The Solemnity of Pentecost

The Pentecost by El Greco
1596-1600, oil on canvas

The Solemnity of Pentecost is a major celebration of the liturgical year, and among the Church's most joyful ones. It marks the close of the Easter Season, and it is sometimes informally referred to as the birthday of the Church. Pentecost was already a Jewish feast during Jesus' time, and it was celebrated 50 days after Passover. For first-century Jews, Pentecost, also known as the feast of Weeks, was a harvest feast which celebrated the success of the first spring wheat harvests. It was one of three feasts during which Jews were expected to travel to Jerusalem as pilgrims, which explains why today's first reading from Acts tells us that "devout Jews" from so many different nations were in Jerusalem for the feast. Of course for Christians, although the name of the feast has remained the same, the meaning is very different. On Pentecost we celebrate the reception of the Holy Spirit and the beginning of the Church's mission, which we hear about in the Mass readings today. (Please note: if you attended the Vigil Mass for Pentecost, you should've heard different readings from the ones that I will be mentioning below. The lectionary specifies different readings for the Vigil Mass of Pentecost from the ones that are supposed to be used for the Mass during the daytime on Sunday.)

Although there are many different symbols used for the Holy Spirit throughout both the Old and New Testaments -- all of which are explained very nicely in paragraphs 694-701 from the Catechism -- today's readings rely on two primary ones: 1) fire and 2) wind or breath. (The Hebrew word ruah can be translated as either wind or breath, and it sometimes used in both senses in Scripture.) The first reading from Acts tells us, "And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them." The Spirit's arrival here on Mt. Zion (Jerusalem) is accompanied by loud noise and fire, much like the revelation of God to Moses was on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19:16-19). This similarity is not coincidental. Luke is trying to drive home the point that the Church is now empowered to live out the New Covenant in the same way that the Israelites had been empowered by God at the time of the first Covenant.

As for the symbolism of fire, the Catechism has this to say about this particular symbol of the Holy Spirit:

(696) While water signifies birth and the fruitfulness of life given in the Holy Spirit, fire symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions. The prayer of the prophet Elijah, who "arose like fire" and whose "word burned like a torch," brought down fire from heaven on the sacrifice on Mount Carmel. This event was a "figure" of the fire of the Holy Spirit, who transforms what he touches. John the Baptist, who goes "before [the Lord] in the spirit and power of Elijah," proclaims Christ as the one who "will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." Jesus will say of the Spirit: "I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!" In the form of tongues "as of fire," the Holy Spirit rests on the disciples on the morning of Pentecost and fills them with himself. The spiritual tradition has retained this symbolism of fire as one of the most expressive images of the Holy Spirit's actions. "Do not quench the Spirit."

You can clearly see how the emphasis in the story from Acts is on this transformative power of the Holy Spirit. The effects of the Apostles' reception of the Spirit is immediate: they begin to speak in different tongues. The Holy Spirit is already at work in them, transforming them and empowering them to proclaim the "mighty acts of God" to all those assembled in Jerusalem.

The second reading from 1 Corinithians tells us even more about the transformation that the Holy Spirit works in the Church, bestowing gifts and graces to us all in order to equip us for the mission we've been called to perform. Although each of us is granted different gifts and called to different ministries or forms of service, the Spirit is the source of them all and is the source of unity in the Church.

Brothers and sisters:
No one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;
there are different forms of service but the same Lord;
there are different workings but the same God
who produces all of them in everyone.
To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit
is given for some benefit.

As a body is one though it has many parts,
and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,
so also Christ.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,
whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,
and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

The story in today's Gospel reading from John takes place on the evening of that first Easter Sunday. Jesus appears in the locked room and twice says to his disciples, "Peace be with you." Jesus then breathes on them, which is meant to call to mind the story in Genesis where God breathed the breath of life into Adam (Genesis 2:7). Once again, just like at the dawn of creation itself, we see God bestowing the breath of life, which is his Spirit. He tells his disciples, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." This Spirit which he is giving them is not meant to simply remain with them, in the sense of some private gift they are to hoard. This Spirit, this life he has bestowed on them, is meant to be shared. The power to forgive sins is the power to restore people to life, and it's this awesome power that Jesus entrusts to his Apostles. We receive that gift and are restored to that life each time we celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

So the readings today show us how the Holy Spirit is the font of unity, forgiveness, transformation, new life, and grace. That Holy Spirit is alive in us, as members of the Body of Christ, as well as in the Church's liturgy and Sacraments. It's so easy for us to take it all for granted. We need to learn to call upon the Holy Spirit, much as the prayers of today's Mass teach us to do. If you listen closely to the prayers during Mass today, you'll hear repeated pleas for this power of the Spirit to remain active and alive in our hearts and in the work of the Church.

Collect (opening prayer):
God our Father,
let the Spirit you sent on your Church
to begin the teaching of the gospel
continue to work in the world
through the hearts of all who believe.
Grant this through or Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer over the gifts:
Lord, may the Spirit you promised
lead us into all truth
and reveal to us the full meaning of this sacrifice.
Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.


Preface for Pentecost:
Father, all-powerful and ever-living God,
we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks.

Today you sent the Holy Spirit
on those marked out to be your children
by sharing the life of your only Son,
and so you brought the paschal mystery to its completion.

Today we celebrate the great beginning of your Church
when the Holy Spirit made known to all peoples the one true God,
and created from the many languages of man
one voice to profess one faith.

The joy of the resurrection renews the whole world,
while the choirs of heaven sing for ever to your glory:

Holy, holy, holy Lord...


Prayer after communion:
Father,
may the food we receive in the eucharist
help our eternal redemption.
Keep within us the vigor of your Spirit
and protect the gifts you have given to your Church.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.


And my favorite, which you may not get to hear unless your priest opts for the solemn blessing at the end of Mass:

This day the Father of light
has enlightened the minds of the disciples
by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
May he bless you
and give you the gifts of the Holy Spirit for ever.
(R) Amen.

May that fire which hovered over the disciples
as tongues of flame
burn out all evil from your hearts
and make them glow with pure light.
(R) Amen.

God inspired speech in different tongues
to proclaim one faith.
May he strengthen your faith
and fulfill your hope of seeing him face to face.
(R) Amen.

Once the celebration of Pentecost has come and gone, there's a temptation to leave aside prayer to the Holy Spirit until next year. Many people have been praying novenas to the Holy Spirit or in some other way praying in preparation for the celebration of Pentecost, but often we let it end with today. The readings and prayers at Mass today make it so clear that the reception of the Spirit is a beginning, not an ending. Although the Easter season ends today, the mystery that we have celebrated throughout these 50 days is supposed to deepen our faith, awaken our hope, and enliven our sense of mission. We are called to be receptive to the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, not just today but every day, and to enter more deeply into the mystery of our life in Christ. The challenge for us is the same as it was for the Apostles: to be open, and to remain open, to the Holy Spirit each day of our lives.

Veni, Sancte Spiritus! Come, Holy Spirit!
Veni!