Coronavirus quarantine prepares us for Pentecost

COMMENT: Our meeting with the Holy Spirit in the Divine Liturgy offers some lessons on how to best prepare our hearts to return to the public celebration of Mass in the house of God.



Every prayer routine in the Byzantine tradition, both in church and at home, begins with a hymn to the Holy Spirit: “Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, wherever present and who fill everything, Treasure of Blessings and Donor of Life, come and dwell within us, purify us of every stain and save our souls, O Gentile. "

At a time when the normal lines of contact between church and home have been worn out by pandemic restrictions, this prayer of openness to the Holy Spirit keeps this connection alive. It reminds us that the Holy Spirit is at work in every activity, whether it is community worship or in the silent room of our hearts.

Indeed, our encounter with the Holy Spirit in the Divine Liturgy offers some lessons on how best to prepare our hearts to return to the public celebration of Mass in the house of God or, if public worship remains impractical, to ensure that we maintain the right spiritual cleansing in our hearts.

spiritual fast

Strangely, apart from this introductory prayer, the Byzantines rarely turn to the Holy Spirit during services. Instead, the prayers are addressed to the Father and to Christ, concluding with a doxology that names all three people of the Holy Trinity.

In the Byzantine tradition, the presence of the Holy Spirit in prayer is assumed rather than invoked. The hymn "The heavenly king, comforter" simply announces the Pauline impulse at the basis of all Christian prayer:

"Because we don't know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with moans too deep for words" (Romans 8:26).

Together with the apostle, the Byzantine tradition states that every prayer is carried out in and through the Holy Spirit.

But if the Holy Spirit is hidden in the Divine Liturgy, it becomes even more so between the feasts of Ascension on Thursday and Pentecost Sunday. During this period, the Byzantine liturgy skips the "Heavenly King, comforter" at the beginning of the services. On the eve of Pentecost he returns once again, sung in his original place during Vespers.

The Byzantines "fast" from singing this hymn, just as they "fast" from celebrating the Divine Liturgy on weekdays during Lent. Since the Divine Liturgy commemorates the Resurrection, we reserve it during Lent only on Sunday to fuel a greater desire for Easter, the feast of the feasts. Likewise, refraining from "Heavenly King Comforter" fuels the desire for Pentecost.

In this way, the faithful can better understand that fasting from public worship, although not the norm, helps stimulate our desire for that same liturgy and the encounter with God that it provides.

A humble spirit

This abstention from the liturgy also helps us to notice. While fasting from food reminds us of our hunger for God, refraining from singing to the Holy Spirit helps us to pay attention to our need for him in our lives.

But it is hard work to pay attention, because the Holy Spirit is humble. In his humility, he works through people, hiding his operations in the guise of human hands. In the Acts of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit is the protagonist, active in each chapter from the moment the tongues of fire landed in the Upper Room. Inspire Peter in his preaching. He urges priests to choose the first deacons. Accompanies the discernment of the early church on circumcision. Encourage Paul in his work to establish Christian communities. The Holy Spirit prefers to perfect his work through these earthen vessels.

On Sunday between Ascension and Pentecost, the Byzantines commemorate the First Council of Nicaea, a festival of the Holy Spirit in its own right. Through the Council Fathers, the Holy Spirit reveals the truth about God, giving us the Nicene Creed. The Council Fathers are the "trumpets of the Spirit", who "sing in the midst of the Church in unison, teaching that the Trinity is one, which does not differ in substance or in Divinity" (Festive hymn of vespers).

The Creed correctly narrates who Christ is. It is "true God from true God, consubstantial with the Father". The Holy Spirit is the "spirit of truth" and confirms to Nicaea that Jesus is not a liar. The Father and the Son are one and whoever has seen the Son has seen the Father. The inspired Creed assures us that the God we worship in church is the same God known through the scriptures. This emphasizes the model of humility that characterizes the Holy Spirit. In the Creed, the Holy Spirit does not reveal himself, but the identity of the Son. In the same way, he humbly waits to be sent from Heaven, promised by Christ.

In his humility, the Holy Spirit works on behalf of all people. The Holy Spirit exists to give life to others and "waters all creation that everyone can live in him" (Byzantine hymn Matins feast, tone 4). The Holy Ghost fulfills Moses' melancholy desire that all Israel would be prophets (Numbers 11:29). The Church is the new Israel, and its holy members are the answer to Moses' request: "By the Holy Spirit, all the deified see and prophesy" (Byzantine hymn of the Byzantine morning, tone 8).

Therefore, in seeking the Holy Spirit, both in public Mass and in private devotion, we learn humility from the supreme model of humility, thus preparing ourselves better during this period of pandemic and recovery to receive the Holy Spirit in our hearts and in the midst of we .

Eucharistic revelation

In effect, the Holy Spirit reveals God more intimately among us, offering us the spirit of adoption as sons and daughters. The problem is that, while we objectively receive filiation in the Spirit at baptism, we spend our lives subjectively receiving this identity. We must "affiliate" in a literal sense, discovering more and more who we are: sons and daughters of God.

The spirit of adoption is lived in a more complete way at the Eucharistic table. The priest calls the Holy Spirit to epiclesis, first "on us" and then "on these gifts that stand before us". This Byzantine prayer underlines the objective of the Eucharist to transform not only bread and wine, but you and I, in the Body and Blood of Christ.

Now, with the churches returning to the normal celebration of the Eucharistic banquet, many are concerned about what physical absence has made since the Eucharistic celebration. We may feel like estranged sons or daughters. During this quarantine period, we have never been deprived of the Holy Spirit banquet. He remained with us, giving voice to our groan, ready to alleviate our desire for our Eucharistic Lord.

Largely linked to the house, we can compare our time with the Upper Room, where we see Jesus in his intimate: he washes his feet, exposes wounds and breaks bread with his friends. After Ascension, the disciples are reunited in a Upper Room and are invited to a different type of closeness in the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

In our Upper Room, we enjoy the same intimacy. We must take part in the banquet of the Holy Spirit. The parable of the prodigal son offers us two ways to approach this table. We can approach as the prodigal does, with humble repentance, and enjoy the party. We also have the choice of the eldest son, who prefers the taste of bitterness to the fattened calf in front of him and sits on the sidelines of the party.

Quarantine can be a feast of the Holy Spirit - a time to recognize his humble presence, be renewed with apostolic zeal and be encouraged to rebuild the Church. The bitter pill of the eldest son is difficult to swallow; it could suffocate us if we leave it. But, together with David, we can ask in his perfect psalm of repentance: "do not deprive ourselves of the Holy Spirit ... so that I can teach transgressors that your ways and your sinners can return to you" (Psalm 51:11; 13).

If we let the Holy Spirit do this work, then this desert experience could flourish in a garden.