Prayer to the Holy Father
Almighty, immaculate God, Father without origin; invisible, infinite, indescribable, uncircumscribable, immutable, unknowable, unreachable; you, who alone have immortality, abiding in unapproachable light;Through your Word, you created the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land, and all creatures that are in them; and through your Spirit, all creatures came into existence.And for the sake of your infinite love for the human race [Eph 2:4-5], you sent your only-begotten Son to save us from the curse of Adam. He descended from heaven, took body from the holy and immaculate Virgin Mary by means of the Holy Spirit. He bore all human passions except for sin, and he liberated us from the passions of sin. And having endured the cross and death for us, he liberated us from servitude to Satan and from the adoration of idols.And he taught [us] to bend our knees and necks to the all-Holy Trinity, to offer prayers, and to ask for the forgiveness of our sins.And after his resurrection, he appeared to his disciples with various signs [Acts 1:3-4], sharing the bread with them for forty days, for the establishment of the faith of his life-giving economy.And when he ascended into heaven on the fortieth day of his resurrection, he placed his hand upon, and blessed his disciples [Lk 24:50], bestowing upon them the perfect gifts of apostleship. And he opened their minds to comprehend the Scriptures [Lk 24:32]. He commanded them to remain in Jerusalem and to await the divine promise [Acts 1:4], the good news of the heavenly Father who loves mankind.You, Lord, gave the human race the infinite grace of your mercy. You sent the Holy Spirit, consubstantial with you, on this great Sunday, at the completion of the fiftieth day of the resurrection of the Savior, at the third hour, when the first father was created by the life-giving divine breath of the Holy Spirit [Gen 2:7], lost to him because he tasted the fruit and died. Again at the same hour, he was brought back to life by the descent of the Holy Spirit on the ranks of the apostles. Appearing in tongues of fire, [the Holy Spirit] rested upon them [Acts 2:4] and filled them with all-abundant grace to speak in every tongue and ear, ministering with one voice to the Holy Spirit. He gave birth, as a first birth, to the three thousand [Acts 2:41], in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit [Mt 28:19], and they first worshipped the Holy Trinity.With them, today we too bend our knee and our neck and beseech with your apostles. Receive our adoration with theirs, and [with those] who, with the same worthiness, have mystically adored you until now.Hear us on this great day of Pentecost, on the very day that you sent the Holy Spirit here below, after the ascension into heaven of your Son Jesus, in whom, we call to you in faith.Look from the heights of your holiness upon these your people, who stand before you and await your great mercy.Send your beneficent Holy Spirit today into this your temple, and upon these who have assembled in it, as [you sent Him] in those days in the Upper Room upon the apostles.So that your only-begotten Son may always be sacrificed here, as in the upper room, where, delivering the Holy Mystery, he distributed it to the disciples at the mystical supper; and he washed their feet; and he appeared through the closed doors on the first Sunday of his resurrection in the evening [Jn 20:19, 26], and again on the eighth day in the upper room.And at the completion of these days of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended with a breath of wind, and he filled them with fire, together with the holy ones who were united to them.For this we glorify you, beneficent Lord, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we entreat you with all our heart. Look upon us in kindness, and remember in compassion and mercy us, who have suffered, and who have been condemned, and who take refuge in you. Reverse the enslavement of our spirits, seized by the Slanderer, and restore us, who have fallen and are lost.We entreat you, loving Lord, for although we have sinned, yet we have fallen on you from the womb of the font, and you are our God. Do not let us out of your hands, for our days of vanity have dwindled, and we have become disgraced before our enemies; the laughing-stock and the mockery of those who hate us.Instead, hoping in your mercy which came to be on this day, we implore you. Open for us the gate of your mercy [Ps 117:19] and purify us from the secrets of our sins.See the lowliness of your servants, and forgive us all our trespasses, voluntary and involuntary, known and unknown.Grant expiation for your people and cleanse us all by the power of your Holy Spirit.Save us from the clutch of the enemy and fortify our lives against the contriving snares of the Slanderer.Commit us to an angel of peace, you, who prepare what we need before we ask.Make us worthy before we die to turn to you in confession and in penance.Make of us, together with the holy apostles, a temple to receive your Holy Spirit [1Cor 6:19]. And with them, write our names in the book of life [Phil 4:3].Assemble all of us in your kingdom in the supernal Zion, in your heavenly and most high upper room. For mercy is yours, and to you, and to your only-begotten Son, and to the Holy Spirit we send up glory, now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
-John Chrysostom