Sunday

Acts 2: When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” 12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” 13 Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”

COMMENTARY FOR ST JOHN CHRYSOSTOM…
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of sonship and the Spirit of grace; for grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, for those who have been born by the power of God.
Moreover, the Spirit is called the Comforter, because He is also our advocate with the Father. And not only is He with the Father, but He is always with us also as a gift.comforting your hearts and making them steadfast in divine patience and trust in Christ. Whereas the holy Apostles re­ceived this testament after Christ’s holy Rising from the dead, and were sent forth to teach and to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and whereas we have already been vouchsafed this true washing by the Holy Spirit, let us strive to keep our souls and our bodies undefiled as we glorify the Most holy and consubstantial Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages. of ages
Monday
**various quotes from Modern Elders that show the power of faith**
 “It will remain as the greatest wonder in history how a poor Man, who preached in Palestine for about two years, who scarcely had a hundred followers at the end of His mission, who was crucified and died a shameful death, whose cause seemed a quite desperate episode, scornfully rejected or fearfully abandoned by all those who knew it–how this poor Man replaced successively the mightiest gods the human imagination ever invented: Zeus in Olympus, Jupiter in the Capitol, Wothan in the North, and at last also Perun in Kiev. The secret lies, I think, in the reality of His human life, in the mystery of His resurrection, and in the amazing enthusiasm with which thousands of His followers afterwards suffered death for Him and His cause.”
…St. Nikolai Velimorovich
Tuesday
“Suddenly I also saw the late father George in front of me. He was a contemporary Saint…He had put in his mind if possible to take out all the sinners from hell. Every day he liturgized and commemorated thousands of names. And he would go to the tombs and all day read trisagion prayers and memorial services for the departed. Now I saw him in a vision and heard him saying to me with great amazement, well, well; until today I thought that the dead were only saved with liturgies and memorial services. But today I saw and realize the damned are also saved with prayer ropes.”…That vision informed me that my cousin had been saved. But God also showed me the power of the prayer rope   that it can even take souls from hell.”
…Elder Joseph the Hesychast   [the importance of praying for the departed]
Wednesday
“There are some wild swallows that build their nests on the very high external walls of the monasteries. However they are so wild and when they see a human being they fly like airplanes and leave. And yet when the Elder was once praying on the balcony a swallow approached and sat on his shoulders!  A certain brother mentioned the following to me: when a person with the cooperation of grace rediscovers the state of Adam before the fall, the animals recognize the state and run to him like they used to do with Adam. This has happened to many saints. It seems that the Elders pure prayer greatly pacified this wild bird.”
…Elder Arsenios
Thursday
“Christ is the summit of desire; there is nothing higher. All sensible things lead to satiety but with God there is no satiation. He is everything. God is the summit of desire. No other joy, no other beauty, nothing else can rival Him. What is higher than the highest? Love for Christ is something else. It is without end, without satiety. It gives life; it gives strength; it gives health; it gives, gives and gives. And the more it gives the more the person wishes to fall in love. Human love and passion by contrast may be destructive and even drive a person mad.”
…St Elder Porphyrios
Friday
“Among spiritual writings you should read especially those addressed to people living in the world, or which give the ABCs of spiritual life—such as St. John of Kronstadt’s ‘My Life in Christ’, St. Nikodemos’ ‘Unseen Warfare’, the Lives of Saints in general, and Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov’s ‘The Arena’ (this book, while addressed to novices, is suitable for laymen insofar as it gives in general the ABCs of spiritual life as applied to modern times). To help your spiritual growth and remind you of spiritual truths, it would be good to keep a journal   which would include excerpts from the writings of spiritual books which you find especially valuable or applicable to you, and perhaps comments of your own inspired by reading and reflection, including brief comments on your own shortcomings which you need to correct. St. John of Kronstadt found this especially valuable…”
…Fr. Seraphim Rose
Saturday
“NOTHING IS HIDDEN FROM GOD about his deeds, thoughts, and feelings, hiding nothing. Such confession is essential for one’s spiritual health and progress. It is a most important means of inner purification.”
… Elder Joseph “Turn your mind towards Him continually. Learn to love prayer, familiar converse with the Lord. What counts above all is love, passionate love with the Lord for Christ the Bridegroom. Become worthy of Christ’s love. In order not to live in darkness turn on the switch of prayer to the divine light and flood your soul. Christ will appear in the depths of your being. They are in the deepest and most inward part is the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is within you. Prayer is made only with the Holy Spirit. It teaches the soul how to pray.”

…St Elder Porphyrios