HOLY SILENCE

Each week I send a short reflection to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Read : "Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, That my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, That my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, That I love but what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, To defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, That I always may be holy." - Written by Saint Augustine (b. 354 - d. 430) Ponder: The Holy Spirit hears u

Each week I send a short reflection to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Read : There are varying translations of Exodus 14:14, but two of them, importantly, are rendered like this: (1) "The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still ." (2) "The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent ." Ponder: The first revelation in this verse may come as a surprise to you. The Lord fights for you . That is a vital reason for the Incarna

Each week I send a short reflection to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Read: "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you" (Romans 8:1). Ponder: As we fast approach Great Lent, Holy Week, and Pascha, it may seem odd to be told to start thinking about Pentecost. But it makes perfect sense. First, it is important

Each week I send a short reflection to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Read: "At that time, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Symeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him . And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. "And inspired by the Spirit he came into the temple; and when the parents brou

Each week I send a short reflection to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Read: On 25 November, we commemorate St. Gregory the Theologian (c. 329–390) who was a dear friend to St. Basil the Great. This is what he writes in paragraph 29 of the Fifth Theological Oration (Oration 31), often called "On the Holy Spirit." " Indeed, I tremble when I think of the abundance of the titles [of the Holy Spirit] ... Spirit of God, Spirit of Christ, Mind of Christ, Spi

Each week I send a short reflection to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Read: "By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His own Spirit" (1 John 4:13). Ponder: Take a few minutes ... think about what this means ... the Holy Spirit is the divine gift by which believers are truly united to God ... not metaphorically but really participating in the divine life! In other words, the gift of the Spirit is not merely an exte

Each week I send a short reflection to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Read: "That we may become worthy to be filled with holiness through the use of this water by the invisible revelation of the Holy Spirit, let us pray to the Lord" (from the Great Blessing of Water ). Ponder: In this petition, we are humbly acknowledging that the water blessed at Theophany acts as a type of spiritual medicine through which the Spirit sanctifies our souls and bodies.

Each week I send a short reflection to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Read: O Lord, on the holy day of Theophany (6 Jan), we stand in wonder at the banks of the Jordan, gazing upon the mystery of Your baptism. You who are without sin entered the waters, not to be cleansed, but to cleanse all creation. You who spoke the world into being, humbled Yourself beneath the hand of John, sanctifying the very waters that once covered the formless deep. And then

St. Seraphim, You stood in the winter forest with Motovilov, and The light of the Spirit shone from your face like the sun. You spoke so simply: The whole aim of life is to acquire the Holy Spirit. Not knowledge about Him, Not rituals performed correctly, but Him The living God, dwelling within. Sadly, I wonder How often I have mistaken the means for the end? I have prayed as though prayer itself were the goal. I have fasted and felt virtuous. I have done good works and count

St. Basil the Great, You stood in a time of confusion, When the Spirit's glory was questioned, His Divinity doubted. Careful, wise, and rooted in prayer, You gave the Church words to hold onto. You taught that the Holy Spirit is Not a creature, Not a servant, Not a gift somehow separate from the Trinity. You demonstrated that the Spirit is Equal to the Father and the Son. Worthy of the same honor Worthy of the same worship Worthy of the same love. In this way, Today and every