This morning (Monday morning), His Holiness Pope Tawadros II met with congregation of the diocese of Milan, Italy, in his first meeting in the diocese since his arrival during the late hours of Sunday evening.
At the beginning of the meeting held in the Monastery of Anba Shenouda the Archimandrite, in Milan, His Holiness expressed his joy over visiting the diocese, giving thanks to His Grace Bishop Antonio, (Bishop of Milan), for his efforts in arranging the visit. He added: “Indeed, this visit came to you after the days of joy and love we lived in Rome, and we continue our joy with you.”
His Holiness reflected on the verse: “When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord” (John 20:20).
He then said: “I would like to talk to you about the life of joy. Christ came to give us redemption and salvation, but on the other hand, Christ came to fill our lives with joy and give us permanent joy. The Bible teaches us the joy of rejoicing in the spirit. No matter the difficulties of life, a person is peaceful and joyful.”
His Holiness spoke about five types of joy:
1- The Joy of Meeting: It is a joy personified by Mary Magdalene. In it, we joyfully meet with Christ in the Liturgy, Vespers and Midnight Praises. They are times which God gives us to rejoice in Him.
2- The Joy of Knowledge: The Bible teaches us: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). My beloved, you must live with the Holy Bible. He who lives the Gospel lives the commandment, and he who lives the commandment lives the depth of joy with Christ. Perhaps you will find yourself in one of the characters of the Bible and learn from them.
3-The Joy of Seeing: We see with our eyes, and this is called sight. We all also see with the heart, which is the inner eye, and what we call insight. We have to see and rejoice with the eyes of our hearts.
4-The Joy of Faith: It is the joy that comes from assurance. This is what Christ did with Thomas to bring him to assurance. He rejoiced over our Coptic Orthodox Church, as the word “Orthodox” means uprightness of opinion, i.e. it has been upright in opinion and dogma since the days of Christ and until the end.
5-The Joy of Love: It is the joy that solves all problems and is the highest form of joy. My beloved, only love can cure upset, like Peter when he had low self esteem and Christ lovingly said to him: “Do you love Me?”
Peter replied: “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.”
The Lord Christ said to him: “Feed my lambs.”
At the end of the meeting, His Holiness blessed those present and shook hands with all of them. He was keen to be reassured about their conditions and service and pray for the sick. Memorial photos were taken with His Holiness.
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