“Prayer is food for the soul. Do not starve the soul, it is better to let the body go hungry. Do not judge anyone, forgive everyone. Consider yourself worse than everyone in the world and you will be saved. As much as possible, be more quiet.”
+ Saint Joseph of Optina
1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 (Epistle, Departed)
13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
John 5:24-30 (Gospel, Departed)
24 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.
26 For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself,
27 and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.
28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice
29 and come forth – those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
30 I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
Memorial Saturday
Today we remember all pious and Orthodox Christians who have fallen asleep in the Lord, and also recall the dread Day of Judgment. May Christ our God be merciful to them, and to us.
Two Epistles (Acts 28:1-31, I Thess. 4:13-17) and two Gospels (JN 21:14-25, JN 5:24-30) are appointed to be read at Liturgy. The readings from Acts and the Gospel of Saint John, which began on Pascha, now come to an end. The book of Acts does not end, as might be expected, with the death of Saints Peter and Paul, but remains open-ended.
In his article “With all the Saints,” Father Justin Popovich says that the Lives of the Saints are nothing less than a “continuation of the Acts of the Apostles.” Just as the book of Acts describes the works of Christ which the Apostles accomplished through Christ, Who was dwelling in them and working through them, the saints also preach the same Gospel, live the same life, manifest the same righteousness, love, and power from on High. As we prepare for the Sunday of All Saints, we are reminded that each of us is called to a life of holiness.
On this seventh Saturday of Pascha, Saint John Chrysostom’s “Homily on Patience and Gratitude” is appointed to be read in church. It is also prescribed to be read at the funeral service of an Orthodox Christian.
Troparion — Tone 8
Only Creator, with wisdom profound, You mercifully order all things, / and give that which is needed to all men: / Give rest, O Lord, to the souls of Your servants who have fallen asleep, / for they have placed their trust in You, our Maker and Fashioner, and our God.
Kontakion — Tone 8
With the saints give rest, O Christ, to the souls of Your servants, / where there is neither sickness nor sorrow, and no more sighing, / but life everlasting.
The Language of Divine Love and the Grace of the Holy Spirit
A Homily for the Feast of Pentecost
by Hieromonk Ignaty (Shestakov)
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!
Today we celebrate the day of Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, the fulfillment of the promises of our Lord Jesus Christ when He said that we, as His disciples, would receive a special grace, that rivers of living water will flow from our hearts.
The Apostles were all together, praying and waiting for, according to Christ, something they themselves didn’t fully understand. We Christians two thousand years later know even better what the Lord gives us than the Apostles did in that moment. So, the Holy Spirit descended upon them in the form of fiery tongues and a miracle happened—they began to speak in languages they didn’t know, so that everyone understood them. The language of Divine evangelical love, the language of the grace of the Holy Spirit knows no bounds; it unites everyone in love. St. Sergius of Radonezh dedicated his monastery to the Holy Trinity, and as some fathers note, he thereby wanted to unite the Russian people in the love of the Holy Spirit. What was lacking then is still lacking now, and therefore, we have so many misunderstandings between us, so much enmity and so much sin. And we ourselves don’t receive the grace of the Holy Spirit in our hearts as much as we should, and it doesn’t change our lives. How well our ancestors knew what value this grace has! That’s why they built so many churches all over our land. They built so many that all these years later, we can’t even restore them all after they were destroyed.
Why did they do this? Moreover, they didn’t live very richly—of course, not in the way they talked about it for many years to show how dark Russia was. But nevertheless, they didn’t enjoy the riches and comforts that we’re accustomed to now. Why did these people who lived in rather harsh conditions, when they acquired some kind of material values, invest them all in the construction of churches—and such churches?! Modern architects study them and are amazed with what love they were built and how much was invested in them. So why did our ancestors do this? Because they knew that without the grace of the Holy Spirit, they wouldn’t be able to save anything they achieved in this life. Therefore, such wisdom, such strength there was among the people, who perhaps didn’t read as many Holy Fathers as we do now, didn’t have the opportunity to so actively immerse themselves in various branches of theology as we do now. But the grace of the Holy Spirit worked in their hearts, and they were faithful to God, and the Lord gave them visible gifts, not abandoning His children.
A man can achieve much in his life—he can become very rich and famous; he can become very physically strong, influential, or handsome. But the greatest wealth is the grace of the Holy Spirit, which the Lord sends down to us, as He sent it down upon the Apostles. And we see how many Christian nations neglect this grace, how they refuse it, how they blaspheme it. And what happens to them—they become even more absurd and worse than nations that don’t know Christ. They’re dying out, simply put. Now all Christian nations are nations that are dying in the physical sense, but most importantly, they’re dying in the spiritual sense, because they neglect the grace of the Holy Spirit as something unnecessary.
What prevents us from abiding in the Holy Spirit? Of course it’s our pride and sin— terrible, heavy, disgusting sins that we commit; they can’t abide together with this grace, and grace doesn’t enter into the heart of a man who sins. No matter how much we hope for good friends from among the clergy who will forgive us everything and allow us to do everything because we do something good for the Church, we shouldn’t delude ourselves—our sins repel this Divine grace, and it doesn’t work in us fully. Therefore, each of us, striving for communion, for union with Christ, must truly change our lives. Then the grace of the Holy Spirit will begin to act both in his life and in the lives of those around him to the fullest degree, in power, and then everything will be transfigured.
The grace of the Holy Spirit is our greatest treasure. There’s nothing in this world more precious, nothing stronger, and more effective than this grace. How many people have come here today who don’t usually go to church? What is this if not the action of the grace of the Holy Spirit? Why do so many people suddenly come on Pentecost? Because the Divine Spirit is at work; He rouses these people, and sobers them up.
Let us preserve Divine grace and let us not neglect it ever, in any situation, when the devil tells us that we’ll change our lives and find time to communicate with God next time, or the time after that, or just not now. Let us not hear him or listen to him. We’ve been far from God for too long so that now, when the Lord gives us freedom, communion with Him, we neglect it.
May the grace of the Holy Spirit be with you all, always, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
This week’s calendar reminders:
Monday 6/2: Matins 8:30 a.m.
Tuesday 6/3: no services or events
Wednesday 6/4: no services or events
Thursday 6/5: Matins 8:30 a.m.
Friday 6/6: Matins 8:30 a.m.
Saturday 6/7: Catechumen Class 4:30 p.m.; Choir Practice 5 p.m.; Vigil for Pentacost 6 p.m.
Sunday 6/8: Holy Pentecost: Festal Hours, Divine Liturgy, Kneeling Vespers 9:15 a.m. (Potluck meal to follow)
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Christ the Savior Orthodox Church is located in Southbury, Connecticut, and is part of the New England Diocese of the Orthodox Church of America.
Mailing address: Christ the Savior Church, 1070 Roxbury Road, Southbury, CT 06488
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Fr. Moses Locke can be reached at frmoseslocke@gmail.com