"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." (Matt. 28:19)

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." (Matt. 28:19)

For the FEAST OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES

Saint Gregory of Sinai:

 - According to St Paul (Rom. 15:16), you 'minister' the Gospel only when, having yourself participated in the light of Christ, you can pass it on actively to others. Then you sow the Logos like a divine seed in the fields of your listeners' souls. 'Let your speech be always filled with grace', says St Paul (Col. 4:6), 'seasoned' with divine goodness. Then it will impart grace to those who listen to you with faith. Elsewhere St Paul, calling the teachers tillers and their pupils the fields they till (2 Tim. 2:6), wisely presents the former as plowers and sowers of the divine Logos and the latter as the fertile soil, yielding a rich crop of virtues. True ministry is not simply a celebration of sacred rites; it also involves participation in divine blessings and the communication of these blessings to others.

- Oral teaching is something to be enjoyed by all intelligent beings. But just as there are many different kinds of food, so the recipient of this teaching experiences its pleasure in a variety of ways. Instruction moulds the moral character; teaching by reading is like 'still waters' that nourish and restore the soul (Ps. 23:2); teaching through ascetic practice is like 'green pastures', strengthening it (Ps. 23:2); while teaching imparted through grace is like a cup that intoxicates it (Ps. 23:5. LXX), filling it with unspeakable joy, or else it is like oil that exhilarates the face and makes it radiant (Ps. 104: 15).

 - Strictly speaking the soul possesses these various forms of teachings within itself as part of its own life; but when it learns about them through listening to others it becomes conscious of them, provided it listens with faith and provided the teacher teaches with love, speaking of the virtues without vanity or self-esteem. Then the soul is disciplined by instruction, nourished by reading, graciously escorted to her wedding by the deeply -rooted teaching that derives from ascetic practice, and receives the illuminative teaching of the Holy Spirit as a bridegroom who unites her to Himself and fills her with delight.

'Every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God' (Matt. 4:4) denotes the words that, inspired by the Holy Spirit, issue from the mouths of the saints - an inspiration granted not to all but only to those who are worthy. For although all intelligent beings take pleasure in knowledge, very few are those in this world who are consciously filled with joy by the wisdom of the Spirit; most of us only know and participate through the power of memory in the images and reflections of spiritual wisdom, for we do not yet with full awareness partake of the Logos of God, the true celestial bread. But in the life to come this bread is the sole food of me saints, proffered in such abundance that it is never exhausted, depleted, or immolated anew.

From Saint Gregory of Sinai, Philokalia

"Today Christ the Rock glorifies with highest honor Peter, the rock of faith and leader of the apostles, together with Paul and the company of the twelve, whose memory we celebrate with eagerness of faith, giving glory to the One Who gave glory to them."

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