So when will the Lord perform Baptism (by the Holy Spirit) over the catechumen, when will the Lord God deliver him from hell and give the Holy Spirit??? It is not your business to know the times and seasons that the Lord has established in His Wisdom, Unspeakable Love-Mercy for each hypostasis (person and angel)!!! You keep your mind in hell, and endure (endure long) in prayers, diligently fulfilling all God’s Commandments (for only he who endures to the end, will be steadfast and courageous in faithfulness to Christ (will be ready to endure for Christ, for the name of Christ any torment and the most terrible death), – will be saved – will receive the Holy Spirit!)! And God, Who loves you unspeakably and desires-craves your salvation, knows when and how to adopt you! Therefore, do not ask to be delivered from hell, or to remove your sufferings and pain, but ask for strength to endure, steadfastness and courage to be faithful to Christ, thank-rejoice and delight the Lord Jesus Christ – let Your will be done, Lord! He who endures to the end – will be saved-deified! Not for a moment will you be in hell – but as long as necessary for your salvation, for humility – “Humble one, today you will be with Me in Paradise!” When, Lord? Be patient, I also want, incomparably more than you, for you to be where I am – be patient, trust Me – today, and you will be with Me in My Kingdom! Be patient in faithfulness to Me in joy-thanksgiving!
How does the catechumen of the Church of the Holy Spirit know his poverty, become humble?! Christians (Christ’s, Spirit-bearers, baptized by the Holy Spirit!) teach the catechumen to Love God and neighbor (= to keep God’s commandments, the essence of which is Love: for God and neighbor); and trying with all his might to Love (be faithful in small things: keep all God’s Commandments given by the Church, Christians, and not those he himself read in the Scripture and filled with his selfish, pagan meaning-understanding!), the catechumen (son of “this age,” who is preparing to be born from above by the Holy Spirit into the Kingdom of God) knows his godlessness, godlessness, deadness, inability and powerlessness to Love, that is, to do Good (can do nothing good(!) and already knows no good deed behind him – only debts-debts-debts), becomes humble, “poor in Spirit” (not theoretically – because priests say so or Fathers write, but practically, existentially, ontologically: “can do nothing good” – I try with all my might to fulfill God’s Commandment, and nothing good comes out, only evil; wanted the best, but it turned out as always – very bad!). (This means to keep your mind in hell). But the Church, showing the catechumen his hell (helping to know his hell), holds his hand, so that he does not fall into despair (therefore, no self-treatment, self-catechumenate – because the result will be disastrous: either despair, or delusion-deception, the end of which is also despair!), but hopes in the Lord Jesus Christ, Who saves the humble (in His time – instantly!) and gives only them (poor in Spirit) the double, immeasurable Grace of Resurrection and Eternal Life!
So, to the humble catechumens (who, like children, hope only for mercy, they do not count on anything (no merits, salaries, obligations), are worth nothing, have done nothing good, who allow themselves to be gifted, trustingly surrender (clinging to nothing, relying on nothing – they are poor, have nothing of their own: sold everything, gave away everything, forgave everyone – only to God, to Jesus Christ)) God in Christ gives the Holy Spirit – adopts His creation – a free humble hypostasis, and makes it (a Christian) a participant-communicant of the Kingdom of God – the Divine Triune Hypostatic Eternal Life!
Without obedience (self-denial and acceptance of the Cross of the good will of Another and following the Lord) – there is no Good and cannot be. Good – is communication-prayer in Good, and without obedience, there can be no communication (a disobedient person will never know his hell-hell in this life, will not humble himself, and will not be able by grace to go beyond himself, his egoism). Therefore, the Church teaches the catechumen first to listen, teaches obedience. Obedience must be on all levels – body, soul, spirit. The teaching of obedience begins with the body, physical exercises-deeds: give, bring, go away… – deeds (not sinful!) must be done unquestioningly. They said – whether you want it or not, like a slave did, without prudence (when you have already decided that the deed is not evil). This process of voluntary slavery little by little humbles and makes a person capable of moving to another level of obedience – understanding-feeling of the word-meaning, and then, in due time, hearing in the hesychia of the Holy Spirit! If to someone who does not know how to listen, start teaching – it will be only a waste of time and double harm-delusion (one builds – the other destroys-squanders, what benefit – only senseless labor! “Leave them!”). The first science is to learn to learn, that is, to listen, to be obedient, and then to teach the obedient!