“O heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of truth, You are everywhere present and filling all things; Treasury of blessings and Giver of life, come and abide in us, cleanse us from every impurity and save our souls, O good One” (Prayer to the Holy Spirit)
The transition from Pascha and Ascension to Pentecost emphasizes the prominence of the Holy Spirit in guiding our lives in Christ. Once again we pray the familiar address to the Spirit: “O heavenly King.” The appeal to the elusive Holy Spirit who makes His icon our own faces as He energizes our souls with His invisible presence. Again we plead for the gifts that enhance and adorn our own spiritual attributes without doing for us what we are obliged to perform ourselves.
We call upon the King of heaven who reigns with the Father and the Son together in the eternal cosmic domain where all is right, true, good and holy. Wherever else You may be, please come to us and to me. “Us,” plural, since this prayer opens every occasion where “two or three are gathered” in Christ’s name, whether it be an ecumenical council or humble prayer service. In personal daily prayer, we ask the King who resides in our soul, or nous, to comfort us with an inner peace and stability so that the waves of frustration, anger, confusion or despair pacify the mind and enable true prayer to happen. The Slavonic [ut’eshitel’u istini] even has the slurring sibilant “sh” that sounds like a mother whispering to an upset, crying child that it will be alright, she’s here and there’s no need to fear. There’s no reason to feel perplexed, upset or distraught. In the poet Browining’s phrase: “God’s in His heaven, all’s right with the world.”
“Spirit of truth” affirms the basic fact of truth opposing lies, falsehood, obfuscation, and evasion. Satan’s first weapon against Christ is to insist that there is no truth, all is compromise, every person has his or her price, and maturity means recognizing that reality. Christianity is for children and fools, the unsleeping enemy whispers to us, hoping to gain converts by calling into question the values we teach, hold and believe that are unchangeable. The Spirit of truth is constantly being put to the test in this ambivalent society where traditional values are in a freefall, normal common sense is challenged, and self-indulgence is considered standard behavior.
The Holy Spirit instills truth in the form of intuition, but when we thwart, ignore or negate those insights which work for our self-preservation, the Spirit honors our free will and permits us to go against what is best for us. How does a child know when she is touched improperly? How can a judge ruling on pornography say that although there’s no fixed legal definition, “You know it when you see it”? A youngster taking his first puff of a cigarette inhales and realizes this is not beneficial to his lungs. All this comes about when a person made in God’s image intuits the awareness that his health or safety is at risk.
And when the Church opposes what is basically harmful, sinful or injurious to a person or society, it’s not just referring to ancient laws or canons, nor is it a power play by zealous church leaders; she is reaching into her collective soul, energizing the Holy Spirit and relaying the gospel of Jesus Christ to each given situation when the health and welfare of society is put at risk. We call out to the Spirit “Come!” As You were present at the inauguration of the universe and with the Father and Son before anything existed, whether angelic beings or the cosmos, as You are “everywhere present and filling all things,” please be in our world, our society, our Church and in me, to lead us in Christ Jesus to the heavenly Father.