When all these things were ended, the Lord Jesus said to the Father, “My Father, remember the promise which I made, concerning the Holy Spirit, to My brethren.” To Whom the Father, we can imagine, replied, “It is my delight to fulfil this Promise, and the time has arrived ; let, therefore, the Holy Spirit descend upon Thy disciples, fill them, console them, fortify them, instruct them with, and confer upon them, the fulness of virtues and heavenly joys. Immediately He came,1 descending in fiery tongues upon the hundred and twenty disciples who were assembled together, filling them with all joy, strengthening them by His power, teaching them, inflaming them, illuminating them, so that they should go throughout the world, and subject it in great part to themselves.
Yet the heavenly citizens continued to praise the Lord afterwards, and never desisted, and keep the days of gladness with unceasing solemnity and thanksgiving, and with the voice of praise. For it is written, “Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house ; they will be always praising Thee.”2 Let us, therefore, hasten to enter into that rest, where such joy flows unceasingly; let us pant after that Country with all our powers. Let us hate the bondage of this vile and miserable body ; let us not bestow any anxious care upon it, for it keeps us here in prison, exiles from such blessedness. Let us say, then, with the Apostle, “O wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver me from the body of this death ?” 1 And again, “Whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord .” 8 And again, ” I have a desire to depart, and to be with Christ .” 8 Let us, too, desire this dissolution, and continually seek it from the Lord : for in our own strength we are unable to obtain it with safety. And again, let us die, at least, to the world, and to its pomps and lusts. Let us detach ourselves with a brave and steadfast heart from things which are perishing, and from the miserable and transient consolations of this visible world, which poison and lacerate our souls. Let us ascend in mind with the Lord, or rather to the Lord, and with Him let our conversation be in heaven. If thus we act, we may trust that we shall not always be strangers and pilgrims ; but in the time of visitation, He will deign to take us to Himself — He of Whom we speak, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is above all God blessed for ever, and to be praised for ever and ever. Amen.
← Chapter 97 · Contents · Chapter 99 →