Pentecost Sunday

Happy Birthday to all believers.

PENTECOST

This feast marks the 50 days of Easter and the closing of Eastertide as a liturgical season, and the birth of the Church.  So, Pentecost is the Church's birthday- ours too as Christians.

God is three persons- Father, Son and Holy Spirit yet one God.  This is a mystery.  However, we can in our prayer life tap into all three persons. Most of us tend to communicate with God as Father or Jesus as His Son. 

However, this feast reminds us that Jesus did not leave us orphans when He ascended to Heaven- He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit to be with us until the end of time.  Yet, sadly, the Holy Spirit can be forgotten and/or ignored in our spiritual lives.  Yet, He has many special gifts to offer us.  We can have a very special intimate relationship with Him, just as we do with Jesus and with Father God.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

So, we might like to take some time to reflect on my relationship with the Holy Spirit.  Some reflective questions may include:

1. What is my relationship with the Holy Spirit? 

2. How does the Holy Spirit work in my life?  

3. How will I use the gifts of the Holy Spirit to bring Christ to the world this week?  

4. Do I know my faith adequately to be able to teach the gospel to one other person? If not, what steps might I take to change this?  

5. What areas in my life has the risen Christ renewed during Eastertide and how might the Spirit assist you to continue this renewal for the remainder of the year?  

6. How might I live in the power of the Holy Spirit in my life?

We may also want to reflect on the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit and how they operate in our lives. 

Traditions/customs associated with Pentecost Sunday  

Fruit Salad is often used as a dessert for Pentecost Sunday. It is made from 12 fruits to represent the 12 Fruits of the Holy Spirit which are: Charity, Generosity, Joy, Gentleness, Peace, Faithfulness, Patience, Modesty, Kindness, Self-Control, Goodness and Chasity.

The fruit salad can be made using both dried fruits such as currants, raisins, dates and tinned fruits as well as fresh fruits. These are then combined with a syrup made with sugar and water and perhaps a dash of your favorite liqueur.

Another name for Pentecost Sunday is its traditional name' Whitsunday' which commemorated the white robes worn by the newly baptized on this day.  Two other traditional desserts served therefore are white food-meringues or a sponge cake topped with white icing to represent the white robes worn by newly baptized.

Regardless of whether you choose these traditional Pentecost desserts or not, it is important to remember that a new chapter began at Pentecost, and the Apostles started to take the Gospel of salvation to the whole world.  This is also our task.  Pentecost ends the liturgical season of Eastertide, but it marks the birthday of the Church.  

We may wish to pause and say a prayer of thanks in gratitude for the person/people who taught us our faith and have helped us on our spiritual journey.  We may wish to reflect on how we came into the Church.  I was baptized as a young baby- a cradle catholic.  I thank my parents and godparents for bringing me into the family of the Church. However, at some point, we have to make our own decision to follow Christ and take our faith seriously.  This is the journey we all make each in our unique way.  The Holy Spirit is in this journey with us too.

The message of Easter and of the Church is not something meant to be kept to ourselves, rather it is the glorious news that we must take to everyone : the love of God, the forgiveness of sins, and the redemption of the human race.    

As we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, let us be filled and renewed by the Holy Spirit.  We may wish to make the commitment to deepen our relationship with the Holy Spirit and to pray each day at least one prayer to the Holy Spirit such as: 

''Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful 

and enkindle in them the fire of Your love".

May the Holy Spirit bless you abundantly.