evening, from the Church of the Virgin Mary and Saint Bishoy at the Papal Residence in the Abbaseya Cathedral. The sermon was broadcast on Christian satellite channels and the C.O.C channel of the Church’s media center on the Internet.

His Holiness continued on the series of “The Stations of the Great Lent Journey and Connecting It to Family Life”, and discussed part of the fourth chapter in the Gospel of our teacher St John (verses 7-18).
His Holiness referred to the topic of next Sunday, which is “the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman” (halfway through the Great Lent), and how to deal with the sinner (the deviant) in a positive way, just as the Lord Christ dealt with the isolated Samaritan woman, and took the story of the Samaritan woman as a model in regards to family and social meaning.

His Holiness began by defining deviation as a breaking of societal norms, and its various forms, focusing on deviation from the value in relation to the image of the father or mother inside the home, and reviewed the reasons that may lead to the deviation of any person in society:
To grow up in a weak family bonds
To grow up in a weak educational institution.
To grow up from a young age in without a hobby.
Extreme poverty or extreme wealth.
Bad use of the Internet and media in general.
Bad company
Harassment and bullying that is common in society now.
Wars and crises in countries.

His Holiness stressed that the main reason and the first motive for the deviation of the husband or wife is “negligence”, and that the reason for the deviation of one of the parties is the neglect of the other, and through the story of the Samaritan woman, H.H. clarified how the deviant person is viewed, as follows:

1- Society’s view of the deviant (scandal): He is an unacceptable person, as the Samaritan woman did when she went to get water at noon.

2- The family’s view of the deviant (lack of wisdom): When one of the spouses discovers the deviance of the other partner, he loses control of himself, and does not deal with the matter wisely, but falls into multiple sins, such as anger, condemnation, and verbal violence.
3- God’s view of the deviant (compassionate and embracing): God constantly waits for the return of the sinful person, but rather arranges some things for the sinner to hear a warning bell, for example by giving calmness to the other party in receiving the error calmly and prudently.

His Holiness recommended treating deviation through:
1- Turning towards God through prayer, because prayer performs miracles and saves man from the sins, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.” (Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭6‬)
2-Be patient and calm and create a dialogue full of love
3- Focus on the positive aspects of the deviant’s personality to push him to repent, whether they are memories or common good things.
4- Do not let free time enter your family, and fill the free time spiritually, socially, and with a hobby.
5-Avoid rebuking, and hold on to your tongue chastity.
6- Avoid cruelty in dealing with others
7- Referring to specialists in family or psychological counselling

His Holiness concluded the sermon by emphasizing the wisdom in dealing with deviation among adults.

This page is also available in: العربية