31. I do not mention his action in the Troas above Eutychus, who, having fallen down from the third floor in a dream, was lifted up dead and resurrected by Paul. I am also silent about his conversation with the Ephesian presbyters, whom he called to Miletus, and clearly told them: "For the Holy Spirit beareth witness throughout all the cities, saying, That chains await me, and sorrows await me" (Acts 20:23); for by the words, "Throughout all the cities," Paul clearly showed that in every city the miracles he performed were produced by the action of the Holy Spirit, by the mania of God, and by the name of Christ who spoke in it. By the power of this Holy Spirit, the same Paul hastily arrived in Holy Spirit. this city is Jerusalem. Though Agabus had foretold by the Spirit what would happen to him here, yet he did not cease to preach boldly about Christ. Being brought to Capia, in the midst of the judgment seat, now before Felix, now before Phistus the governor and Agrippa the king, Paul had such a powerful grace of wisdom from the Holy Spirit, that even the King of the Jews Agrippa himself said: "Little do you dispute with me as a Christian" (Acts 26:28). The same Holy Spirit preserved Paul from harm, when he was bitten by a viper on the island of Melite, and through him performed various healings over the sick. The same Holy Spirit finally brought this preacher of Christ, who had once been a persecutor, to reigning Rome, where he persuaded many living Jews to believe in Christ; but to those who resisted he spoke plainly; The Holy Spirit hath spoken well through Isaiah, the Prophet, speaking to your fathers, and so forth. (Acts 28:25).

32. And that Paul and all the Apostles like him and others after them who believe in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit (of one essence) were filled with the Holy Spirit, for this reason listen to what Paul clearly writes in his Epistles: "And my word and my preaching are not in words contrary to human wisdom, but in the manifestation of the Spirit and power" (1 Corinthians 2:11). 4); and in another place: "Who also seals us" (2 Corinthians 1:22) in this God, and gives us the betrothal of the Spirit (5:5). And again: "Having raised up Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your dead body by His living Spirit in you" (Romans 8:11). Also in the Epistle to Timothy: "Keep a good testament by the Holy Spirit which dwelleth in us" (2 Tim. 1:14).

33. And that the Holy Spirit is self-existent, and lives, and speaks, and predicts, I have said many times before. And Paul clearly writes to Timothy: "And the Spirit saith plainly, that in the last times some shall depart from the faith" (1 Tim. 4:1); what we see in the divisions of the Church, which existed not only in former times, but also in our own times, since the error of the heretics is different and diverse. And in another place he says: "Who in other generations was not called the son of man, as now He has been revealed by His Holy Apostle and Prophet by the Holy Spirit, and so on." (Ephesians 3:3) And again: "In the same way the Holy Spirit speaketh" (Heb. 3:7). Likewise: "And the Holy Spirit also bears witness unto us" (Heb. 10:15). And in another place He calls upon those armed with righteousness, saying: "Take up ye the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, with all prayer and supplication" (Ephesians 6:17, 18). And also: do not be drunk with wine, for there is fornication in it: but rather be filled with the Spirit, saying to yourselves in the Psalms and the hymns and spiritual songs (5:18, 19). And again: the grace of the Lord and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit with you all (2 Corinthians 13:13).

34. All this and much more that is omitted by the understanding represents the self-existent, sanctifying and active power of the Holy Spirit. For I would not have time to narrate, if I were willing to offer the rest of the testimonies about the Holy Spirit from the fourteen Epistles of the Apostle Paul, in which he taught about Him in various ways, sufficiently, and piously. However, may the Almighty Holy Spirit Himself forgive me for lack of time, and may He give you, hearers, the most perfect knowledge of what has been omitted. For those who are diligent among you will learn this from the repeated reading of the Divine Scriptures, and by these two previously spoken teachings they will be more firmly established in faith in the One God the Father Almighty, and in our Lord Jesus Christ, His Only-begotten Son, and in the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. Although the expression and naming of this Spirit in the Divine Scripture is attributed to all three persons: for it is said of the Father: "The Spirit is God" (John 4:24), as it is written in the Gospel of John; and of the Son: Christ the Lord is the Spirit of our countenance (Lamentations 4:20), as the Prophet Jeremiah says; and of the Holy Spirit: "And the Comforter is the Holy Spirit" (John 14:26); as it is said: nevertheless, the teaching of faith, which is piously understood, rejects the Sabellian error. And so, let us return by reasoning to what I now need, and it is useful for you to say.

35. Beware lest you approach those who baptize, like Simon, with hypocrisy, not caring about the truth in your heart. Our business is to testify, and yours to be affirmed. If thou standest in faith, blessed art thou; if you have fallen into unbelief, then from this time forsake unbelief and be sure. At the time of baptism, when you approach the Bishops, or Presbyters, or Deacons (everywhere there is grace, both in the villages and in the cities, in the common people and in the learned, in the slaves and the free; for grace is not from men, but from God is given through men): approach the one who baptizes, but as you approach, do not look at the face of him whom you see, but keep this Holy Spirit in your thoughts, about Whom we are now conversing. For He is ready to seal your soul. And truly heavenly and divine, with which the wonders are terrified, He will give thee a seal, as it is written: In Him also he that believeth be signified by the Holy Spirit of promise. (Ephesians 1:13).

36. But He tests the soul; He does not throw the pearls before swine. If you are a hypocrite, then men baptize you now, but the Spirit does not baptize you. But if you approach with faith, then men will do things that are visible, and the Holy Spirit will communicate things that are not seen. In this one hour you will be subjected to an important test, election to the great army: if you destroy this time, it will be impossible to correct your evil. If you are vouchsafed grace, then your soul will be enlightened: you will receive strength that you did not have; you will receive a weapon that is terrible to evil spirits. And if you do not lay down this weapon, but keep the seal on your soul, then the evil spirit will not come to you, for it is terrified; for by the Spirit of God evil spirits are cast out.

37. If you believe, you will not only receive remission of sins, but you will also do deeds that exceed human strength. May God grant you to be worthy of the gift of Prophethood. You will receive grace to the extent that you can contain, and not to the extent that I say. You can talk to me about small things, and you can get more; for faith is a great purchase. The Comforter will always guard you, will take care of you as his warrior, both when you enter, and when you leave, and when evil is plotted against you. He will give you all kinds of gifts, if you do not offend Him with your sins. For it is written: "Do not offend the Holy Spirit of God, who is signified in the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30). How, beloved, should grace be preserved? Be ready to receive grace, and having received it, do not lose it.

38. And may the God of all Himself, who spoke by the Holy Spirit through the prophets, and sent Him down here on the day of Pentecost upon the Apostles, may He Himself send Him down upon you even now, and by Him preserve us also, doing good to all of us in general, that He may always bring to us the fruits of the Holy Spirit, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control (Gal. 5:2223) in Christ Jesus our Lord: through Him, and with Him be glory to the Father together with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Catechetical Instruction Eighteenth

To those who are preparing in Jerusalem for enlightenment, spoken without preparation, on the words: "And in one, the Holy Catholic Church, I believe in the resurrection of the flesh and eternal life." Also in response to the words of Ezekiel: "And the hand of the Lord was upon me, and brought me forth in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me in the midst of the field: behold, it was full of human bones, and so forth."

1. The root of every good deed is the hope of resurrection. For the expectation of reward strengthens the soul in good work. For every laborer willingly endures labor when he foresees payment for labor; but for those who labor without pay, the soul also faints with the body before the time. A warrior in anticipation of a reward willingly goes against enemies; on the contrary, no soldier, being in the service of a foolish King, who does not pay soldiers for their labors, wants to die for him. In the same way, every soul that believes in the resurrection preserves itself as it should; but she who does not believe in the resurrection is set out to perdition. He who believes that the body will be resurrected keeps this garment, and does not defile the body with fornication: but he who does not believe in the resurrection gives himself over to fornication, not caring for his own body, as if it were someone else's. Thus, faith in the resurrection of the dead is an important instruction and teaching of the Holy Catholic Church, important and very necessary; and although many contradict it, nevertheless the truth confirms it. Contradiction is manifold, but truth is uniform.

2. The Greeks, together with the Samaritans, contradict us in the following way: a dead person goes to the ground and rots, all turns into worms, then the worms also die. The body is subjected to such rottenness and destruction: how then will it be resurrected? The drowned were devoured by fish, and they themselves were devoured. Bears and lions killed those who fought with the beasts, crushing the very bones. Kites and crows, having eaten the flesh of the lying dead, scattered all over the world. Where will the body come from? Of the birds that ate it; one will die in India, another in Persia, and another in the land of the Goths. Others who were burned in the fire, and the rain or the wind carried the ashes themselves. Where will the body come from?

3. For you, a man, a very limited and weak being, India is far from the land of the Goths, far from Spain; but for God, Who in a Handful contains the whole earth, all things are near. Therefore, because you are weak, do not imagine God to be weak, but rather pay attention to His power. The sun is not His great work, for by the mere striving of its rays it warms the whole world; and the air which God created embraces all things in the world; and God, the Creator of the sun and the air, is He far from the world? Let the various seeds of plants be mingled (to thee, who are weak in faith, I present weak examples); And these various seeds of plants shall be in one handful of thy handful: is it difficult for thee, a man, or on the contrary, easy to distinguish what is in thy handful, and to separate the seeds of each plant according to their quality, and to give them their own place to grow? Thus, you can discern and restore to its former state what is in your hand; and is it possible that God cannot discern and restore to its former state what is contained in His handful? Understand what I say, is it not impious to reject this?

4. Delve into the very law of justice, and turn to yourself. You have various slaves: some of them are good, others are bad: of course you honor the good, but you punish the bad. And if you are a judge, you praise the good and punish the transgressors. Thus, with you, a mortal man, justice is observed; but with God, the eternal King of all, has no just retribution? It is impious to deny this. Consider what I say: many murderers have died unpunished on their beds: where is the justice of God? Often the murderer is guilty of fifty murders; but they cut off his head alone; Where will he receive the punishment for forty-nine murders? If there is no judgment and retribution at the end of this world, then you will accuse God of injustice. However, do not be surprised at the slowness of the judgment. Every ascetic after accomplishing a podvig is crowned, or put to shame; and those who determine the reward for the ascetics never crown them during their asceticisms, but wait until all the ascetics perform them, so that after they have sorted everything out, they can give each one worthy rewards and crowns. In the same way, God, when the struggle is still going on in this world, although He helps as much as the righteous need, He gives them a perfect reward afterwards.