Beloved Brothers and Sisters,

Congratulations with the great feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles!

Yesterday at vespers we heard the following hymn:

The Holy Spirit provideth all things; He gusheth forth prophecy; He perfecteth the priesthood; He hath taught wisdom to the illiterate. He hath shown forth the fishermen as theologians. He holdeth together the whole institution of the Church. Wherefore, O Comforter, one in essence and throne with the Father and the Son, glory be to Thee.
(3rd stiсhira at “Lord I have cried”)

In the Gospel reading last night we heard the words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ directed to His disciples:

Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you…Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
(John 20: 21 – 23)

Today we heard from a different place in the Gospel the following words of our Saviour:

If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
(John 7: 37 – 38)

Of all the Church feastdays, today’s is unique, for all of the other ones remember a single concrete moment in the history of the relationship between God and man. On Christmas we celebrate God becoming a man, on Easter – how Christ resurrected, on the Dormition – how the Mother of God died and was taken to Heaven to be with her Son. Of course, there are important consequences for mankind as a result of these events, but each event itself took place at a concrete moment in time.

The stichira from last night, as well as the words of the Lord Jesus Christ from the Gospel, express the idea that the Holy Spirit operates everywhere and constantly. He did not descend on the apostles once, but continues to come down on the faithful. Up until our own time, priests are ordained, the illiterate and simple are taught wisdom and become theologians, sins are forgiven, and the whole institution of the Church is fortified by this Spirit. Even now, out of the hearts of the faithful flow rivers of living water, that is, through faithful people the Holy Spirit acts in the world and especially in the Church. Today is truly a remarkable feast, because we mark events that not only took place many years ago, but also those that continue to take place at present.

There is no need to prove that the Holy Spirit operates in the world even now, because every believing person has his own very personal spiritual experience, through which he experienced or experiences the power of the Divine Spirit. For some, this spiritual experience is tied to the communing of Christ’s Holy Mysteries, for others it is gained through the reading of Holy Scripture, while for a third person it comes through fervent prayer. Someone else may experience it through spiritual conversations with other believers, and the last – through meditation on the beauty of God’s creation, etc. It is enough for us to remember our own personal spiritual experiences to be convinced that truly the Holy Spirit acts in our world even in our own time.

We should be amazed that it is so. Although we are called to live a pure, Christ-like lives and to become temples of the Holy Spirit, few of us are able to reach this goal. We all sin and in such a manner turn ourselves away from God, but the Holy Spirit continues to operate amongst us and even through us. The Divine Liturgy is accomplished, sins are forgiven, spiritual mysteries are opened to us through the reading of Holy Scripture, people come to Christ despite our sins and join themselves to the Church. Today, on this wonderful day, let’s remember how the Holy Spirit sustains each of us personally and how He sanctifies us despite our spiritual blemishes. Let us pray fervently that He give us the power to defeat our sins and passions, so as to become truly worthy, as much as this is possible, of His presence in us.

priest Alexis