St. Luke Byzantine Catholic Church

 The feast of  Pentecost is celebrated on June 8 this year. 

Liturgy:

Saturday, June 7 - Vespers at 4:30 pm

Sunday, June 8 -  Divine Liturgy at 10:00 am

“We celebrate the feast of Pentecost and of the descent of the Spirit, the fulfillment of promise and the achievement of hope. O how great and how exalted is the mystery!” (Pentecost Vespers, STICHERA, Tone 1). With these words we begin out liturgical celebration of Pentecost, solemnly concluding the yearly remembrance of our salvation. These words are taken from the famous homily of St. Gregory the Theologian, “On the Holy Spirit” which he delivered in Constantinople on the day of Pentecost, 381 A.D. According to St. Gregory, the descent of the Holy Spirit is the fulfillment of God’s promise, since Jesus Christ assured His Apostles that He would send them the “promise of the Father” (Lk 24:49). By the descent of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles received even more than they hoped for. The descent of the Holy Spirit brought to its completion the divine revelation of the Holy Trinity which St. Gregory called the “great and exalted mystery.” 

“We have seen the true light, we have received the Heavenly Spirit, we have found the true faith, and we worship the undivided Trinity; for the Trinity has saved us.” (Pentecost Vespers, STICHERA, Tone 2).  This “true faith” inspired St. Gregory of Nazianz to deliver his sermon about the divinity of the Holy Spirit, Who “completed the work of Christ.” Gregory’s sermon was addressed against the followers of his predecessor in the See of Constantinople, Archbishop Macedonius, (d. 362) who denied the divinity of the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity. 

Before His ascension, Jesus Christ instructed His Apostles to stay in Jerusalem and to wait for the “promise of His Father,” which was to be fulfilled in a few days Acts 1:4-5). After the Ascension, they returned from Mt. Olivet to the Upper Room where they spent their time in “continuous prayer” (Acts 1:14) and worship “in the temple” (Lk 24:53). This was the first retreat of prayer and meditation made by the Apostles, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the close followers of Christ. When they returned from the temple and gathered together in the Upper Room for morning prayers, suddenly the Holy Spirit descended upon them. Pentecost is a constant reminder of our own “baptism by the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5), which we received at the time of our Chrismation. 

Troparion: 

Blessed are you, O Christ our God. You have shown the fishermen to be all wise, sending down upon them the Holy Spirit. Through them, you have caught the whole world in your net. O Lover of us all, glory to you! 

Kontakion:

When the Most High descended and confused tongues, he scattered nations. When he distributed the tongues of fire, he called all to the unity. We also, with one voice, glorify the Most Holy Spirit. 

 The feast of Ascension is celebrated on the 40thday after Easter.  This year it is celebrated on May 29. 

Liturgy:

Wednesday, May 28 - Vespers at 7:00 pm

Thursday, May 29 -  Divine Liturgy at 7:00 pm

 An early Ascension homily by St. John Chrysostom is below.   

The theater of the Church is joyous to me, not amusing men working futility, but causing great weeping to the devil. He sees above those who were dead below, as roots of the Resurrection. He sees Whom he delivered to the cross below, beheld in the heavens. He sees angels on earth fulfillment. 

He sees Him paradoxically passing through the air. He sees the heavenly powers all gathered together to say: “Open the gates, our princes, and the King of glory shall enter”, and others saying in reply: “The Lord is strong and mighty in war.” Which war? That against the common foe oof all men, which neither men, nor prophets, neither the righteous were able to conquer,,,,

For all, today’s feast becomes even more serious, as we behold all the ranks of angels everywhere dancing, some following Him, other going before, others gathering around, others further with the choir of the apostles, telling them: O Galileans, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus Whom you see ascended from you into heaven, He will come again in the same manner as you saw Him ascend to heaven.” This is Jesus Who showed a multitude of wonders. At this feast of the Master, the day of the Ascension, the devil is wailing, as we said, while the faithful are joyful. Now has the joyous spring dawned, and the beauty of flowers blossomed. The branches of vines are pruned, the olive trees give their sweet fragrance, the fig trees give their immature fruit, and the wind blows rustling the leaves, mimicking the dancing of the waves: all things rejoice with us at the ascension of the Master. Bring, therefore, with us the words of David, that we might rightly cry out to the Master Who has ascended: “Let all the nations clap their hands, crying to God with a voice of rejoicing. The Lord ascends with the sound of the trumpet, to where He was.” He ascends but is not separated. For he who descended, has ascended above the heavens. The prophets saw no other, nor did the apostles eat with another. No other was in the bosom of the Father nor was another judged by Pilate. No other was nailed to the cross with nails, nor was another carried by the Cherubim. No other was wrapped in a shroud by Joseph, nor does another hold creation in the palm of his hand. No other was laid in a tomb, nor was another hymned by the Seraphim. No other is seated with the Father, Who took root in the virginal womb. God ascended with a shout, the Lord with the cry of the trumpet, He Who is the Creator from the ages, Who brought all things into being, Who fashioned Adam, Who generated human nature, Who translated to life Enoch who pleased Him, Who preserved Noah together with the world, Who made Isaac to be a sign of the mystery of the cross, Who granted Jacob the twelve-pillars of offspring, Who granted Job patience, Who made Moses to become the leader of the people, Who filled Samuel with prophecy from his mother’s womb, Who anointed David as king from the prophets, Who granted Solomon wisdom, Who took up Elias in a flaming chariot, Who instilled the prophet with foreknowledge, Who granted the apostles gifts of healing , and Who cried to them: “Take heart, I have overcome the world.”  This is the Lord of glory Who is ascended into the heavens with a shout, and is seated on the right hand of the Father. Under His authority are angels, and dominions and powers, and it is He Who receives our pained prayers, and makes us victors over the pirates of the world. Under His dominion is every rank of the unclean spirits, as He says to us: “Behold, I have given you authority to trample upon snakes and scorpions.” 

Unharmed and spotless, healthy and whole, preserve us in soul and body and spirit, filling us with the fruits of righteousness and fruitfulness, You Who are the God of all, You Who didst make us worthy to gather to celebrate this feast, for to You belong all glory, honor and worship, to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever. Amen.

Troparion (Tone 4):

You ascended in glory, O Christ our God, granting joy to Your disciples by the promise of the Holy Spirit, Whom You pledged to them by Your blessing; for You are the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world. 

Kontakion (Tone 6):

When you fulfilled the plan of salvation for us, and united all things on earth to those in heaven, O Christ our God, You ascended in glory without leaving us; You proclaimed to those who love You: "I am with you and nobody will prevail against you."