Pentecost
Feast Day: Fifty Days After Easter
Ten days after Jesus ascended into heaven, the Apostles were still hiding in a room in Jerusalem.
They were praying.
They were waiting.
They were probably a little nervous.
Then the wind came.
And the fearful fishermen walked out the door and changed the world.
Come, Holy Spirit.
The Day the Spirit Came
The Apostles were gathered with Mary and the other disciples.
“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming”
— Acts 2:2, Douay-Rheims
“And there appeared to them parted tongues as it were of fire, and it sat upon every one of them”
— Acts 2:3, Douay-Rheims
“And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.”
— Acts 2:4, Douay-Rheims
They began to speak in other languages.
Jerusalem was full of pilgrims from all over the world, and each one heard the Apostles speaking in his own language.
Some people thought the Apostles were drunk.
Peter pointed out that it was only nine in the morning.
Peter Preaches
Then Peter, the same man who had denied Jesus three times, stood up and preached to the crowd.
He told them that Jesus, whom they crucified, had risen from the dead.
The people were cut to the heart and asked what they should do.
“Do penance,” Peter said, “and be baptized every one of you.”
“They therefore that received his word, were baptized; and there were added in that day about three thousand souls.”
— Acts 2:41, Douay-Rheims
That is why Pentecost is often called the birthday of the Church.
Why “Pentecost”?
“Pentecost” comes from the Greek word for “fiftieth.”
It was already a Jewish feast, the Feast of Weeks, celebrated fifty days after Passover.
It gave thanks for the harvest and remembered God giving the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai.
On the Christian Pentecost, God gave something greater than a law written on stone.
He gave His own Spirit, to write His law on our hearts.
How the Church Celebrates
The priest wears red, the color of fire and of the Holy Spirit.
Before the Gospel, the Church sings the ancient Pentecost Sequence, Veni, Sancte Spiritus: “Come, Holy Spirit.”
Pentecost also closes the fifty days of the Easter season.
The next day, Ordinary Time begins again.
When Is It Celebrated?
Pentecost is celebrated fifty days after Easter, counting Easter Sunday as the first day.
It always falls on a Sunday, seven weeks after Easter.
In 2027, it falls on May 16.
In 2028, it falls on June 4.
What Pentecost Teaches Us
Pentecost teaches us that we cannot live the Christian life on our own strength.
We need the Holy Spirit.
Every Christian receives the Spirit in Baptism and is strengthened by Him in Confirmation.
The same Spirit who turned frightened fishermen into fearless preachers lives in us.
We only have to stop hiding in the upper room.
When Is Pentecost?
The Catholic Church celebrates Pentecost Sunday fifty days after Easter, the last day of the Easter season.
Prayer Inspired by Pentecost
Come, Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of Your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of Your love.
Give us courage where we are afraid,
words where we are silent,
and strength to share the Gospel with the world.
Come, Holy Spirit. Amen.
