Sunday of All Saints Homily 2023

Dear Brothers and Sisters!
Today is a special day for each of us. Our hearts are filled with indescribable Christian joy, which unites all believers. After all, today the Holy Church honors the memory of All Saints; that is why we all have birthdays today, each of us has an Angel’s Day.
How many saints are there in heaven? After all, every day the Holy Church honors the memory of one or another saint. Let us recall that it is impossible to enumerate the martyrs and confessors who gave their lives for Christ and the Church. And in order to remember each of the holy saints of God, it was established to celebrate the memory of all the saints on the first Sunday after Pentecost.
Indeed, there are people of various professions and status in the congregation of the holy saints of God. Among them are rich and poor, simple and noble, laymen, and priests. For the Lord, people are divided not according to their social and material situation, but according to their desire to get closer to the Kingdom of God. After all, some try to achieve earthly benefits, and others – spiritual.
One Christian woman diligently attended services at the local church, never missing a single service. This greatly displeased her unbelieving husband, who was an ideological communist and held a high position. He constantly demanded that she stay at home and sometimes even threatened to restrain her by force. One Sunday morning, the woman was about to go to the service, when her angry husband jumped up and shouted: “You are not going anywhere, today you are staying at home!” When the woman insisted that she was going to church, the man grabbed a gun, pointed it at his wife, and said, “Well, where are you going now?” The woman calmly answered: “If you press the trigger, I will go to heaven right away. If you don’t click it, I’m going to church”
There is another good story, a parable. There was one man who helped everyone, found time for everyone, looked at every person as Jesus. And he saw in each person not what he has, but who he really was. He tried to be happy and honest with everyone. One day God called an angel and said: “Go to him and give him whatever he asks.”
The angel came to the man and said: “God sent me to you; tell me what you want in your life. I can fulfill any of your wishes. Do you want to have the gift of healing?” And the man answered: “Let God heal.” “Maybe you want people to convert at your word?” But the man replied: “Let God’s word do it; I don’t want to do it.” So, the angel asked, “Maybe you want others to know about your good deeds, so that you become famous?” But the man replied, “Don’t do it, because I am a great sinner.” Still, the angel did not give up, but continued to say: “I have to give you some kind of gift.” Then the man said: “Do something that even I won’t know about.” So, this man received the gift that his shadow received a certain power. Then, when the shadow of this man fell on the sick, they became healthy; when it fell on the sad, they became joyful; when it fell on the dry, barren earth, it began to give birth. And this man, traveling the world, brought good and blessings to many, without even knowing when or how.
Dear believers! The main thing in the life of the saints was great love for our neighbor, because if we love our neighbor who is so close to us, then we can say with certainty that we love God who is in heaven. “…if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:12). This holiday reminds us of our vocation to holiness. So let the example of Christ and all the saints inspire us to live a life full of love for God and neighbor. There are saints, and thanks to them, the world continues its existence.

Sermon on Pentecost 2023

Dear brothers and sisters!
Today’s Sunday is one of the most joyful in the whole year and in the life of the Church. Remembering the memory of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, our hearts are filled with great joy, because on this day the promise of Jesus Christ, given to the apostles, was fulfilled: “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter to be with you forever, the Spirit of truth…” (Jn. 14:16,18). The descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles became a visible sign of their spiritual strengthening. They felt ready to boldly preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Father sends this same Spirit to us to strengthen us spiritually in faith and love, support us in the waves of trials and sufferings and faithfully lead us to the heavenly abodes.
In the Holy Scriptures, in the book of Genesis, there is a story about the Tower of Babel (cf. Genesis 11:1-9). Man set himself the goal of building a tower that would reach the sky with its top. Once again, humanity tries to become God and magnify its own name. However, things turned out quite differently. “They are one people and they all have one language, and this is just the beginning of their work: so, whatever they plan, it will not be difficult for them to do. So, let’s go down to earth and mix up their language so they don’t understand each other.” And the Lord scattered them from there throughout the land, and they stopped building the city” (Gen. 11:6-8).
In today’s holiday, we see something completely opposite: if the builders in Babylon had one language, and later stopped understanding each other, then during Pentecost, people who spoke different languages began to understand each other. If because of Babylon people were scattered all over the earth, then because of the sending of the Holy Spirit we are all united in one, single Church. In Babylon a person wanted to reach the heights of God on his own. To become like God, in today’s event, we see how the Holy Spirit descends on people. We can say that Babylon is like a mirror in which humanity sees only itself, and Pentecost is like a window through which we can see a glimpse of heaven.
In the Gospel of John, we read: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter… the Spirit of Truth… Who will guide you into all truth…” (cf. John 14:16-17; John 16:13).
The Holy Spirit descended on the apostles to unite them into one community. He also strengthened their faith by which they healed the sick. The Holy Spirit strengthened them spiritually, made them courageous witnesses of faith and preachers of the Gospel.
In the sending of the Holy Spirit, God revealed himself as the Holy Trinity. This event testifies that the entire Holy Trinity, all three persons – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, as a perfect community, act in a person’s life and participate in his and her sanctification. The task of the Holy Spirit is to help us be in unity with God, in unity with our neighbors, to take care of the unity of the whole Church. It is the unity of Christians, as the fruit of mutual love, that is an important sign of Christ’s disciples, for as Jesus said: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you have love among yourselves” (Jn. 13: 35).
Each of those present in the church today has been participating in services for many years, listening to various passages of the Gospel and sermons, explanations of Christ’s knowledge, instructions for a pious life. Think today, what impact did this wisdom have on your life? What new things did you discover, understand and remember in the Gospel for yourself? Have you discovered for yourself the understanding of at least one of God’s truths and applied it in your life? Can you explain in your own words the commandments, the truths of faith, the Holy Mysteries, explain life situations to others in the light of faith?
The same Spirit that descended on the apostles works in the Church today. We meet the Holy Spirit in the Sacraments of the Church, because through them we connect with the Holy Spirit. Through the Sacrament of Chrismation, which is given to everyone after the Sacrament of Baptism, He descends on each person. He is the giver of life, as the Holy Scriptures say: “The Spirit of God created me, and the breath of the Almighty quickens me” (Job 33:4).
The Holy Spirit gives us great gifts. It is about them that the apostle Paul writes: “And the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, kindness, faithfulness, quietness, self-control” (Gal 5:22-23).
Dear believers! The Holy Spirit still comes to each of us today. After all, today we pray in a special way to the Holy Spirit: “Come and dwell in us.” Through prayer, through the Holy Mysteries, we get closer to God, let’s remember this and try not just to accept and hide the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but to use and multiply them!