Sunday of the Holy Fathers

On this Sunday that falls between the Feasts of Ascension and Pentecost, we commemorate the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council who have defended the doctrine that Christ is “true God of true God”. The evangelical recitation, which we read today in the Liturgy (John 17:1-13), reveals where the fathers have drawn their teaching from. “What is the Father’s, is the Son’s”… The idea behind this feast is that the Church is expecting us to renew our confidence that the Son of God, “Whose Father has glorified with the glory which He had before the world was”, will remain with us “even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). How do we get strengthened in this faith? The answer is in the same recitation that shows Jesus praying for us. It is Jesus, in the Church, Who secures the faith in those who are united with Him in His prayer, yesterday, today and forever. The Spirit Who is coming at Pentecost is the One Who can ever make us comprehend this mystery, the mystery of Christ God and His Church.