Nikolai Velimirovich: God the Holy Spirit Caresses Us in the Heart of Our Very Being Sunday, May 19 2013

“The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16).

He who has the Spirit of God in himself – only he has the witness that he is the child of God.

Without the Spirit of God there is no such witness. Not even the entire universe can give this witness.

The universe, alone, without the Spirit of God – what else does it witness to us other than that we are its slaves, its victims, which it unmercifully swallows?

In essence, the pagans thought that also. The opponents of God today, do they not think likewise? They do think so.

For indeed, it is difficult to take that thought away from man who did not recognize the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God, the Witness of Heaven.

The same apostle says: “For you have not received the spirit of bondage” (Romans 8:15). What is this spirit of bondage? It is every other spirit except the Spirit of God, Who Christ the Lord sends to those who love Him.

The spirit of bondage is the spirit of materialism, the spirit of fortune-telling, the spirit of naturalism, the spirit of pessimism, the spirit of despair, the spirit of vice.

Only the Spirit of God is the All Holy Spirit of adoption and freedom.

O what happiness, O what peace, O what joy when the Spirit of God cuddles in the cleansed heart of man as a sparrow does in its nest!

Then our hope opens hundreds of doors in the prison of the universe and our embrace, wider than the universe, stretches out to the One Who is greater and more merciful than the universe.

To Whom? To the Father! And then we cry out: “Abba, Father!” (Romans 8:15).

The witness of God, which comes through the eyes, can even lead us to doubt that we are the children of God.

But, the witness which comes to us from the heart, from the Spirit of God, does not leave even the slightest doubt.

God witnesses about God. What kind of doubt can there be? God the Holy Spirit caresses us in the heart of our very being.

Can there be any kind of doubt there? No; for then we know and feel completely confident that God is the Father and we, the children of God. No one’s servants, no one’s slaves, rather the children of God.

O Lord God, Holy Spirit come abide in us and remain with us as a Witness of the Trinity and the Kingdom, as a Witness of the immortal Paradise.

Nikolai Velimirovich (1880-1956; Orthodox Church): Prologue from Ohrid, May 21st.

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Gregory Palamas: Clothed in Immortality, Glory and Incorruption by the Power of the Holy Spirit Thursday, May 16 2013

Christ…, in His all-surpassing love for mankind, showed at Pentecost that His disciples were partakers, fathers and ministers of everlasting light and life, who bring us to new birth for eternal life and make those who are worthy children of the Light and fathers of enlightenment.

Thus, He Himself is with us unto the end of the world, as was promised through the Spirit (Matt. 28:20). For He is One with the Father and the Spirit, not according to hypostasis, but in His divinity, and God is One in Three, in one tri-hypostatic and almighty divinity.

The Holy Spirit always existed and was with the Son in the Father. How could the Father and divine Mind be without beginning if the Son and Word were not also without beginning? How could there be a pre-eternal Word without there also being a pre-eternal Spirit?

Thus the Holy Spirit ever was and is and will be, co-Creator with the Father and the Son, together with them renewing that which has suffered corruption, and sustaining the things that endure.

He is everywhere present and fills, directs and oversees everything. “Whither shall I go from thy spirit”, says the Psalmist to God, “Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” (Ps. 139:7). He is ‘not just everywhere, but also above all, not just in every age and time, but before them all.

And, according to the promise, the Holy Spirit will not just be with us until the end of the age, but rather will stay with those who are worthy in the age to come, making them immortal and filling their bodies as well with eternal glory, as the Lord indicated by telling His disciples, “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever” (John 14:16).

“It is sown”, says the Apostle (meaning buried and committed to the earth), “a dead natural body”, that is to, say, an ordinary created body with a created soul, stable and capable of movement.

“It is raised” (that is, comes back to life), “a spiritual body” (cf. 1Cor. 15:44), which means a supernatural body, framed and ordered by the Holy Spirit, and clothed in immortality, glory and incorruption by the Spirit’s power (cf. 1Cor. 15:53).

“The first man, Adam”, he says, “was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly” (cf. 1Cor. 15:45,47-48).

Gregory Palamas (1296-1359): On Pentecost, 12-13 @Mystagogy.

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Nikolai Velimirovich: “The Love of God is Shed Abroad in Our Hearts by the Holy Spirit” Wednesday, May 15 2013

“The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us” (Romans 5:5).

Love is joy and love anoints the heart of man with joy. Brethren, love is power and love anoints the heart of man with power.

Love is peace and love anoints the heart of man with peace. And from joy, power and peace, courage is born and love anoints the heart of man with courage.

The love of God, as a fragrant oil, is shed abroad in our hearts by no other than the Holy Spirit, the All-gentle and All-powerful Spirit.

Completely undeserved by us, the Spirit of God is shed abroad in us: the love of God in our hearts in the Mystery of Chrismation.

However, in time we neglect this love and by sin we alienate ourselves from God and fall into the disease of spiritual paralysis.

And the Holy Spirit unwilling to abide in an impure vessel, distances Itself from our heart.

When the Holy Spirit distances Itself from us, then joy, power, peace and courage also departs from us immediately.

We become sorrowful, weakened, disturbed and fearful. But the All-good Spirit of God only distances Itself from us but does not abandon us completely.

He does not abandon us but He offers to us who are sick, remedies through the Mystery of Repentance and the Mystery of Holy Communion.

When we again cleanse ourselves through the Mysteries of Repentance and Communion then He, the Holy Spirit of God, again abides in us and the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts.

We fall, we rise, we fall and we rise! When we fall, the Spirit of God stands by us and raises us if we desire to be raised.

However, when we are raised, the Spirit of God stands within us all until we, by sin and foolishness, do not desire to fall.

Thus, we in this life interchangeably become a fertile field and a wilderness, sons of repentance and prodigal sons, fullness and emptiness, light and darkness.

O All-good Holy Spirit of God, do not depart from us either when we want You and when we do not want You.

Be with us all the time until our death and save us for life eternal.

Nikolai Velimirovich (1880-1956; Orthodox Church): Prologue from Ohrid, May 24th.

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Georges Florovsky: Within the Church, through an Acquisition of the Spirit in the Fellowship of Sacraments, the Ascension Continues…Until the Measure is Full Tuesday, May 14 2013

The revelation of the Holy Trinity was completed. Now the Spirit Comforter is poured forth on all flesh.

“Hence comes foreknowledge of the future, understanding of mysteries, apprehension of what is hidden, distribution of good gifts, the heavenly citizenship, a place in the chorus of angels, joy without end, abiding in God, the being made like to God, and, highest of all, ,the being made God!” (St Basil, On the Holy Spirit, IX).

Beginning with the Apostles, and through communion with them – by an unbroken succession – Grace is spread to all believers. Through renewal and glorification in the Ascended Christ, man’s nature became receptive of the Spirit. “And unto the world He gives quickening forces through His human body,” says Bishop Theophanes.

“He holds it completely in Himself and penetrates it with His strength, out of Himself; and He likewise draws the angels to Himself through the spirit of man, giving them space for action and thus making them blessed.”

All this is done through the Church, which is “the Body of Christ;” that is, His “fullness” (Ephesians 1:23). “The Church is the fulfillment of Christ,” continues Bishop Theophanes, “perhaps in the same way as the tree is the fulfillment of the seed. That which is contained in the seed in a contracted form receives its development in the tree.”

The very existence of the Church is the fruit of the Ascension. It is in the Church that man’s nature is truly ascended to the Divine heights. “And gave Him to be Head over all things” (Ephesians 1:22).

St John Chrysostom comments: “Amazing! Look again, whither He has raised the Church. As though He were lifting it up by some engine, He has raised it up to a vast height, and set it on yonder throne; for where the Head is, there is the body also.

“There is no interval of separation between the Head and the body; for were there a separation, then would the one no longer be a body, nor would the other any longer be a Head.”

The whole race of men is to follow Christ, even in His ultimate exaltation, “to follow in His train.” Within the Church, through an acquisition of the Spirit in the fellowship of Sacraments, the Ascension continues still, and will continue until the measure is full.

“Only then shall the Head be filled up, when the body is rendered perfect, when we are knit together and united,” concludes St John Chrysostom. The Ascension is a sign and token of the Second Coming. “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).

Georges Florovsky (1893-1979; Eastern Orthodox): And Ascended Into Heaven…; originally published in St Vladimir’s Seminary Quarterly, Vol. 2 # 3, 1954; full text @ Mystagogy.

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Nikolai Velimirovich: The Spirit of God then Rejoices in Us and Our Entire Being Trembles from Certain Inexpressible Joy Saturday, May 11 2013

“And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, where by you are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30).

[...] Even in normal relations between men, happy is the one who gives the gift and happy is also he who receives the gift. Giving is joy on both sides. The greater the gift, the greater the joy.

God rejoices when He gives the Grace of His Holy Spirit: why then should men not rejoice who receive it?

The needy one who receives usually rejoices more than the rich man who gives; why then should not miserable men rejoice who receive this enormous gift from the rich God?

In what way do men grieve the Holy Spirit? The apostle who commanded that we not grieve the Spirit of God immediately adds, by what means is the Spirit grieved:

“All bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking (swearing) and all malice. All of that to be put away from you” (Ephesians 4:31), says the apostle.

In other words, the Spirit of God is grieved by our every sin. Let every sin be put away from us and the Spirit of God will be joyful and by Him we will be rejoicing.

When we have an important guest in our home we endeavor to do everything that is well pleasing for that guest. Can there be a greater guest than the Holy Spirit of God?

Since He is our greatest and most desired guest, we need to invest the utmost effort to please Him.

We know with what we please the Spirit of God – with the same, with which we please Christ the Lord. The Lord said: “If you love me, keep my commandments” (St. John 14:15).

He who, therefore, keeps the commandments of Christ has love toward the Son and toward the Holy Spirit. He who pleases the Son, keeping His commandments, also pleases the Father and the Holy Spirit.

The apostle especially recommends: “be you kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another” (Ephesians 4:32). If we are kind, if we are tenderhearted [merciful], if we forgive one another, by this we please the Spirit of God Who is a guest in our hearts.

The Spirit of God then rejoices in us and our entire being trembles from certain inexpressible joy.

O my brethren, let us take care that we not grieve our Most High Guest Who comes to us with the richest gifts.

O God the Holy Spirit, forgive our negligence toward Your Immortal Majesty and do not leave us empty and worthless without You.

Nikolai Velimirovich (1880-1956; Orthodox Church): Prologue from Ohrid, May 23rd.

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Georges Florovsky: The Victory of Christ is Wrought in Us by the Power of the Holy Spirit Friday, May 10 2013

Terror-stricken and trembling stand the angelic hosts, contemplating the Ascension of Christ.

[...] The Office for the Feast of the Ascension depicts the mystery in a poetical language. As on the day of Christ’s Nativity the earth was astonished on beholding God in the flesh, so now the Heavens do tremble and cry out.

“The Lord of Hosts, Who reigns over all, Who is Himself the head of all, Who is preeminent in all things, Who has reinstated creation in its former order – He is the King of Glory.”

And the heavenly doors are opened: “Open, Oh heavenly gates, and receive God in the flesh.” It is an open allusion to Psalms 24:7-10, now prophetically interpreted.

“Lift up your heads, Oh ye gates, and be lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty….”

St Chrysostom says, “Now the angels have received that for which they have long waited, the archangels see that for which they have long thirsted.

“They have seen our nature shining on the King’s throne, glistening with glory and eternal beauty…. Therefore they descend in order to see the unusual and marvelous vision: Man appearing in heaven.”

The Ascension is the token of Pentecost, the sign of its coming, “The Lord has ascended to heaven and will send the Comforter to the world”.

For the Holy Spirit was not yet in the world, until Jesus was glorified. And the Lord Himself told the disciples, “If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you” (John 16:7).

The gifts of the Spirit are “gifts of reconciliation,” a seal of an accomplished salvation and of the ultimate reunion of the world with God. And this was accomplished only in the Ascension.

“And one saw miracles follow miracles,” says St John Chrysostom, “ten days prior to this our nature ascended to the King’s throne, while today the Holy Ghost has descended on to our nature.”

The joy of the Ascension lies in the promise of the Spirit. “Thou didst give joy to Thy disciples by a promise of the Holy Spirit.” The victory of Christ is wrought in us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

“On high is His body, here below with us is His Spirit. And so we have His token on high, that is His body, which He received from us, and here below we have His Spirit with us.

“Heaven received the Holy Body, and the earth accepted the Holy Spirit. Christ came and sent the Spirit. He ascended, and with Him our body ascended also” (St John Chrysostom).

Georges Florovsky (1893-1979; Eastern Orthodox): And Ascended Into Heaven…; originally published in St Vladimir’s Seminary Quarterly, Vol. 2 # 3, 1954; full text @ Mystagogy.

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Georges Florovsky: He Raises the Very Earth with Him to Heaven Wednesday, May 8 2013

He arose in a body of glory, immortal and incorruptible. He arose, never to die, for “He clothed the mortal in the splendor of incorruption.” His glorified Body was already exempt from the fleshly order of existence.

“It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body” (I Cor. 15:42-44).

This mysterious transformation of human bodies, of which St Paul was speaking in the case of our Lord, had been accomplished in three days. Christ’s work on earth was accomplished. He had suffered, was dead and buried, and now rose to a higher mode of existence.

By His Resurrection He abolished and destroyed death, abolished the law of corruption, “and raised with Himself the whole race of Adam.” Christ has risen, and now “no dead are left in the grave” (cf. The Easter Sermon of St John Chrysostom).

And now He ascends to the Father, yet He does not “go away,” but abides with the faithful for ever (cf. The Kontakion of Ascension). For He raises the very earth with Him to heaven, and even higher than any heaven.

God’s power, in the phrase of St John Chrysostom, “manifests itself not only in the Resurrection, but in something much stronger.” For “He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God” (Mark 16:19).

And with Christ, man’s nature ascends also. “We who seemed unworthy of the earth, are now raised to heaven,” says St John Chrysostom.

“We who were unworthy of earthly dominion have been raised to the Kingdom on high, have ascended higher than heaven, have came to occupy the King’s throne, and the same nature from which the angels guarded Paradise, stopped not until it ascended to the throne of the Lord.”

By His Ascension the Lord not only opened to man the entrance to heaven, not only appeared before the face of God on our behalf and for our sake, but likewise “transferred man” to the high places. “He honored them He loved by putting them close to the Father.”

God quickened and raised us together with Christ, as St Paul says, “and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephes. 2:6).

Heaven received the inhabitants of the earth. “The First fruits of them that slept” sits now on high, and in Him all creation is summed up and bound together. “The earth rejoices in mystery, and the heavens are filled with joy.”

Georges Florovsky (1893-1979; Eastern Orthodox): And Ascended Into Heaven…; originally published in St Vladimir’s Seminary Quarterly, Vol. 2 # 3, 1954; full text @ Mystagogy.

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Gregory Palamas: “Thou Hast Ascended On High, Thou Hast Led Captivity Captive” Sunday, May 5 2013

The Logos [Word] of God was made flesh and dwelt among us, appearing on earth and living with men.

He took upon Himself our human flesh, which was subject to suffering and death, even though it was completely pure, and He used it in His divine wisdom as a bait to hook the serpent, the originator of evil, through the Cross, and set free the whole human race which he had enslaved.

When a tyrant falls, all those he tyrannized are liberated. This is what the Lord Himself said in the Gospels, that the strong man was bound and his goods spoiled (cf Matthew 12.29).

His possessions were taken as spoil by Christ, and were set free, justified, filled with light and endowed with divine gifts.

As David sings, “Thou hast ascended on high,” up on to the Cross, or, if you wish, up to heaven, “thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast given gifts to men” (Ephesians 4.8; cf Psalm 67/68:18).

Christ overturned the devil through suffering and His flesh which He offered as a sacrifice to God the Father, as a pure and altogether holy victim—how great is His gift!—and reconciled God to our human race.

He underwent the passion according to the Father’s will and became for us, who were destroyed through disobedience and saved through obedience, an example of how obedient we should be.

He showed that death was far more precious than the devil’s immortality, because it procured life that was truly immortal, life that will not be subject to the second and eternal death, but stays with Christ in the heavenly dwellings.

When Christ had risen from the dead on the third day and had shown Himself alive to His disciples, He ascended into heaven.

He remained immortal and bestowed on us, with complete assurance, resurrection, immortality and truly blessed, eternal, incorruptible life in heaven.

By means of the one death and resurrection of His flesh, He healed our twofold death and freed us from our double captivity of soul and body.

The Lord has given us rebirth through divine baptism and sealed us with the grace of the Holy Spirit for the day of redemption (cf Ephesians 4.30), but He has allowed us still to have a body which is mortal and passible.

Although He has cast out the teacher of evil from the treasure houses of our soul, yet He allows him to attack from without.

This is so that anybody who has been renewed in accordance with the new covenant, that is to say, the gospel of Christ, who lives in good works and repentance, despises the delights of this life, endures suffering and is trained in the enemy’s assaults, can be made ready to receive immortality and the incorruptible good things to come in the new age.

Gregory Palamas (1296-1359): Homily on Great and Holy Saturday, from Saint Gregory Palamas: The Homilies (Mount Thabor Publishing, 2009) @Kandylaki (fuller version).

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Nikolai Velimirovich: Being “in Adam” and “in Christ” Tuesday, Apr 30 2013

“For just as in Adam all die, so too, in Christ, shall all be brought to life” (1 Corinthians 15:22).

Following Adam’s example, life is sown in shame, and following Christ’s example, life is raised in glory.

Sin is from Adam and justice is from Christ. Weakness and death come from Adam and strength and life come from Christ.

Accordingly, in Adam we all die. Accordingly, in Christ, we shall all be brought to life.

That one is the earthly man [Adam], this one is the heavenly man [Christ]. That is the bodily man [Adam] and this is the spiritual man [Christ].

Christ did not resurrect for His sake but for our sake – just as He did not die for His sake but for our sake.

If His resurrection does not signify our resurrection, then His resurrection is bitterness and not sweetness.

Where, then, would the love of God be? Where, then, would the meaning of our miserable earthy experience be? What, then, would be the purpose of Christ’s coming to earth?

There, where Adam ends, Christ begins. Adam ends up in the grave and Christ begins with the resurrection from the grave.

Adam’s generation, i.e., the seed underground that rots and decays, does not see the sun, does not believe that it can emerge from beneath the earth to blossom into a green plant with leaves, flowers and fruit.

Christ’s generation is a green field upon which wheat grows, turns green, becomes covered with leaves, blossoms and bears much fruit.

“In Adam” does not only mean that we will die one day, rather it means that we are already dead; dead to the last one.

“In Christ” does not only mean that we will revive one day, but rather that we are already alive, i.e., that the seed in the ground has already begun to germinate and to break through to the light of the sun.

The complete expression of death is in the grave, but the complete expression of eternal life is in the kingdom of God.

The mind of the sons of Adam are in accordance with death, reconciled with being decayed and sink even deeper into the ground.

The mind of the sons of Christ rebel against death and decay and exert all the more, to burgeon a man toward the light, which the Grace of God helps.

O resurrected Lord, sober the minds of all the sons of man that they would flee from darkness and destruction and reach out toward the light and life eternal which is in You.

Nikolai Velimirovich (1880-1956; Orthodox Church): Prologue from Ohrid, April 11th.

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Hilarion Troitsky: My Sinful Illness is Curable—the Resurrection of Christ Convinces Me of This Friday, Apr 26 2013

Together with Christ, our human nature has passed through the mysterious gates of death. Death reigns, but not forever!

Death was terrible to the human race before Christ’s death, but after Christ’s resurrection, man became terrible to death, for One of us has conquered death; He did not remain in the tomb, and did not see corruption.

Passover was the freeing of Israel from Egypt. One of us has conquered death; He did not remain in the tomb, and did not see corruption.

Passover was the freeing of Israel from Egypt. Passover was the freeing of Israel from Egypt. Our Pascha frees us from the slavery of death and corruption.

Christ is risen! I now know that my salvation is truly wrought. I know that God truly appeared on earth…. Who has passed through the doors of death? It can only be God.

This means that God was truly incarnate on earth, truly brought the healing cure against the corruption that corrodes and torments me. Incarnation and resurrection are united into one.

The incarnation gave meaning to the resurrection, and the resurrection irrefutably convinces us of its truth and reality as something that is not a phantom or a dream. Now I am no longer frightened by death, for I have seen the victory over corruption.

I also see a different law other than the law of life working in me—I see the law of death and corruption. I see how sin reigns over me at times. But I know that this reign has been shaken, that my situation is not hopeless.

I can now hope for victory, I can hope to overcome sin, I can hope for freedom from slavery to corruption. Now I can look with joy upon the podvig of struggle with sin and passions, for the enemy has been conquered many times by ascetical strugglers.

The saints of God shine in the heavens of the Church like stars—those who lived on the earth, conquered sin, attained purity and chastity, which is incorruption, and therefore departed rejoicing upon the way of all the earthly.

Incorruption, that is, purity and chastity, gives joy. [...] My sinful illness is curable—the resurrection of Christ convinces me of this. To me is opened the blessedness of paradise.

Let no one lament his poverty when entering the Kingdom of all! Joy has come to all, because hope for incorruption, for redemption from sinful corruption, has also come.

Christ God has brought us out of death into life. Egypt is left behind, Pharaoh has perished, and the Promised Land and incorrupt Kingdom lay ahead—where there are many abodes, and where the rejoicing is endless! Pascha of incorruption! Salvation of the world!

Hilarion Troitsky (1886-1929; Russian Orthodox): From his three-volume work, published by Sretensky Monastery [in Russian]Translated by Nun Cornelia (Rees) @ Pravoslavie.

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