Sunday

Feast of Pentecost
Acts 2:

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all [a]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 [b]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 [c]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 [d]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.”

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only [e]the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh…36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the [k]remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this [l]perverse generation.” 41 Then those who [m]gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.

Saint Focus:  on Wednesday the Church commemorates St Jude, the Brother of the Lord. The purpose for his New Testament epistle is revealed in this statement: “while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” Contending requires confrontation, in love, when the world tries to morph Christianity into a skeletal belief with many parts removed or tries to twist it into an affirmation of actions and lifestyles clearly condemned in the pages of the Bible. Do you have the courage of St. Jude?

Monday

*from Modern Orthodox Elders

Archimandrite Cleopa Ilie: on the Ways of God Part 1…
“The hermit could no longer wait to understand the essence of what had happened to them on the road. So he asked his companion, “Tell me after all, who are you?” “I am an angel,” the other replied.

“You! An angel?!” the hermit scoffed disdainfully. “You are a real devil! Only a demon could do all those dreadful things you’ve done. Those good people showed you hospitality you repaid them all with black ingratitude. You were a thief, an arsonist, a murderer, and a sacrilegious desecrator. And you even wear monastic clothing!”

“You are mistaken,” the travelling companion answered. “I really am an angel. And I was sent to you because the Lord saw your anguish and wanted to answer the questions that tormented you. I know that you want to know why I did all those things. I will start from the beginning.”

“Why did I steal the vessel?” “I’ll answer you. Our host’s grandfather stole it from one monastery church, and because of that sacrilege his family was punished for three generations with illnesses and other problems. As a sign of gratitude for their hospitality I decided to deliver them from this punishment. I signed the vessel with the sign of the cross and put it into the river. Some monks will come there to wash their clothes, find it and return it to the monastery.”

“I knew that the dog was already rabid. It would have bitten its owners and that is why I killed it. And I broke their son’s arm because I could foresee that when he grows up he would become a robber. But with a bad arm like that you can’t do much robbing.”

Tuesday

Continued from Monday….
“Why did I [the angel] burn down the children’s house?” “Those children would soon have died without any care, and now in the place of their burned house they’ll find the silver their parents hid, and they can now go to Alexandria to their grandfather who is a bishop — he’ll take care of them. When they grow up, the boys will become priests and the girls will marry.”

“I know that you are puzzled as to why I threw the stone through the church window and made prostrations in the tavern. I saw that the demons were dancing at the church window and I chased them away with that stone. That church will soon be repaired. In the tavern was a wealthy merchant who had promised the priest that he would pay the cost of repairing the church. That is why I bowed to him.”

“And finally, about the last house. I burned it down in order to save the young couple from the curse of childlessness. The husband had made a dirty deal and built that house with the money he got from it. That is why they didn’t have any children. I saw that he is repenting of his deed and doesn’t know how to get rid of his house. Now he will build a more modest house but on honestly earned money. And the Lord will bless them with children.”

“Do you understand? God’s mercy for people is shown in everything, but they don’t see it and can’t understand it. The Lord never commits evil. But people look at His works as misfortunes and sorrows, while the Lord does these things only for the sake of good and for their correction. Therefore do not look at the external side, but try to see God’s all-encompassing justice in everything.”

Wednesday

Elder Paisios on Accepting Trials…
“There can be no sorrow when we face our trials spiritually, because when a person places himself properly, that is, spiritually, everything changes. If we place the bitterness of our pain on sweet Jesus, the bitterness and the poisons turn into honey. If one understands the mysteries of spiritual life and the mystical way in which God works, he ceases worrying over what happens to him, because he accepts joyfully the bitter medicines that God gives him for the health of his soul. Such a person considers everything to be the result of his prayer, since he constantly asks from God to purify his soul. But when people face their tribulations in a worldly manner, they are tormented.”
– ‘Family Life’

Thursday

Fr Peter Kavanaugh on the Darkening of Sin…
“Ephesus was once a thriving port city renown for wealth and industry. At one point it was the most important city in the Roman Empire. Yet, a few centuries passed and it became a wasteland. For the longest time, archeologists wondered what happened. Was it a plague, war, invaders? Nothing explained it, until they discovered the deposits of silt. Little by little, the river washed silt into the bay. The build up was so gradual that it went unnoticed, but eventually, the silt cut off the city from the sea. Its trade economy was ruined.

We do the same every time we close our hearts to God. In all the passing moments scattered in the day, when we chose selfishness or disobey God in our conscience, the deposit of silt builds up. We put up a veil between us and God. When we do not seek his forgiveness, we get used to it. We prefer darkness. We want space…God is everywhere and his beauty shines in everything. We spend our lives bogged down with heavy veils. We think the world is dark, when really it is our heart that is dark. If we can turn to him, if we can let Him into our heart to cleanse and purify it, then we will be able to see God. We will say, with the joy of St. Efrem: ‘Blessed is the Hidden One shining out!’”

Friday

Generating Gratitude from Seeing What is Around Us…
“Gratitude is another one of those virtues that requires practice and strengthening. But it starts with that ability to be like a child and to revel in that which is actually right in front of you. Not revel in a selfish way: look at all great things that I’ve got, but to just take delight. If you watch a child open a Christmas present, there’s this look on their face, as if to say, ‘When I peel that next sheet of paper off, the whole universe may change.’ And then they see the doll, or toy, or whatever it is, and their eyes get huge; their universe did just change! That’s the spirit we want to have all the time. Maybe not the gleeful dance the children do after they see the toy but that same conviction that one little turn of the page and the whole world could be new for us. God is making it new, minute by minute, day by day. Start looking at things that way. When you walk around, make sure you look at the beautiful surroundings and notice how astonishingly beautiful they are.

The more you focus on experiencing the joyfulness of what’s around you, gratitude becomes the natural response. When you’re filled with delight at how beautiful something is, you automatically become thankful for it. When you’re filled with awe at the closeness of God in the temple, you become grateful for it automatically. And then that gratitude starts to take root in your heart, and it starts to express itself in things that are less obvious.”
– Talk by Bishop Irenei of Western Europe

Saturday

Elder St Paisios on Humility…
“Keep in mind that we have nothing of our own. God has given us everything; whatever we have is God’s. Only the sins are ours. If we do not humble ourselves, spiritual laws will be in constant effect for us, until our ego caves in. May God grant that this happens before death takes us. If someone is not in tune with himself, he won’t be able to understand anything, and nothing will help him or benefit him.”
– ‘Family Life’