The work through which the Holy Spirit is united with Christ, and acts in and with us for our salvation, is called divine Grace. Through Grace, we are saved, enter into union with God, become deified, or become gods according to Grace. This work called Grace has the divine being as its source and is common to all three divine Persons.
Through the Grace that comes to us, all three divine Persons dwell or can dwell in us. But, because the Spirit is the One Who connects us with Grace, Grace is especially called Grace of the Spirit, or even Spirit. Thus, for someone to have the Spirit of Christ in himself means that he has the Grace of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Apostle Paul mentions the following as fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such, there is no law, no obstacle, and they can bring fruit to the highest degree of perfection.
How can the body be bad – the body that God made from the beginning, forming it with His hands – when He Himself was clothed with our human body when He deigned to save us? The body that restrains its passionate impulses, fasts, prays, toils for the good of its fellow human beings, the body that is sanctified through the Mystery of Holy Baptism, cleansed through the Mystery of Repentance, and sanctified anew through Holy Communion - this body can truly become a Temple of the Holy Spirit.
The body needs to be kept in purity and holiness, because, after it is decomposed into the earth, it will be resurrected by the Lord Jesus Christ, and it will unite itself with the soul, which it had as an ally in this life, and they will continue their existence in the eternal light and happiness. We should attend to the body, then, but with care, so that we do not awaken its guilty cravings and thus protect it from defilement and sins. We should develop good habits for our bodies. We should prepare and sanctify it through good deeds, prayer, abstinence, and the Holy Mysteries, so that we can turn it into a chosen vessel and a Temple of the Holy Spirit.
How can you use your tongue to utter worthless and vile words, when precisely this mouth and tongue are receiving the Most Holy Body of Christ and are sprinkled with the Blood of our Savior, thus becoming a golden sword against sin and honored members of the Holy Spirit? Do not defile, then, the honor that God gave to the tongue, and do not use it for any sin. And together with your tongue, keep your heart also clean from all evil against your neighbor, and likewise guard your eyes and ears, keeping your entire body and soul in holiness
The devil is the one who brings passionate thoughts and images to us. The devil can also bring us spiritual images, but he transforms them as he wishes. He often uses attractive spiritual images to make you think that you see God, that you are in ecstasy, when, in fact, you are at the edge of the abyss where the devil wants to throw you. God brings us good thoughts through grace and the power of the Holy Spirit. He brings us special experiences through humility and love. So, there are two sources in our imagination, good and evil, and they influence us.
There is a secret, mystical center in each of us. All our relationships with others pass through this center: love, kindness, mercy, humility, decency. They are all connected to the mystical center of our being, which is the dwelling place of God, His Kingdom, and the Holy Spirit.
Excerpted from “Daily Readings in the Tradition of the Philokalia” by St. Sofian of Antim Monastery
Touched my heart
Beautiful