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Acts 2:1-11 "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place."
Gospel:
John 7:37-52; 8:12 "But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive..."
Praying in the Spirit
"Prayer is spiritual breathing; when we pray we breathe in the Holy Spirit -'praying in the Holy Spirit.' Thus all church prayers are - the breathing of the Holy Spirit; as it were spiritual air and also light, spiritual fire, spiritual food and spiritual raiment. "
- St. John of Kronstodt
The Immaterial Fire
"When you look at the candles and lamps burning in church, rise in thought from the material fire to the immaterial fire of the Holy Spirit, 'for our God is a consuming fire' (Heb. 12:29). When you see and smell the fragrant incense, rise in thought to the spiritual fragrance of the Holy Spirit, 'for we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ' (2 Cor. 2:15). Also, in contrast, think of the spiritual stench which sin is, and endeavor to be filled with the fire of the Holy Spirit. Drive away every coldness of heart, which proceeds from the devil, the flesh, and the world, and be yourself a sweet savor before God, by the fragrance of the virtues of meekness, gentleness, humility, obedience, abstinence, chastity, patience and others. Flee from the stench of the passions; from malice, envy, pride, disobedience, intemperance, fornication, etc. "
- St. John of Kronstodt
Following God's Will
"If, then, we truly love Jesus Christ with our hearts and not just with our words, and if we are grateful to Him, are we then not bound to carry out what He wills for us to do? When a person truly loves his benefactor, he expresses his gratitude by doing what pleases his benefactor. "
- St. Innocent, Apostle to America
Never Separate Yourself from the Church
"Never separate yourself from the Church. For nothing is stronger than the Church. Your hope is the Church alone; your salvation is inside the Church only, your refuge is the Church. She is higher than the heavens, and wider than the whole earth. She never grows old, but is always full of vigor and vitality. Holy Scripture (which would not even exist were it not for the Church), when pointing to her strength and stability, calls her an unshakable mountain. "
- St. John Chrysostom
Rise Above
" A human being, while still living on an animal level, also acts according to outward conditioning; but still he has the unique ability, if he will use it, to observe his mind and thus rise above his conditioning. In so doing, he ceases to react to environmental pressures, but acts instead according to the inward pressure of his spirit as it is guided by God. "
- Elder Ephraim
The Eyes of the Soul
"What takes place here requires faith and the eyes of the soul, so that you pay heed not only to what is seen, but that you make the unseen visible from the seen. This is what the eyes of faith can do. "
- St. John Chrysostom
From the Holy Fathers on the Holy Spirit
"There have been delivered to us in the Gospel three Persons and names through Whom the generation of the birth of believers takes place, and he who is begotten by this Trinity is equally begotten of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit - for thus does the Gospel speak of the Spirit, that 'that which is born of the Spirit is spirit' (Jn. 3:6), and it is 'in Christ' (I Cor, 4:15) that Paul begets, and the Father is the 'Father of all'. "
- St. Gregory of Nyssa
"Every faithful soul is filled with the Holy Spirit, if she is cleansed of her sins and not blocked or closed by self love and pride. For the Holy Spirit always surrounds us and wishes to fill us; but our evil deeds which surround us like a hard stone wall are like evil guards which do not allow Him to come near us and keep Him away from us. Every sin can keep the Holy Spirit away from us, but bodily impurity and spiritual pride are especially repellent to Him. The Holy Spirit, Who is the most perfect purity, cannot possible be in a man defiled by sins. How can He be in our heart when it is filled and blocked by different cares, desires and passions? "
- St. Innocent of Alaska
"The Holy Spirit gives true joy and gladness of heart and imperturbable peace. A person who has not the Holy Spirit can never rejoice with true joy and make merry with pure merriment, and he cannot have peace of soul which makes life sweet. True, he does sometimes rejoice and is merry; but what kind of joy is it? It is fleeting and impure; and his merry-making is always hollow and feeble, and after he is still more overwhelmed with boredom. And it is also true that such a person is sometimes calm; but this calmness is not peace of soul - it is a sleep or lethargy of the soul. Woe to the person who is listless and who has no desire to awake from such a sleep! "
- St. Innocent of Alaska
"The Holy Spirit gives a man wisdom. This we can see especially in the case of the Holy Apostles who, until they had received the Holy Spirit, were simple and unlearned men; but afterwards, who could resist their wisdom and the power of their word? The Holy Spirit also gives wisdom in works and acts. Thus a person who has the Holy Spirit always finds means and time for his salvation; and amidst the turmoil of the world and in spite of all his occupations, he can enter into himself when it seems impossible to an ordinary man even in the temple of God. "
- St. Innocent of Alaska
Reflection from the Prologue - Grace
"Whenever we are outside the Grace of God, we are outside of ourselves and, compared with our Grace-filled nature, we do not find ourselves in a better condition than an insane man in comparison to a so-called healthy man. Only a blessed man is a natural man, i.e., a man of higher and unspoiled nature, in which the Grace of God rules and governs.
St. Symeon the New Theologian says: 'A lamp, even if it is filled with oil and possesses a wick, remains totally dark if it is not lighted with fire. So it is with the soul in appearance adorned with all virtues, if it does not have a light and the Grace of the Holy Spirit it, is extinguished and dark.' (Homily, Number 59). As the great Apostle also says: 'But by the Grace of God I am what I am' (1 Corinthians 15:10). However to be without grace means to be alienated from God and alienated from the reality of our own individual being. Our being, our personality, confirms our reality and receives its fullness only in the nearness of God and by God. That is why we must look at sinners as we look upon the sick: as weak shadows, without reality and without a mind.
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- St. Nikolai of Serbia
On the Giving of the Holy Spirit
"Thou, 0 Christ, art the Kingdom of Heaven; Thou, the land promised to the gentle; Thou, the grazing lands of paradise; Thou, the hall of the celestial banquet; Thou, the ineffable marriage chamber; Thou, the table set for all, Thou, the Bread of Life; Thou, the unheard of drink; Thou, both the urn for the water and the life-giving water; Thou, moreover, the inextinguishable lamp for each one of the Saints; Thou, the garment and the crown and the One Who distributes the crowns; Thou, the joy and rest; Thou, the delight and glory; Thou, the gaiety and mirth; and Thy Grace, Grace of the Spirit of all sanctity, will shine like the sun in all the Saints; and Thou, inaccessible Sun, will shine in their midst and all will shine brightly, to the degree of their faith, their asceticism, their hope and their love, their purification and their illumination by Thy Spirit. "
- St. Symeon the New Theologian
You have allowed me to see the angels...
"Monk Chariton the Kafsokalyvitan was the spiritual grandson of the hesychast Chariton. He followed the blessed path of his grandfather and was devoted to the struggle and trial of ascesis, even at a young age. Frequently he would fall into ecstasy while eating. His whole life was a constant vigil and prayer, and his death was one of a saint. He became bedridden and just before his end he had a vision.
'Father Athanasios,' he said to his brother monk, 'look there at so many children all dressed in white. Oh how beautiful! They are holding flowers in their hands, I thank you, God, that You have allowed me to see Your angels.'
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