Metropolitan Philaret on Holy Spirit Day

Here is my translation of a sermon by Metropolitan Philaret of Eastern America and New York on Holy Spirit Day:

The Orthodox Church yesterday celebrated the solemn feast of the All-Holy Trinity, and today is the second part of this feast, when the Church glorifies the All-Holy and Divine Spirit, Who descended on the Apostles and filled them with spiritual power. In the Six Psalms there are the following words: “My soul thirsteth after Thee like a waterless land,” that is, my soul stands before you like a land that is waterless.

Imagine land that has good seeds, but there is no water and they dry up. But if moisture falls upon them, they begin to sprout and grow. It is the same way with humans: the grace and power of the Spirit of God are as necessary for the human soul as this wonderworking moisture is for seeds. Without the grace of the Spirit of God all good beginnings, which the Lord earnestly planted in our soul, will remain fruitless and will grow only weeds.

How evil is growing in the human soul now, in our times! Never before in life has there been such filth, never have such outrages been committed, as are committed now, and there are almost no good crops! But, of course, for a Christian there is no foundation for despair, if he leads a good Christian life. Always pray, above all, that the Lord, by the power of the Holy Spirit, visited and healed, so that the soul would be roused from spiritual slumber and may bear good fruit, which the Lord has sown, and expects from every soul. Amen.