The Flower of the Holy Spirit and The Day of Pentecost

This is one of the orchid species named “Flower of the Holy Spirit”.

 It starts blooming during Pentecostal period once a year. Before bloom, it looks like praying saints, 

when the flower blooms; it looks like a flying dove. How amazing is God’s Creation!

This flower is the national flower of Panama, the Spanish speaking territory called the Republic of Panama. This country usually considered to be entirely in North America or Central America. It  borders the coast of Costa Rica to the west, Colombia  (in South America) to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific ocean to the south. The capital and largest city is Panama City, whose metropolitan area is home to nearly half of the country's 4.1 million people. Panama was inhabited by several indigenous tribes prior to settlement by the Spanish in the 16th century.

Panama broke away from Spain in 1821 and joined a unioin of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela named the Republic of Gran Colombia. When Gran Colombia dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada remained joined, eventually becoming the republic of Colombia. With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, allowing the Panama Canal to be built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. Many Barbadians went to Panama to work on the construction of the Panama Canal.  In 1977 an agreement was signed for the total transfer of the Canal from the United States to Panama by the end of the 2oth century, which culminated on 31 December 1999.  For further reading go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama.

Here are the lyric to the National Anthem of Panama in Spanish and in English

Coro

Alcanzamos por fin la victoria
En el campo feliz de la unión;
Con ardientes fulgores de gloria
Se ilumina la nueva nación!

Es preciso cubrir con un velo
Del pasado el calvario y la cruz;
Y que adorne el azul de tu cielo
De concordia la espléndida luz.

El progreso acaricia tus lares.
Al compás de sublime canción,
Ves rugir a tus pies ambos mares
Que dan rumbo a tu noble misión.

(Coro)

En tu suelo cubierto de flores
A los besos del tibio terral,
Terminaron guerreros fragores;
Sólo reina el amor fraternal.

Adelante la pica y la pala,
Al trabajo sin más dilación,
Y seremos así prez y gala
De este mundo feraz de Colón.

(Coro)

English

At last we reached victory

In the joyous field of the union;

With ardent fires of glory

A new nation is aight. (Repeat last 2 lines.)

It is necessary to cover with a veil

the past times of Calvary and cross;

Let now the blue skies be adorned with

the splendid light of the concord.

Progress caresses your path.

To the rhythm of a subline song.

You see both your seas roar at your feet

Givig you a path to your noble mission.

At last we reached victory

In the joyous field of the union;

With ardent fires of glory

A new nation is alight. (Repeat last 2 lines.)

In your soil covered with flowers

To the kisses of the warm clouds of dust,

Warrior roars have ceased;

Only fraternal love reigns.

Ahead the shovel and pick,

At work without any more dilation,

And we will be as such at work and gala

Of this fruitful world of Columbus.

At last we reached victory

In the joyous field of the union;

With ardent fires of glory

A new nation is alight. (Repeat last 2 lines.)

The flower of the Holy Spirit is a rare orchid as you can see. Original of the Central America and Colombia Ecosystem, grows in warm climates and there are few species. Its scientific name is Peristeria Elata.

The plant is a terrestrial, with long pleated leaves that grow from the top of large, round pseudobulbs. The flower spikes are about 3 feet in height and can have up to 2 dozen flowers. It blooms between July and October. It is not easy to cultivate. The flower is beautiful, white, very thick, and waxy like in appearance. Inside of the white cup, is a perfect shaped dove, hence the name“Flor del Espiruto Santo”. The wings of the dove have reddish-purple spots on its surface. The flowers are very fragrant and long lasting, especially, since the flowers don’t all open at the same time, but continue opening over a long period of time (2 – 3 months). 

Also known as the dove flower as it resembles a flock of doves in flight with its long narrow leaves, up to 3 feet in length and between 10 – 15 white, waxy fragrant flower. It can grow up to 5 ft (1.5 m).

The Day of Pentecost marked a turning point in the early Christian church. Pentecost, is Jewish feast, was celebrated 50 days after Passover, and pilgrims had come to Jerusalem from all over the world to celebrate the event.

The 12 apostles were gathered together in a house when a terrific wind came from heaven and filled the place. They saw tongues that looked like fire that separated and came down on each of them.

Immediately the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit, who caused them to speak in tongues. The crowds of visitors were astonished because every pilgrim heard the apostles speaking to him or her in their own foreign language! Some accused the apostles of being drunk.

The Apostle Peter stood and addressed them, saying they were not drunk. It was only nine o’clock in the morning. Then, empowered by the Holy Spirit, Peter preached boldly to them, explaining about Jesus Christ and God’s plan of salvation.

The crowd was so moved when Peter told them of their part in Jesus’ crucifixion that they asked the apostles,“Brothers, what shall we do?”(Acts 2:37, KJV).  

The right response, Peter told them, was to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. He promised that they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. They took the gospel message to heart. About 3,000 people were baptized and added to the fledgling Christian church. On that Day of Pentecost the apostles had chosen Mathias to replace Judas Iscariot, who had hanged himself. That brought their number back to 12.

Before his ascension into heaven, Jesus had promised his disciples that he would send the Holy Spirit to give them strength and wisdom to spread the gospel throughout the world. (See Acts 1:8).

The apostles’ ability to address these foreign visitors in their own languages was a miracle from God. After they were filled with the Holy Spirit, the 12 did many other miracles and wondrous signs.  So right from the start of the church, we see that God intended His offer of salvation to extend to all the nations of this world we live in. Therefore, whoever calls on the name of Jesus, repents, and believes in Him will be saved and that is the blessed hope of His salvation. Today, believers in Jesus are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. We cannot live the Christian life without His help. We are to call on Him whenever we need strength or guidance.

In a reflective mood, I believe that when it comes to Jesus Christ, each of us must answer the same question as the early seekers of Christ did. We cannot live the Christian life without divine intervention and with our heads bow and knees bent in daily prayer. The beauty of God our creator, and redeemer is awesome in all His creation and when you look at His handy work in the creation of this gorgeous  flower  can you deny God’ presence?