“You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.” (John 15:3)
Saint Basil the Great offers the following insight on this verse from today's Gospel:
“The world, that is, life enslaved by the affections of the flesh, can no more receive the grace of the Spirit than a weak eye the light of a sunbeam. But the Lord, who by his teaching bore witness to purity of life, gives to his disciples the power of now both beholding and contemplating the Spirit. For “now,” he says, “you are clean through the word that I have spoken to you,” wherefore “the world cannot receive him, because it does not see him . . . but you know him. For he dwells with you.” And this is what Isaiah says, “He who spread forth the earth and that which comes out of it; he who gives breath to the people on it, and Spirit to them that trample on it.” For those who trample down earthly things and rise above them are shown to be as worthy of the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (On the Holy Spirit, 22)
O God,
Restorer and lover of innocence,
direct the hearts of your servants
towards Yourself,
that those You have set free
from the darkness of unbelief
may never stray from the light of Your truth.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Restorer and lover of innocence,
direct the hearts of your servants
towards Yourself,
that those You have set free
from the darkness of unbelief
may never stray from the light of Your truth.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
The Lord is risen! Alleluia!
He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
