Day 2C: Flowers, and The Holy Spirit Hole

"St. Stephen's Cathedral - Holy Ghost Hole" (Passau, Germany) by Pennhoosier

Readings for Meditation

The flowers appear on the earth; the time of 

singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove 

is heard in our land.

(Song of Solomon 2:12)

And can any of you by worrying add a single hour 

to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 

yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory 

was not clothed like one of these.

(Luke 12:25-27)

"The Lord has come bringing the heavenly drops with Him, and so now we drink, who before were thirsty and... drink in that Divine Spirit."
- Saint Ambrose

Since Shavuot is observed as the season of the grain harvest, every attempt was made to bring the abundance of the agriculture inside the synagogues. To this day, it is customary on the night before Shavuot to fill the temple with flowers, particularly roses. Similarly, Christian churches are decorated for Pentecost with greenery, especially in the Orthodox tradition. 
In the church of the Middle Ages, a custom feature of European cathedrals was to have a hole in the ceiling through which it was believed the Holy Spirit would descend. This hole was decorated with flowers as an invitational and enticing gesture.

Silence for Prayer

Consider including those in arid and unvegetated places, in your prayers.
Pray for the care of creation; for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

LC† Awaiting the Spirit: Prayer Watch for Pentecost is a project of
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