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Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty · Catechism · 257

Faith Q&A › Catechism › 6. The Exalted Nature of the Human Creation

The human being cannot see his own soul, so how can God call him to behold Him?

The answer

The human being is called to behold the invisible God: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8). But God is Spirit, so flesh cannot see Him. For this reason the Son of God was incarnate to grant us the new spiritual birth, that we might see Him who is invisible (Heb. 11:27) and live by Him. He alone opens the seals (Rev. 5:9) that we might know the mysteries of God the Father.500 St. Jacob of Sarug says, “The human soul is like a beautiful mirror. If it is clean, you can look and see in it even the things that are invisible. But, if it is covered with dirt and dust, it will not even be able to see how filthy it is.”501

Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty

Notes

500 See Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty’s book, The Vision of God according to the Church Fathers in Arabic.

501 See Behnam Sony, Man in the Teaching of St Jacob of Sarug (1995): p. 55.

Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty, Catechism of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Volume 1, Books 1–3. First English Edition, 2023. Published by St. George Coptic Orthodox Church, Sporting, Alexandria, and Queen St. Mary & Prince Tadros Coptic Orthodox Church, South Brunswick, NJ. Copyright © 2023. Translation and Editing: Youth of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, Arabian Gulf, and Egypt.