2018

Let us extol the grace of the Holy Spirit in spiritual hymns, since grace has, on this day, manifested itself to us from heaven. Even though our words are inadequate to express the magnitude of this grace, we shall praise its power and activity insofar as we’re able. For the Holy Spirit delves into all things, even the profundities of divinity. We’ re celebrating the day of Pentecost, the day of the Descent of the Holy Spirit onto the Apostles, the day of the hope of perfection, the end of expectation, the longing for salvation, the fulfilment of prayer and the image of patience. Today the Spirit Who acted to scatter the nations in the time of Heber has formed tongues ...

I want to go to Paradise, even if I’m the last one in, after the world person ever. As long as God puts me in, He can have put Nero and Hitler in before me and I’ll even shine their shoes. It’s no business of mine who God puts into Paradise. It’s His and He can do what He wants. I’ve got no say in it. I want to be saved, and the rest is up to the Lord.

The great opponent of truth, the thing that draws people today into perdition, is delusion. Because of this, the souls of the feckless are filled with dark ignorance which estranges them from God. They don’t recognize Christ as God, even though He regenerated and enlightened us. Either that or they recognize Him only in words, but not in deeds. They believe that God appeared only in olden times, but not to us. They think that the evidence of Scripture concerning God doesn’t apply to them but to others, or they blaspheme against what is taught about God, since they reject true, conscious devotion.

We’ll say a few words here about the profound meaning of the Saturdays of the Souls. Obviously, these days are dedicated to the dead, to the souls, to the world of the spirits. People aren’t just the body we see living, moving, working, rejoicing, suffering, growing old and dying. They’re also immortal souls, united to their bodies as long as they live. When the body dies, however, the soul lives, it exists and remains immortal. It’s a spiritual hypostasis, eternal, and is transferred into the invisible world of the spirits. As an affectionate mother, the Church is here not only for those who live in this world, but also for her offspring who have died and whose souls are now in the ...

Every good thing comes from God. There’s not a single good thought that isn’t from God, nor wicked one that isn’t from the devil. Anything good you conceive, say or do, they’re all God’s gift. ‘Every perfect gift comes down from above’. It’s all a gift from God; we’ve got nothing of our own.