THE THIRTEENTH BYZANTINE ROSARY MYSTERY....The Descent Of The Holy Spirit

In our Western Church we like to wear red on Pentecost to honor the Holy Spirit. Red speaks of Divine Love and also (be aware!) speaks of the Fire of Purification He brings to souls who really want to know God. So, in the West, red, for the two kinds of fire. The East teaches exactly the same, but uses green for Pentecost, decorating the church and icon screen with green branches, and using ornate green vestments at Divine Liturgy, focusing on New Life and Growth brought to us by His descent. Looking at the icon of the Descent of the Holy Spirit in our little booklet mentioned earlier, it is the green - New Life - coming down from the upper part that gets my attention. New Life we cannot bring about all by ourselves - but only by the Spirit. In the end, maybe red and green should both be used on Pentecost, giving this great mystery an even brighter voice. Wait - Christmas in the neighborhood is red and green....maybe we have a teachable moment here for secular friends who wonder why red and green are so important? We could just "baptize" the secular color-custom. It is not as if the Church never did that before!