The Victory of Love

Since the Sunday following Pascha, the apostle Thomas, by saying to the Living Christ, "My Lord and my God", has charted for us the course to Pentecost. The Holy Spirit will descend upon us to guide us all, both as a community and as individuals, to recognize that Christ is our Lord and God. "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:3). The highest purpose of today's celebration of the feast of the Holy Fathers, who have formulated the doctrine at the First Ecumenical Council (325 AD), is for the Church to tell us that Christ, Who has ascended to heaven and is now out of our sight in His glory, remains with us until the end of the world. The Living God is His Active Presence. The coming Spirit, the other Counselor Who will be with us for ever (John 14:16), will reveal this Presence to us in enduring forms: in the “breaking of the bread”, in the Word and its sharing it out, in serving the poor, and in love and friendship... Christ is with us; this is a victory over all death and ignorance. This is the victory of love.