Comforting His disciples, the Lord said that it would be better for them if He ascended to Heaven for, having ascended, in place of Himself He would send the Comforter - the Spirit. The Holy Spirit has descended and abides in the Church, accomplishing in each believer the work of Christ. Each Christian is a communicant of the Spirit. This is something so necessary, that in fact whoever does not have the Spirit is not of Christ. Look closely at yourself - is the Spirit of Grace within you? For He does not remain in everyone; He can depart. Here are the signs of His presence: first, He finds a spirit of repentance and teaches a Christian to turn to God and correct his life; the spirit of repentance, accomplishing its work, passes the Christian on to a spirit of holiness and purity. This is succeeded at last by a spirit of sonship. The characteristic of the first is work-loving zeal; the characteristic of the second is warmth and a sweet burning of the heart; the characteristic of the third is the feeling of sonship whereby the heart sighs to God, 'Abba, Father!' (Mark 14:36) Examine which of these levels you are on. If you are not on any of them, take care for yourself.
[For Monday after Pentecost, "Thoughts for Each Day of the Year," St. Theophan the Recluse, St. Herman of Alaska Press]
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