Meditation On Pentecost (1 of 3)

By St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite

Meditation on Pentecost

during which the Holy Spirit wrought in the Apostles

1) a change of mind, 2) a change of heart, and 3) a change of tongue.1

Meditation On Pentecost (2 of 3)

By St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite

2. Consider, my beloved, the change the Holy Spirit wrought in the hearts of the Apostles, who in the beginning were so fond of life, such lovers of the flesh, and such cowards, that in order to protect their lives, one of them deserted his Teacher during His Passion and ran away naked: "And there followed Him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body... And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked" (Mk. 14:51-52).5 Another one denied Him, and all the rest departed: "And they all forsook Him, and fled" (Mk. 14:50).

We Ought To Rejoice in the Resurrection Joy of the Theotokos

By St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite

Reflect, my beloved, that we have a duty to rejoice with the Virgin Panagia, who upon seeing her Son and God risen, was filled immediately with such great joy which was as great as her grief experienced during His Passion.

Her pains and sorrows were measured with the knowledge that she had of the infinite worthiness of the incarnate Logos, and of her love for Him, not only as God and as a child of her womb, but also as the only begotten Son and because she only was His mother without a father. All this did not allow her love to share in other things, but it focused only on her sweet Son.