The great feast of Pentecost is also called the Day of the Holy Trinity, the descent of the Holy Spirit, or the birth of Christ’s Church and sometimes – Green Sunday!

This is a remarkable feast brothers and sisters because with it the entire work of salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ comes to fruition, comes to completion, comes to perfection.

In the Old Testament Pentecost was the feast which occurred fifty days after the first Passover. Pentecost celebrated God’s gift of the ten commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai [ˈsaɪnaɪ] during their exodus – the liberation from Egypt and entrance into the Promised Land.

The “exodus” that we celebrate today is the liberation from sin as well as from all its consequences.

It was in the very beginning that sin separated us from God, and it caused a great discord between us and God and between each other, and inside of us… Sin is separation… Though nothing could separate God from his creation!

And this great feast is truly a celebration of spiritual re-unity.

As the Kontakion says: “When the Most High came down and confused the tongues, he divided the nations. But when he distributed the tongues of fire, he called all to unity. Therefore, with one voice, we glorify the All-Holy Spirit!” (Kontakion)

Everyone who heard the preaching of the Apostles on that day, heard it in their native languages. But it was not just the case of knowing all foreign languages but learning them either naturally or supernaturally, but that was the initial uncorrupt language, the sinless language of the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit brings light and life, brothers and sisters — life and light to our souls and to our spirit!

Holy fathers say, Holy Spirit is like oxygen to our souls, just as we cannot live without oxygen we cannot live without the grace of God. Without the grace of the Holy Spirit people are not people!

The apostles left us the following commandment: “Do not extinguish the Spirit!”,

How not to put up this life-giving, but, as you see, very humble and long-suffering fire, how to keep and cherish it? How not to reject it, as there is no other hope for us.

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” – says apostle Paul (Gal. 5: 22-23).

“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Math. 19, 26).

But if we carefully examine our hearts and do not find these fruits—or even find their opposites—it means we are still far from the Spirit’s presence. Yet even this recognition is already the work of the same grace, of the same Spirit, who illumines us and calls us to repentance. He does this through many means: by co-working with our conscience, through the reading of Holy Scripture, through the writings of the Holy Fathers, through the counsel of a spiritual guide, through our condensation to the weaknesses of the other people, not judgemental and forgiving, through prayer and fasting, and even through analyzing certain tribulations in our life.

Only then the Holy Spirit will dwell in us and help us do what is naturally impossible.

Oh Heavenly King the comforter the Spirit of Truth
who are everywhere and fillest all things
Treasury of blessings and giver of life
come and abide in us and cleanse us from every impurity
and save our souls oh good one. Amen!