Greetings on the Day of the Holy Spirit! God sent the Holy Spirit into the world on Pentecost; and, thereafter, it became possible for people to become participants in the fullness of divine grace. An example of the grace of the Holy Spirit at work within the life and words of Saint Seraphim has been preserved for us.
In November of 1831, a pious Orthodox Christian named Nicholas Motovilov met with Saint Seraphim and recorded his conversation. The notes by Motovilov were transcribed and published by Sergius Nilus, who wrote the following introduction:
“This revelation is undoubtedly of worldwide significance. True, there is nothing essentially new in it, for the full revelation was given to the apostles from the very day of Pentecost. But now that people have forgotten the fundamental truths of Christian life and are immersed in the darkness of materialism or the exterior and routine performance of ‘ascetic labors,’ St. Seraphim’s revelation is truly extraordinary, as indeed he himself regarded it.”
On this Feast of the Holy Spirit, we offer for your reading a brief excerpt of the conversation of Saint Seraphim of Sarov with Motovilov regarding the acquisition of the Holy Spirit as the aim of the Christian life:
“They have said to you: ‘Go to Church, pray to God, do the commandments of God, do good—that is the aim of the Christian life.’ Some were even indignant with you for being occupied with profane curiosity and said to you: ‘Do not seek things that are beyond you.’ But they did not speak as they should. And now poor Seraphim will explain to you in what this aim really consists. Prayer, fasting, vigil and all other Christian activities, however good they may be in themselves, do not constitute the aim of our Christian life, although they serve as the indispensable means of reaching this end. The true aim of our Christian life consists in the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God.”
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