Blessed Pentecost

Blessed Pentecost! It was a joy to celebrate the feast with a pavilion full of volunteers, boys, and staff. One of my favorite parts of Pentecost is our return to saying the “O Heavenly King” prayer. I love the melody that we chant here at the ranch:

O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, Who art everywhere and fillest all things, Treasury of Blessings and Giver of Life, come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity and save our souls, O Good One.

Project Mexico interns recently asked Father Nicholas Andruchow why we omit “O Heavenly King” from Pascha to Pentecost. He taught us that the omission allows us to walk with the apostles. Just as the Church asks us to participate in the events of Christ’s Passion during Holy Week, she invites us to join the disciples in anticipating the Holy Spirit during this period. From Christ’s Ascension to the coming of the Holy Spirit, the apostles were filled with nervous excitement, not quite knowing what to expect.

I experienced a similar anticipation when preparing to come to Project Mexico. From the time I was accepted as an intern until my arrival, I experienced a sort of nervous excitement. I tried to prepare as much as possible by listening to the “Stories of Hope” podcast and calling my intern friends. They told me I was in for a wonderful and challenging summer.

Arriving at Project Mexico was truly an experience of meeting the Holy Spirit. Like the apostles on the day of Pentecost, I found myself filled with joy. There are so many people here who carry the Spirit in their hearts, especially the niños and the families for whom we build. They inspire me to turn toward our Heavenly King and to implore Him to abide in me.

Have you experienced that anticipation of preparing to come down to Project Mexico? Have you been filled with that nervousness of not knowing what to expect in the homebuilding? Or that excitement of looking forward to encountering Christ in the orphanage? Come down and join us in meeting the Holy Spirit here in Mexico.

There are still spots for this summer!