Blessings of the Feast! All that Christ God became incarnate to give to us in order to save us has been fulfilled by the descent of the Holy Spirit. The Church is born and Christ’s presence is made known to mankind through the voice of the Apostles who have received “power from on high.” This same power is accessible to all flesh through Christ’s Church, just as was prophesied and as we heard in the Old Testament readings for Vespers of the Feast: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezek. 36:26). By the work of the Holy Spirit through the Church, we are baptized and chrismated: we “put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27) and become part of the “new creation” (I Cor. 5:17) and new birth by water and the spirit (John 3). After the Holy Spirit’s descent, the formerly frightened and uneducated disciples, who had trouble contemplating Christ’s resurrection for wonderment, now boldly and courageously proclaim the Good News of new life in Christ to all the nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Holy Trinity, even accepting martyrdom for the sake of proclaiming the truth of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The life in the Spirit, the awakening of new birth, the growth of illumination and enlightenment, the power to proclaim the Good News of salvation through our words and deeds, is not some relic of the Church’s apostolic past; it is the gift of the seal of the Holy Spirit for us today. If we are willing to cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, God will work in us and through us, to bring the Gospel to bear on our own lives, but also to make us beacons of His light in a world trapped in darkness. May we pray for and work for more love, more humility, more obedience to the life and commandments of God in our lives, that we too may bear much fruit as we return to the season of repentance and continual growth in the knowledge and love of God.
Christ is in our midst!
Fr. Robert+
THIS WEEK AT HOLY ARCHANGELS:
- Saturday, June 14, 3 p.m., Great Vespers with Confession following
- Sunday, June 15, 9:30 a.m., Hours, 10 am Divine Liturgy Trapeza following Liturgy
Prayer Requests:
- That God may grow our Mission “in spirit and in numbers…”
- For God’s financial provision for our Mission and ACM (Annapolis College Ministry);
- For our Mission that we may find a Choir Director;
- Archpriest George, Archpriest Michael, Priest John, Dcn. Basil, Rdr. John, newly-illumined Simeon Mihai and his godparents, Priest John and Mat. Janette, Benedict, Colette, Mary, Carol, Katherine, James, Daniel, Sarah, Seraphim, Patricia, George, Anne, Ed, Johnson, Jeanette, and Family, Meriam and family, the Church in Georgia and Romania as they address the relativism of the West, speaking the truth in love, our suffering Orthodox brethren in Syria, a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine.
Troparion Tone 8
Blessed are You, O Christ our God;
for You have shown the fishermen to be most wise
by sending down on them the Holy Spirit
and through them catching all the world in Your net.//
Glory to You, O good God Who love mankind!
Troparion (Holy Archangels) Tone 4
Commanders of the heavenly hosts, // we who are unworthy beseech you:
by your prayers encompass us beneath the wings of your immaterial glory,
and faithfully preserve us who fall down and cry to you://
“Deliver us from all harm, for you are the Commanders of the Powers on high!”
KontakionTone 8
When He came down and confused the tongues, the Most High divided the nations;
but when He distributed the tongues of fire, He called all people to unity.//
Therefore, with one voice we glorify the most-Holy Spirit.
Kontakion(Holy Archangels) Tone 2
Commanders of God’s armies // and ministers of the divine glory,
princes of the bodiless Angels // and guides of mankind;
ask for what is good for us, and for great mercy,// Supreme Commanders of the Bodiless Hosts.
