St. Ephraim Center

St. Ephraim Center St. Ephraim Center is a Orthodox Christian addiction & mental health treatment and educational cent

09/06/2024

O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Who are everywhere present and fillest all things. Treasury of blessings, and Giver of Life. Come and abide in us and cleanse us from all impurity, and save our souls, O good Lord.
PART 2.
“Treasury of blessings (good things)…”. The prayer continues to invite us into a deeper awareness of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the world. When I think of the word “treasury” in relationship to the Holy Spirit, I think of a vast, unending vault or storehouse of precious things. And indeed, blessings are to be treasured – they are not to be taken for granted. They also don’t run out! But what are these blessings, of which God is both creator and generous bestower? I think we can understand and relate to God’s blessings in many different ways. First of all, to us as normal human beings, blessings refer to all the good which God has brought and does bring into our lives. These are the things for which it is easy to thank Him – food, clothing, housing, healthy relationships…provisions for daily life and survival. However, even this gets a little tricky because finding a safe place to sleep and enough food to eat as a refugee looks very different from those of us who are “blessed” with more than enough material goods and physical comfort. Many of us in our own lives, as well as other people in our own parishes struggle with profound life challenges, from which the Lord does not protect. Yet we are called to give thanks in all situations and conditions because of the promises that God will bring life out of death, and good out of evil. Suffering itself can be appreciated as a source of blessing, when we keep our mind on the big picture.
St. Paul in Philippians 4 calls us to “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with THANKSGIVING, (emphasis mine), let your requests be known to God…..Finally brethren, whatever things are noble…if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things.”
As I read this, I am reminded to focus on and give thanks for ANYTHING good in my life. To actually look for the blessings. Sometimes this is so hard to do, but it reminds us that God is still present, even when we don’t see Him. I am sure that St. Paul needed encouragement as well in the midst of his suffering. I am also reminded to keep praying for God’s gifts and blessings in the areas where I am struggling or have need. We get to ask! We also get to ask for our neighbor, whoever that may be.
“…and giver of life”. So, in the middle of life’s struggles, the bottom line is that God is offering to bless us with New LIFE, on top of the physical life with which He has imbued all of us and all living creatures. And by the way, this New Life He offers, is not just for the afterlife. Yes, it is eternal, but it starts in the here and now. Even the ability to access the Kingdom of Heaven can be available in the here and now. What is this New Life in Him? I believe that it includes a new way of being in the world, gradually growing in freedom from our own myriad ways of “falling short” and “missing the mark”. We get to gradually (sometimes incrementally!) become free of all the thoughts, beliefs and behaviors that are not of God. Our “sins”. This directly impacts how we relate to ourselves and others; how we parent and raise our children; our beliefs about and relationship to money and success (yes, we get to have it, but not to become attached to it or let it define us); and possibly even our politics! Living in Life is living in peace and joy. It is living in freedom from fear and the hatred of others that comes from fear. How does fear rule your life? What would you like to become free of? What does “new life” mean to you? What has kept you shackled? We are called to become free of the impact of sin and death/darkness in our lives and the Holy Spirit gives us the grace to do so.
But, are we open to God’s blessing and this new life in Him? What are our blocks and barriers? How often do we believe ourselves to be not worthy of either new life or blessings, and even turn them away? I had people tell me that they have turned down business opportunities that would greatly benefit their families because “Christians aren’t supposed to be successful or have money”. Sometimes, opening ourselves up to receiving blessing and full life from God would mean changing our entire identity and our rigid belief systems, along with letting down our emotional defenses. I have often had people say to me that they don’t pray for anything because “God is too busy” to pay attention to me. Or, “other people have things so much worse, who am I to expect that God would hear my prayer.” Or, “I am such a sinner, I don’t deserve/get to have good things.” These are the beliefs that often come from pain and unmet needs in our childhood, or deep shame over sinful behavior. We often have such deep expectations that we will be hurt or disappointed again, or even abandoned, that we don’t dare ask. We don’t dare risk becoming vulnerable. God offers us new life and freedom in Him, but often we don’t believe Him. And so, we stay stuck. What is the way out?
“Come and abide in us and cleanse us from all impurities”. And this is the crux of the whole prayer. We get to directly invite the King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, the Giver of life and blessings into our whole being. Oops! Now it gets personal! This is a move from understanding the Holy Spirit as “being everywhere present and filling all things” to dwelling inside of us in a very different way. I am reminded of the Third Prayer of St. John Chrysostom in the Pre-Communion Prayers, where we say, “I know I am not worthy, nor sufficient, that Thou should come under the roof of the house of my soul, for all is desolate and fallen, and Thou hast not in me a place worthy to lay Thy head”. How many of us stop there and keep the walls of our hearts deeply defended. Many of us have no idea HOW to open our hearts to the Lord, even though we yearn to. Or we are simply too afraid and have too much shame. Some of us read the rest of the prayer and simply don’t relate to the language of “loathsome and impure lips”, or “vile and wicked habits”. We have worked very hard to be good people. We keep the commandments. We try to be loving. We understand that we are not worthy of God’s presence, but we don’t really get it. What are our impurities? What does it even mean to have the Holy Spirit “abide in us”?
Fortunately, we don’t have to have all the answers! The Holy Spirit Himself, God, does the abiding and the cleansing, especially as we participate in all the sacraments and the life of the Church. Our job is to keep inviting Him in, to the best of our ability at any one moment. He is the One who brings us the blessings of discernment, wisdom, and repentance. He is the One who grows in us His fruits (Gal 5:22-23): love, joy, peace, patience, kindness and goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We can’t grow these by ourselves, but we can open ourselves up with courage, humility and longing to receive these gifts and blessings of the new life in God.
“And save our souls, O Good One”. Thus, our souls are being saved by the true goodness of the Holy Spirit, Who is Divine. Here again is a reference to the divinity of the Holy Spirit. As Jesus states in Mark 10:18, “And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good, no one is good except God alone.”” But I also get the sense that it is due to the inherent Goodness of God, that He didn’t leave us to die, in any of the meanings of the word. That He extended Himself to His creation to heal and restore. Indeed, God is Good!
By Mat. Christina Veselak
Pentecost 2024

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09/06/2024

O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Who are everywhere present and fillest all things. Treasury of blessings, and Giver of Life. Come and abide in us and cleanse us from all impurity, and save our souls, O good Lord.

As we celebrate the great and glorious feast of Pentecost, 2024, it is incumbent upon us to contemplate the Holy Spirit Himself, with awe and gratitude. This prayer, so easy to ignore because we say it by rote so many times, calls upon us to actually pay attention to the profound revelation it contains. I invite us all now to slowly and mindfully explore the spiritual richness revealed in this prayer.
Let us start.

PART 1.
“O heavenly king, comforter”: Right from the beginning this prayer reminds us that the Holy Spirit shares heavenly Kingship with the Father and the Son. But this “kingship” does not render the Holy Spirit distant and untouchable. No. He is our comforter! This is a deeply personal description. As human beings, we are used to being comforted by people close to us, who love us and with whom we share our deepest wounds and griefs. These might be parents, spouses or very close friends. We don’t usually think of our king in that role. To me, the word “king” connotes someone up on a throne, distant and glorious, to be feared and worshipped from afar. This is not typically someone with whom I would even think of sharing my deepest pain. But here, at the start of all our prayers and worship services, the Holy Spirit is introduced and revealed as a source of comfort and therefore, as one to whom we can indeed reveal our deepest pain and anguish. And it is in answer to the bold statement of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount, where He reassures us that those that mourn will be comforted.
For what do we need comfort? As an Orthodox Christian, my mind immediately goes to the anguish and frustration of our spiritual struggle against sin. Isn’t it astonishing that God Himself can meet us in the middle of this struggle and recurrent experience of failure to bring comfort and hope. But I don’t think we have to stop there. The Holy Spirit, in our hearts, can “heal the broken-hearted”. He can bring loving, compassionate comfort in the middle of our profound grief and loss. He can comfort and encourage us as we face the suffering of the world around us. Sometimes I feel so powerless in making a difference, that I just want to give up, wall off my heart, and bury my head in the sand. But with the comfort and presence of the Holy Spirit imbuing my life, I can be encouraged to keep on keeping on. I certainly couldn’t participate in the battle against evil and suffering without it. What is more, this comfort comes with Truth.
“Spirit of Truth” tells us that this prayer is indeed directed to the Holy Spirit, rather than Christ or the Father. Jesus says “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” So here we have a reference to the idea that the Holy Spirit is indeed the Spirit of Christ.
I also interpret this phrase as reassuring us that we can turn to God Himself with our doubts, questions and confusions, with the trust that He will reveal truth to us, as we ask. There have been times in my walk with God, that my old assumptions about my faith have been challenged, and sometimes even shattered. I remember being so frightened that I would lose my salvation, as I grew into an expanded understanding of Christianity. This scary growth included converting to Orthodoxy from the Evangelical Church many years ago. I have kept seeking the Lord, often in tears, for Truth. I have now grown into trusting the Lord with my salvation and trusting that He will indeed keep revealing truth to me, providing I keep my heart open to Him. And I can trust Him for help in keeping that heart open and receptive.
I want to suggest that the phrase “Spirit of Truth” implies that all Truth is contained within God and is indeed revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. Christianity is a revealed religion. It is not a faith which is to be arrived at through intellectual discourse. It is revealed through a living dynamic relationship with God Himself, who is continually revealing more and more of Himself to us. This seems to be an ongoing revelation, to the degree that we can bear it, and to the degree that we can both open our hearts to receive God, and to receive the truth about ourselves and about Reality as a whole. As St Paul says, “Now we see darkly, but then we shall see face to face”.
Recognizing the truth about ourselves can be tricky. It can be shattering, and it can be surprising. As fallen, wounded human beings, we erect defense mechanisms from a very young age to help us survive and navigate in an often painful, lonely world. These defense mechanisms often take the form of negative beliefs about ourselves and others. Shame will tell me that I am a piece of sh**, undeserving of God’s love and forgiveness. The Holy Spirit brings comfort and truth, reminding me that I am indeed made in God’s image and likeness, and that He loves me and seeks union with me with all of His heart! Fear and deep hurt tell me that other people and the world itself is dangerous and lead me to wall myself off from everything. Sometimes we can become timid and hide, not daring to express the gifts given us by the Lord. Other times this defensive wall can be surrounded with barbed wire and shattered glass, attacking anyone who would dare to come near. It is from this defensive structure that some of us develop pride to protect us from the ravages of shame. We seek in many diverse ways to build ourselves up, often very unconsciously. The spiritual life is an ongoing process of unveiling the truth about ourselves, and being transformed by this process. Indeed, “the truth can set us free”.
“Who art everywhere present and fillest all things”. What a remarkable statement of the nature of Reality! God himself is an integral part of all things. St. Paul preaches that in God we live and move and have our being. When I was 10, I started going to a Catholic school, because it was the best around. For the first time, I received a real catechism and was taught that Christians believe that Jesus is God the Son and actually rose from the dead. Well, I was a scientist at age 10 and I realized that there was no way anyone could possibly prove any of this, using the scientific method. So, I sadly acknowledged that I couldn’t possibly be a Christian. My poor mother had no idea what to make of this pronouncement! However, when I tried to apply this same logic to the existence of God Himself, I couldn’t. And this is because I saw God everywhere. In the trees, and the birds and the flowers. I saw Him in the stars and the sun and the moon. He was “everywhere present”. This was greatly comforting to me, but also very bewildering. It was my first intimation that Truth existed outside of science. However, nothing else about God was revealed to me at that time, so I was left knowing that God Was, but I had no way of learning anything else about Him, or entering into a real relationship with Him. That came later.
This is because there is a difference between God filling all things with his creative and sustaining Presence, and the Holy Spirit actually abiding within us. But we will look at that shortly.

O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Who are everywhere present and fillest all things. Treasury of blessings, and Giver of Life. Come and abide in us and cleanse us from all impurity, and save our souls, O good Lord.

As we celebrate the great and glorious feast of Pentecost, 2024, it is incumbent upon us to contemplate the Holy Spirit Himself, with awe and gratitude. This prayer, so easy to ignore because we say it by rote so many times, calls upon us to actually pay attention to the profound revelation it contains. I invite us all now to slowly and mindfully explore the spiritual richness revealed in this prayer.
Let us start.
“O heavenly king, comforter”: Right from the beginning this prayer reminds us that the Holy Spirit shares heavenly Kingship with the Father and the Son. But this “kingship” does not render the Holy Spirit distant and untouchable. No. He is our comforter! This is a deeply personal description. As human beings, we are used to being comforted by people close to us, who love us and with whom we share our deepest wounds and griefs. These might be parents, spouses or very close friends. We don’t usually think of our king in that role. To me, the word “king” connotes someone up on a throne, distant and glorious, to be feared and worshipped from afar. This is not typically someone with whom I would even think of sharing my deepest pain. But here, at the start of all our prayers and worship services, the Holy Spirit is introduced and revealed as a source of comfort and therefore, as one to whom we can indeed reveal our deepest pain and anguish. And it is in answer to the bold statement of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount, where He reassures us that those that mourn will be comforted.
For what do we need comfort? As an Orthodox Christian, my mind immediately goes to the anguish and frustration of our spiritual struggle against sin. Isn’t it astonishing that God Himself can meet us in the middle of this struggle and recurrent experience of failure to bring comfort and hope. But I don’t think we have to stop there. The Holy Spirit, in our hearts, can “heal the broken-hearted”. He can bring loving, compassionate comfort in the middle of our profound grief and loss. He can comfort and encourage us as we face the suffering of the world around us. Sometimes I feel so powerless in making a difference, that I just want to give up, wall off my heart, and bury my head in the sand. But with the comfort and presence of the Holy Spirit imbuing my life, I can be encouraged to keep on keeping on. I certainly couldn’t participate in the battle against evil and suffering without it. What is more, this comfort comes with Truth.
“Spirit of Truth” tells us that this prayer is indeed directed to the Holy Spirit, rather than Christ or the Father. Jesus says “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” So here we have a reference to the idea that the Holy Spirit is indeed the Spirit of Christ.
I also interpret this phrase as reassuring us that we can turn to God Himself with our doubts, questions and confusions, with the trust that He will reveal truth to us, as we ask. There have been times in my walk with God, that my old assumptions about my faith have been challenged, and sometimes even shattered. I remember being so frightened that I would lose my salvation, as I grew into an expanded understanding of Christianity. This scary growth included converting to Orthodoxy from the Evangelical Church many years ago. I have kept seeking the Lord, often in tears, for Truth. I have now grown into trusting the Lord with my salvation and trusting that He will indeed keep revealing truth to me, providing I keep my heart open to Him. And I can trust Him for help in keeping that heart open and receptive.
I want to suggest that the phrase “Spirit of Truth” implies that all Truth is contained within God and is indeed revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. Christianity is a revealed religion. It is not a faith which is to be arrived at through intellectual discourse. It is revealed through a living dynamic relationship with God Himself, who is continually revealing more and more of Himself to us. This seems to be an ongoing revelation, to the degree that we can bear it, and to the degree that we can both open our hearts to receive God, and to receive the truth about ourselves and about Reality as a whole. As St Paul says, “Now we see darkly, but then we shall see face to face”.
Recognizing the truth about ourselves can be tricky. It can be shattering, and it can be surprising. As fallen, wounded human beings, we erect defense mechanisms from a very young age to help us survive and navigate in an often painful, lonely world. These defense mechanisms often take the form of negative beliefs about ourselves and others. Shame will tell me that I am a piece of sh**, undeserving of God’s love and forgiveness. The Holy Spirit brings comfort and truth, reminding me that I am indeed made in God’s image and likeness, and that He loves me and seeks union with me with all of His heart! Fear and deep hurt tell me that other people and the world itself is dangerous and lead me to wall myself off from everything. Sometimes we can become timid and hide, not daring to express the gifts given us by the Lord. Other times this defensive wall can be surrounded with barbed wire and shattered glass, attacking anyone who would dare to come near. It is from this defensive structure that some of us develop pride to protect us from the ravages of shame. We seek in many diverse ways to build ourselves up, often very unconsciously. The spiritual life is an ongoing process of unveiling the truth about ourselves, and being transformed by this process. Indeed, “the truth can set us free”.
“Who art everywhere present and fillest all things”. What a remarkable statement of the nature of Reality! God himself is an integral part of all things. St. Paul preaches that in God we live and move and have our being. When I was 10, I started going to a Catholic school, because it was the best around. For the first time, I received a real catechism and was taught that Christians believe that Jesus is God the Son and actually rose from the dead. Well, I was a scientist at age 10 and I realized that there was no way anyone could possibly prove any of this, using the scientific method. So, I sadly acknowledged that I couldn’t possibly be a Christian. My poor mother had no idea what to make of this pronouncement! However, when I tried to apply this same logic to the existence of God Himself, I couldn’t. And this is because I saw God everywhere. In the trees, and the birds and the flowers. I saw Him in the stars and the sun and the moon. He was “everywhere present”. This was greatly comforting to me, but also very bewildering. It was my first intimation that Truth existed outside of science. However, nothing else about God was revealed to me at that time, so I was left knowing that God Was, but I had no way of learning anything else about Him, or entering into a real relationship with Him. That came later.
This is because there is a difference between God filling all things with his creative and sustaining Presence, and the Holy Spirit actually abiding within us. But we will look at that shortly.

O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Who are everywhere present and fillest all things. Treasury of blessings, and Giver of Life. Come and abide in us and cleanse us from all impurity, and save our souls, O good Lord.

As we celebrate the great and glorious feast of Pentecost, 2024, it is incumbent upon us to contemplate the Holy Spirit Himself, with awe and gratitude. This prayer, so easy to ignore because we say it by rote so many times, calls upon us to actually pay attention to the profound revelation it contains. I invite us all now to slowly and mindfully explore the spiritual richness revealed in this prayer.
Let us start.
“O heavenly king, comforter”: Right from the beginning this prayer reminds us that the Holy Spirit shares heavenly Kingship with the Father and the Son. But this “kingship” does not render the Holy Spirit distant and untouchable. No. He is our comforter! This is a deeply personal description. As human beings, we are used to being comforted by people close to us, who love us and with whom we share our deepest wounds and griefs. These might be parents, spouses or very close friends. We don’t usually think of our king in that role. To me, the word “king” connotes someone up on a throne, distant and glorious, to be feared and worshipped from afar. This is not typically someone with whom I would even think of sharing my deepest pain. But here, at the start of all our prayers and worship services, the Holy Spirit is introduced and revealed as a source of comfort and therefore, as one to whom we can indeed reveal our deepest pain and anguish. And it is in answer to the bold statement of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount, where He reassures us that those that mourn will be comforted.
For what do we need comfort? As an Orthodox Christian, my mind immediately goes to the anguish and frustration of our spiritual struggle against sin. Isn’t it astonishing that God Himself can meet us in the middle of this struggle and recurrent experience of failure to bring comfort and hope. But I don’t think we have to stop there. The Holy Spirit, in our hearts, can “heal the broken-hearted”. He can bring loving, compassionate comfort in the middle of our profound grief and loss. He can comfort and encourage us as we face the suffering of the world around us. Sometimes I feel so powerless in making a difference, that I just want to give up, wall off my heart, and bury my head in the sand. But with the comfort and presence of the Holy Spirit imbuing my life, I can be encouraged to keep on keeping on. I certainly couldn’t participate in the battle against evil and suffering without it. What is more, this comfort comes with Truth.
“Spirit of Truth” tells us that this prayer is indeed directed to the Holy Spirit, rather than Christ or the Father. Jesus says “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” So here we have a reference to the idea that the Holy Spirit is indeed the Spirit of Christ.
I also interpret this phrase as reassuring us that we can turn to God Himself with our doubts, questions and confusions, with the trust that He will reveal truth to us, as we ask. There have been times in my walk with God, that my old assumptions about my faith have been challenged, and sometimes even shattered. I remember being so frightened that I would lose my salvation, as I grew into an expanded understanding of Christianity. This scary growth included converting to Orthodoxy from the Evangelical Church many years ago. I have kept seeking the Lord, often in tears, for Truth. I have now grown into trusting the Lord with my salvation and trusting that He will indeed keep revealing truth to me, providing I keep my heart open to Him. And I can trust Him for help in keeping that heart open and receptive.
I want to suggest that the phrase “Spirit of Truth” implies that all Truth is contained within God and is indeed revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. Christianity is a revealed religion. It is not a faith which is to be arrived at through intellectual discourse. It is revealed through a living dynamic relationship with God Himself, who is continually revealing more and more of Himself to us. This seems to be an ongoing revelation, to the degree that we can bear it, and to the degree that we can both open our hearts to receive God, and to receive the truth about ourselves and about Reality as a whole. As St Paul says, “Now we see darkly, but then we shall see face to face”.
Recognizing the truth about ourselves can be tricky. It can be shattering, and it can be surprising. As fallen, wounded human beings, we erect defense mechanisms from a very young age to help us survive and navigate in an often painful, lonely world. These defense mechanisms often take the form of negative beliefs about ourselves and others. Shame will tell me that I am a piece of sh**, undeserving of God’s love and forgiveness. The Holy Spirit brings comfort and truth, reminding me that I am indeed made in God’s image and likeness, and that He loves me and seeks union with me with all of His heart! Fear and deep hurt tell me that other people and the world itself is dangerous and lead me to wall myself off from everything. Sometimes we can become timid and hide, not daring to express the gifts given us by the Lord. Other times this defensive wall can be surrounded with barbed wire and shattered glass, attacking anyone who would dare to come near. It is from this defensive structure that some of us develop pride to protect us from the ravages of shame. We seek in many diverse ways to build ourselves up, often very unconsciously. The spiritual life is an ongoing process of unveiling the truth about ourselves, and being transformed by this process. Indeed, “the truth can set us free”.
“Who art everywhere present and fillest all things”. What a remarkable statement of the nature of Reality! God himself is an integral part of all things. St. Paul preaches that in God we live and move and have our being. When I was 10, I started going to a Catholic school, because it was the best around. For the first time, I received a real catechism and was taught that Christians believe that Jesus is God the Son and actually rose from the dead. Well, I was a scientist at age 10 and I realized that there was no way anyone could possibly prove any of this, using the scientific method. So, I sadly acknowledged that I couldn’t possibly be a Christian. My poor mother had no idea what to make of this pronouncement! However, when I tried to apply this same logic to the existence of God Himself, I couldn’t. And this is because I saw God everywhere. In the trees, and the birds and the flowers. I saw Him in the stars and the sun and the moon. He was “everywhere present”. This was greatly comforting to me, but also very bewildering. It was my first intimation that Truth existed outside of science. However, nothing else about God was revealed to me at that time, so I was left knowing that God Was, but I had no way of learning anything else about Him, or entering into a real relationship with Him. That came later.
This is because there is a difference between God filling all things with his creative and sustaining Presence, and the Holy Spirit actually abiding within us. But we will look at that shortly.

O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Who are everywhere present and fillest all things. Treasury of blessings, and Giver of Life. Come and abide in us and cleanse us from all impurity, and save our souls, O good Lord.

As we celebrate the great and glorious feast of Pentecost, 2024, it is incumbent upon us to contemplate the Holy Spirit Himself, with awe and gratitude. This prayer, so easy to ignore because we say it by rote so many times, calls upon us to actually pay attention to the profound revelation it contains. I invite us all now to slowly and mindfully explore the spiritual richness revealed in this prayer.
Let us start.
“O heavenly king, comforter”: Right from the beginning this prayer reminds us that the Holy Spirit shares heavenly Kingship with the Father and the Son. But this “kingship” does not render the Holy Spirit distant and untouchable. No. He is our comforter! This is a deeply personal description. As human beings, we are used to being comforted by people close to us, who love us and with whom we share our deepest wounds and griefs. These might be parents, spouses or very close friends. We don’t usually think of our king in that role. To me, the word “king” connotes someone up on a throne, distant and glorious, to be feared and worshipped from afar. This is not typically someone with whom I would even think of sharing my deepest pain. But here, at the start of all our prayers and worship services, the Holy Spirit is introduced and revealed as a source of comfort and therefore, as one to whom we can indeed reveal our deepest pain and anguish. And it is in answer to the bold statement of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount, where He reassures us that those that mourn will be comforted.
For what do we need comfort? As an Orthodox Christian, my mind immediately goes to the anguish and frustration of our spiritual struggle against sin. Isn’t it astonishing that God Himself can meet us in the middle of this struggle and recurrent experience of failure to bring comfort and hope. But I don’t think we have to stop there. The Holy Spirit, in our hearts, can “heal the broken-hearted”. He can bring loving, compassionate comfort in the middle of our profound grief and loss. He can comfort and encourage us as we face the suffering of the world around us. Sometimes I feel so powerless in making a difference, that I just want to give up, wall off my heart, and bury my head in the sand. But with the comfort and presence of the Holy Spirit imbuing my life, I can be encouraged to keep on keeping on. I certainly couldn’t participate in the battle against evil and suffering without it. What is more, this comfort comes with Truth.
“Spirit of Truth” tells us that this prayer is indeed directed to the Holy Spirit, rather than Christ or the Father. Jesus says “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” So here we have a reference to the idea that the Holy Spirit is indeed the Spirit of Christ.
I also interpret this phrase as reassuring us that we can turn to God Himself with our doubts, questions and confusions, with the trust that He will reveal truth to us, as we ask. There have been times in my walk with God, that my old assumptions about my faith have been challenged, and sometimes even shattered. I remember being so frightened that I would lose my salvation, as I grew into an expanded understanding of Christianity. This scary growth included converting to Orthodoxy from the Evangelical Church many years ago. I have kept seeking the Lord, often in tears, for Truth. I have now grown into trusting the Lord with my salvation and trusting that He will indeed keep revealing truth to me, providing I keep my heart open to Him. And I can trust Him for help in keeping that heart open and receptive.
I want to suggest that the phrase “Spirit of Truth” implies that all Truth is contained within God and is indeed revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. Christianity is a revealed religion. It is not a faith which is to be arrived at through intellectual discourse. It is revealed through a living dynamic relationship with God Himself, who is continually revealing more and more of Himself to us. This seems to be an ongoing revelation, to the degree that we can bear it, and to the degree that we can both open our hearts to receive God, and to receive the truth about ourselves and about Reality as a whole. As St Paul says, “Now we see darkly, but then we shall see face to face”.
Recognizing the truth about ourselves can be tricky. It can be shattering, and it can be surprising. As fallen, wounded human beings, we erect defense mechanisms from a very young age to help us survive and navigate in an often painful, lonely world. These defense mechanisms often take the form of negative beliefs about ourselves and others. Shame will tell me that I am a piece of sh**, undeserving of God’s love and forgiveness. The Holy Spirit brings comfort and truth, reminding me that I am indeed made in God’s image and likeness, and that He loves me and seeks union with me with all of His heart! Fear and deep hurt tell me that other people and the world itself is dangerous and lead me to wall myself off from everything. Sometimes we can become timid and hide, not daring to express the gifts given us by the Lord. Other times this defensive wall can be surrounded with barbed wire and shattered glass, attacking anyone who would dare to come near. It is from this defensive structure that some of us develop pride to protect us from the ravages of shame. We seek in many diverse ways to build ourselves up, often very unconsciously. The spiritual life is an ongoing process of unveiling the truth about ourselves, and being transformed by this process. Indeed, “the truth can set us free”.
“Who art everywhere present and fillest all things”. What a remarkable statement of the nature of Reality! God himself is an integral part of all things. St. Paul preaches that in God we live and move and have our being. When I was 10, I started going to a Catholic school, because it was the best around. For the first time, I received a real catechism and was taught that Christians believe that Jesus is God the Son and actually rose from the dead. Well, I was a scientist at age 10 and I realized that there was no way anyone could possibly prove any of this, using the scientific method. So, I sadly acknowledged that I couldn’t possibly be a Christian. My poor mother had no idea what to make of this pronouncement! However, when I tried to apply this same logic to the existence of God Himself, I couldn’t. And this is because I saw God everywhere. In the trees, and the birds and the flowers. I saw Him in the stars and the sun and the moon. He was “everywhere present”. This was greatly comforting to me, but also very bewildering. It was my first intimation that Truth existed outside of science. However, nothing else about God was revealed to me at that time, so I was left knowing that God Was, but I had no way of learning anything else about Him, or entering into a real relationship with Him. That came later.
This is because there is a difference between God filling all things with his creative and sustaining Presence, and the Holy Spirit actually abiding within us. But we will look at that shortly.

O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Who are everywhere present and fillest all things. Treasury of blessings, and Giver of Life. Come and abide in us and cleanse us from all impurity, and save our souls, O good Lord.

As we celebrate the great and glorious feast of Pentecost, 2024, it is incumbent upon us to contemplate the Holy Spirit Himself, with awe and gratitude. This prayer, so easy to ignore because we say it by rote so many times, calls upon us to actually pay attention to the profound revelation it contains. I invite us all now to slowly and mindfully explore the spiritual richness revealed in this prayer.
Let us start.
“O heavenly king, comforter”: Right from the beginning this prayer reminds us that the Holy Spirit shares heavenly Kingship with the Father and the Son. But this “kingship” does not render the Holy Spirit distant and untouchable. No. He is our comforter! This is a deeply personal description. As human beings, we are used to being comforted by people close to us, who love us and with whom we share our deepest wounds and griefs. These might be parents, spouses or very close friends. We don’t usually think of our king in that role. To me, the word “king” connotes someone up on a throne, distant and glorious, to be feared and worshipped from afar. This is not typically someone with whom I would even think of sharing my deepest pain. But here, at the start of all our prayers and worship services, the Holy Spirit is introduced and revealed as a source of comfort and therefore, as one to whom we can indeed reveal our deepest pain and anguish. And it is in answer to the bold statement of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount, where He reassures us that those that mourn will be comforted.
For what do we need comfort? As an Orthodox Christian, my mind immediately goes to the anguish and frustration of our spiritual struggle against sin. Isn’t it astonishing that God Himself can meet us in the middle of this struggle and recurrent experience of failure to bring comfort and hope. But I don’t think we have to stop there. The Holy Spirit, in our hearts, can “heal the broken-hearted”. He can bring loving, compassionate comfort in the middle of our profound grief and loss. He can comfort and encourage us as we face the suffering of the world around us. Sometimes I feel so powerless in making a difference, that I just want to give up, wall off my heart, and bury my head in the sand. But with the comfort and presence of the Holy Spirit imbuing my life, I can be encouraged to keep on keeping on. I certainly couldn’t participate in the battle against evil and suffering without it. What is more, this comfort comes with Truth.
“Spirit of Truth” tells us that this prayer is indeed directed to the Holy Spirit, rather than Christ or the Father. Jesus says “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” So here we have a reference to the idea that the Holy Spirit is indeed the Spirit of Christ.
I also interpret this phrase as reassuring us that we can turn to God Himself with our doubts, questions and confusions, with the trust that He will reveal truth to us, as we ask. There have been times in my walk with God, that my old assumptions about my faith have been challenged, and sometimes even shattered. I remember being so frightened that I would lose my salvation, as I grew into an expanded understanding of Christianity. This scary growth included converting to Orthodoxy from the Evangelical Church many years ago. I have kept seeking the Lord, often in tears, for Truth. I have now grown into trusting the Lord with my salvation and trusting that He will indeed keep revealing truth to me, providing I keep my heart open to Him. And I can trust Him for help in keeping that heart open and receptive.
I want to suggest that the phrase “Spirit of Truth” implies that all Truth is contained within God and is indeed revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. Christianity is a revealed religion. It is not a faith which is to be arrived at through intellectual discourse. It is revealed through a living dynamic relationship with God Himself, who is continually revealing more and more of Himself to us. This seems to be an ongoing revelation, to the degree that we can bear it, and to the degree that we can both open our hearts to receive God, and to receive the truth about ourselves and about Reality as a whole. As St Paul says, “Now we see darkly, but then we shall see face to face”.
Recognizing the truth about ourselves can be tricky. It can be shattering, and it can be surprising. As fallen, wounded human beings, we erect defense mechanisms from a very young age to help us survive and navigate in an often painful, lonely world. These defense mechanisms often take the form of negative beliefs about ourselves and others. Shame will tell me that I am a piece of sh**, undeserving of God’s love and forgiveness. The Holy Spirit brings comfort and truth, reminding me that I am indeed made in God’s image and likeness, and that He loves me and seeks union with me with all of His heart! Fear and deep hurt tell me that other people and the world itself is dangerous and lead me to wall myself off from everything. Sometimes we can become timid and hide, not daring to express the gifts given us by the Lord. Other times this defensive wall can be surrounded with barbed wire and shattered glass, attacking anyone who would dare to come near. It is from this defensive structure that some of us develop pride to protect us from the ravages of shame. We seek in many diverse ways to build ourselves up, often very unconsciously. The spiritual life is an ongoing process of unveiling the truth about ourselves, and being transformed by this process. Indeed, “the truth can set us free”.
“Who art everywhere present and fillest all things”. What a remarkable statement of the nature of Reality! God himself is an integral part of all things. St. Paul preaches that in God we live and move and have our being. When I was 10, I started going to a Catholic school, because it was the best around. For the first time, I received a real catechism and was taught that Christians believe that Jesus is God the Son and actually rose from the dead. Well, I was a scientist at age 10 and I realized that there was no way anyone could possibly prove any of this, using the scientific method. So, I sadly acknowledged that I couldn’t possibly be a Christian. My poor mother had no idea what to make of this pronouncement! However, when I tried to apply this same logic to the existence of God Himself, I couldn’t. And this is because I saw God everywhere. In the trees, and the birds and the flowers. I saw Him in the stars and the sun and the moon. He was “everywhere present”. This was greatly comforting to me, but also very bewildering. It was my first intimation that Truth existed outside of science. However, nothing else about God was revealed to me at that time, so I was left knowing that God Was, but I had no way of learning anything else about Him, or entering into a real relationship with Him. That came later.
This is because there is a difference between God filling all things with his creative and sustaining Presence, and the Holy Spirit actually abiding within us. But we will look at that shortly.

O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Who are everywhere present and fillest all things. Treasury of blessings, and Giver of Life. Come and abide in us and cleanse us from all impurity, and save our souls, O good Lord.

As we celebrate the great and glorious feast of Pentecost, 2024, it is incumbent upon us to contemplate the Holy Spirit Himself, with awe and gratitude. This prayer, so easy to ignore because we say it by rote so many times, calls upon us to actually pay attention to the profound revelation it contains. I invite us all now to slowly and mindfully explore the spiritual richness revealed in this prayer.
Let us start.
“O heavenly king, comforter”: Right from the beginning this prayer reminds us that the Holy Spirit shares heavenly Kingship with the Father and the Son. But this “kingship” does not render the Holy Spirit distant and untouchable. No. He is our comforter! This is a deeply personal description. As human beings, we are used to being comforted by people close to us, who love us and with whom we share our deepest wounds and griefs. These might be parents, spouses or very close friends. We don’t usually think of our king in that role. To me, the word “king” connotes someone up on a throne, distant and glorious, to be feared and worshipped from afar. This is not typically someone with whom I would even think of sharing my deepest pain. But here, at the start of all our prayers and worship services, the Holy Spirit is introduced and revealed as a source of comfort and therefore, as one to whom we can indeed reveal our deepest pain and anguish. And it is in answer to the bold statement of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount, where He reassures us that those that mourn will be comforted.
For what do we need comfort? As an Orthodox Christian, my mind immediately goes to the anguish and frustration of our spiritual struggle against sin. Isn’t it astonishing that God Himself can meet us in the middle of this struggle and recurrent experience of failure to bring comfort and hope. But I don’t think we have to stop there. The Holy Spirit, in our hearts, can “heal the broken-hearted”. He can bring loving, compassionate comfort in the middle of our profound grief and loss. He can comfort and encourage us as we face the suffering of the world around us. Sometimes I feel so powerless in making a difference, that I just want to give up, wall off my heart, and bury my head in the sand. But with the comfort and presence of the Holy Spirit imbuing my life, I can be encouraged to keep on keeping on. I certainly couldn’t participate in the battle against evil and suffering without it. What is more, this comfort comes with Truth.
“Spirit of Truth” tells us that this prayer is indeed directed to the Holy Spirit, rather than Christ or the Father. Jesus says “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” So here we have a reference to the idea that the Holy Spirit is indeed the Spirit of Christ.
I also interpret this phrase as reassuring us that we can turn to God Himself with our doubts, questions and confusions, with the trust that He will reveal truth to us, as we ask. There have been times in my walk with God, that my old assumptions about my faith have been challenged, and sometimes even shattered. I remember being so frightened that I would lose my salvation, as I grew into an expanded understanding of Christianity. This scary growth included converting to Orthodoxy from the Evangelical Church many years ago. I have kept seeking the Lord, often in tears, for Truth. I have now grown into trusting the Lord with my salvation and trusting that He will indeed keep revealing truth to me, providing I keep my heart open to Him. And I can trust Him for help in keeping that heart open and receptive.
I want to suggest that the phrase “Spirit of Truth” implies that all Truth is contained within God and is indeed revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. Christianity is a revealed religion. It is not a faith which is to be arrived at through intellectual discourse. It is revealed through a living dynamic relationship with God Himself, who is continually revealing more and more of Himself to us. This seems to be an ongoing revelation, to the degree that we can bear it, and to the degree that we can both open our hearts to receive God, and to receive the truth about ourselves and about Reality as a whole. As St Paul says, “Now we see darkly, but then we shall see face to face”.
Recognizing the truth about ourselves can be tricky. It can be shattering, and it can be surprising. As fallen, wounded human beings, we erect defense mechanisms from a very young age to help us survive and navigate in an often painful, lonely world. These defense mechanisms often take the form of negative beliefs about ourselves and others. Shame will tell me that I am a piece of sh**, undeserving of God’s love and forgiveness. The Holy Spirit brings comfort and truth, reminding me that I am indeed made in God’s image and likeness, and that He loves me and seeks union with me with all of His heart! Fear and deep hurt tell me that other people and the world itself is dangerous and lead me to wall myself off from everything. Sometimes we can become timid and hide, not daring to express the gifts given us by the Lord. Other times this defensive wall can be surrounded with barbed wire and shattered glass, attacking anyone who would dare to come near. It is from this defensive structure that some of us develop pride to protect us from the ravages of shame. We seek in many diverse ways to build ourselves up, often very unconsciously. The spiritual life is an ongoing process of unveiling the truth about ourselves, and being transformed by this process. Indeed, “the truth can set us free”.
“Who art everywhere present and fillest all things”. What a remarkable statement of the nature of Reality! God himself is an integral part of all things. St. Paul preaches that in God we live and move and have our being. When I was 10, I started going to a Catholic school, because it was the best around. For the first time, I received a real catechism and was taught that Christians believe that Jesus is God the Son and actually rose from the dead. Well, I was a scientist at age 10 and I realized that there was no way anyone could possibly prove any of this, using the scientific method. So, I sadly acknowledged that I couldn’t possibly be a Christian. My poor mother had no idea what to make of this pronouncement! However, when I tried to apply this same logic to the existence of God Himself, I couldn’t. And this is because I saw God everywhere. In the trees, and the birds and the flowers. I saw Him in the stars and the sun and the moon. He was “everywhere present”. This was greatly comforting to me, but also very bewildering. It was my first intimation that Truth existed outside of science. However, nothing else about God was revealed to me at that time, so I was left knowing that God Was, but I had no way of learning anything else about Him, or entering into a real relationship with Him. That came later.
This is because there is a difference between God filling all things with his creative and sustaining Presence, and the Holy Spirit actually abiding within us. But we will look at that shortly.

By Mat. Christina Veselak

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