June 08 Kandili Article
Come, O Holy Spirit!
“Heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, Everywhere present and filling all things, come and abide in us, cleanse us of all impurity and save our souls, O Good One.”Christ is Risen! We are still in the midst of the 40-day celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ascension Day is rapidly approaching, celebrated this year on June 5, and Pentecost on Sunday, June 15. Our Lord’s promise to the disciples that they would receive the “Counselor, the Spirit of Truth,” (John 15:26), is fulfilled on the Great Feast of Pentecost. Pentecost was actually a Jewish Feast celebrating the reception of the Ten Commandments by Moses at Mt. Sinai. This Feast was celebrated fifty days following Passover in Jerusalem. It was for this Feast that the disciples and thousands of Jewish people from throughout the region were gathered in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit came to the eleven disciples as a “rush of mighty wind, and it filled the house in which they were sitting, and there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:2-4) That day 3,000 people were baptized by the Disciples and the Christian Church began. The Jewish Feast of Passover was transformed by Christ to a celebration of His Passover from death to life for Christian believers. In a similar manner, the Jewish Feast of Pentecost was transformed for Christian believers from a celebration of the reception of the Law, to the reception of the Grace of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit, sent by the Father, through the Son becomes “The Counselor, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth.” Through the Power of the Holy Spirit, the Church is born as the body of Christ with Him as our Head and we, as members of His Body. The Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit – one God, is revealed. The work of salvation is completed cosmically as we live annually these Feasts. And our own personal salvation becomes a possibility as we endeavor, through the Grace of the Spirit, to live lives of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)
The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God the Father and the Communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Christ is Risen!
Fr. Lou