[Salvation]

Please add any reflections, thoughts, prayers or articles on Pentecost and the Holy Spirit.

[Salvation]

	The Holy Spirit in the Trinity and His Mission in the World by Rev. William G. Most We already said the most essential things about the Holy Spirit in explaining the first article of the Creed. Let us add a few things here. He makes holy the souls of the just by His presence. But a Spirit is not present in the sense of taking up space. We say a Spirit is present wherever it causes an effect. In the soul, the Holy Spirit transforms it, making it basically capable of taking in, after death, the infinite streams of knowledge and love that flow within the Holy Trinity. Thus we are really "sharers in the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4). This is a dignity so great that any earthly honor is insignificant beside it. He comes with his Seven Gifts. These make the soul capable of taking in the special lights and inspirations He sends in a much higher way than what is had in ordinary graces. We do not notice much of any effects from these Gifts until we have advanced rather far in the spiritual life, for great docility and purity of heart are needed. On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down visibly on the Apostles. He gave them the power to speak in strange tongues to the crowds that came to Jerusalem for that Feast. He also transformed them, from selfish and timid men into giants of courage and faith.
Taken from The Basic Catholic Catechism PART FOUR: The Apostle's Creed VI-VIII Eighth Article: "I believe in the Holy Spirit" By William G. Most. (c)Copyright 1990 by William G. Most Electronic text (c) Copyright EWTN 1997. All rights reserved.

[.45MAN]

This is a wonderful post! Thanks................

[NYer]

ICON OF PENTECOST

This icon of Pentecost is adorned by a large blue vault which represents the realms of heavenly glory. Above the arch grow trees which symbolize the garden of paradise. The Spirit of the Living God, depicted as a dove, descends from the heavens, and enters earthly realms to rest over Mary who is speaking with the apostles. Beneath her veil is the typical Syriac head cloth to hold the hair in place. Lively tongues of fire, another symbol of the Spirit, overshadow the apostles.

To the right and left of Mary is an intense concentration of red to suggest the fullness of the divine life gifted to her by the Holy Spirit. Her presence is not mentioned in Acts, but the artist imagined Mary as "the mother of the infant Church" in this Pentecost event - the oldest known in Christian art.

The 6^th century Rabbula Gospel Book is a rich and lasting Syriac-Maronite treasure for the Christian world. These paintings invite the viewer to encounter the God of Mystery-Presence in Jesus Christ. They are prayer and contemplation transformed into art which influenced the Byzantine and Roman Churches. Yet this tradition is not a fossil of the centuries but an living inspiration for contemporary Church art.

[eastsider]

The Jewish feast of Shavuos, which celebrates the giving of Torah on Mt. Sinai fifty days after Passover, was known in Greek as Pentecost. (The celbration of Shavuos explains the crowds that Peter addressed in Acts 2:14-41.) The Christian feast of Pentecost celebrates the giving of the Holy Spirit fifty days after the Resurrection.

The parallelism serves to inform our understanding of Paul's teaching (especially in Romans) concerning the Law vs. the Spirit, as well as our understanding of Jesus Christ as Lawgiver (the spirit of Christ, our Lawgiver (cf. James 4:12), is the Holy Spirit).

[Coleus]

Jesus Sends the Holy Spirit to Us at Pentecost

John 16:1-15; Acts 1:1-4, 14; 2:1-47
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:1-4: The Jewish Pentecost
In Jewish liturgy Pentecost was the feast that celebrated the giving of the covenant at Sinai. It recalled both God’s covenant with Israel as well as the giving of the Ten Commandments. A mighty wind and fire swept the slopes of Sinai evoking the awesomeness of the occasion. The wind represented the breath of God as the source of all life. The fire symbolized God’s glory that manifested his presence to his people. The Jewish Pentecost took place fifty days after Passover.

The Christian Pentecost
Fifty days after the Christian Passover (Christ’s death and resurrection) the Christian Pentecost occurred in the Upper Room. Led by Mary, the apostles and disciples, numbering 120 people, had completed nine days of prayer for the coming of the Spirit. The Upper Room became like a new Sinai. Once again the mighty breath of God and the fire of his presence swept through the communion of believers. The Holy Spirit confirmed them as the Christian community and manifested the Church. The Spirit filled them with enthusiasm, a term that means “the God within.”

They began speaking in tongues (glossalalia) a language phenomenon that sometimes accompanies profound spiritual experiences. Armed with the fire of the Spirit, and with ecstatic speech on their lips, they flowed out of the Upper Room into the square below where pilgrims from over fifteen nations had assembled for the religious observance.

The extraordinary joy of those who had just been filled with the Holy Spirit affected the pilgrims. In wonder, the crowd vibrated happily with the contagious enthusiasm and excitement of the Spirit-filled community. They identified with the language miracle. There was a fleeting moment when these representatives of the nations of the earth paused from their strife and profound community took place.

The artists of the Middle Ages loved to contrast the babbling and divided mob of Babel ’s Tower to the loving, linguistically united community in the square at Pentecost. The arrogance of Babel is replaced by the humility of Pentecost where God is all in all.
After the first glow of unity subsided, the skeptical soul reappeared. “And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others mocking said, ‘They are filled with new wine’”(Acts 2:12 -13)….

Reflection
The Pentecost narrative is a revelation of the Holy Spirit. It is also the action of the Spirit revealing and manifesting the Church. While this is the formal introduction of the presence, person, and power of the Spirit in Scripture, it is necessary to point out that the Spirit has been living and active from the start of God’s plan for salvation.

The Holy Spirit is involved in the plan of salvation from the beginning just as much as the Father and the Son. The Spirit is really God. The Spirit is consubstantial with the Father and the Son and is inseparable from them (cf. Catechism, 689). The Spirit has the same “substance” or divine nature as they do. The Spirit has the same mission as the Son in the cause of salvation. When the Father sends the Son He also sends the Spirit to save us from sin and give us divine life.

The word Spirit comes from the Hebrew ruah, which means breath, air, wind. The Spirit is God’s breath, filling us with divine life, purifying our souls, sustaining our immortality until we love what God loves, do what God wants of us until this earthly part of us glows with divine fire.

Scripture calls the Spirit the paraclete, meaning our advocate and consoler. Jesus asked the Father to send us the Spirit to remind us of what Jesus taught and guide us into truth. On Easter night Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to the apostles, breathing into them the third Person of the Trinity. From that moment on the mission of Jesus and the Spirit becomes the mission of the Church. The revelation of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is also the Spirit’s public manifestation of the Church.

1. Tradition uses many images to illustrate the Spirit’s actions.
2. Water, signifying the Spirit’s saving action at baptism.
3. Oil and Seal, by which the Spirit anoints us at confirmation.
4. Fire, by which the Spirit transforms us into Christ.
5. Cloud, the shining glory that led Israel in the desert, dwelt on the Ark of the Covenant, overshadowed Mary at the Annunciation, and was present at Christ’s baptism and transfiguration. The cloud image emphasizes how the Spirit helps us experience the effective Divine presence.

Pentecost Sunday

"And when the days of Pentecost were drawing to a close, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a violent wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them parted tongues as of fire, which settled upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in foreign tongues, even as the Holy Spirit prompted them to speak" (Acts 2, 1-4).

Pentecost Sunday marks the end of the first novena. See The Novena to the Holy Spirit to prepare for this great feast.

Pentecost (Whitsunday), with Christmas and Easter, ranks among the great feasts of Christianity. It commemorates not only the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and Disciples, but also the fruits and effects of that event: the completion of the work of redemption, the fullness of grace for the Church and its children, and the gift of faith for all nations.

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Pentecost
After Jesus had ascended to heaven from Mt. Olivet, the apostles and disciples returned to the Holy City. They remained together in the Upper Room or Cenacle, the place where Jesus had appeared to them and which may well be called the first Christian church. About a hundred and twenty persons were assembled there. They chose Matthias as an apostle in place of the unhappy Judas; they prayed and waited for the Paraclete.

Ten days had passed, it was Sunday, the seventh Sunday after the resurrection. At about nine o'clock in the morning, as they were together praying fervently, the Holy Spirit descended upon them. Note how all the great theophanies in Christ's life occurred during the course of prayer. After His baptism, for instance, when Jesus was praying the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove; likewise, it was during prayer at night that the transfiguration took place on Tabor. Surely too it was while Mary was praying that Gabriel delivered his message, and the Holy Spirit overshadowed her. Pentecost followed precedent. The small community of Christians had prepared themselves through prayer for the coming of the Paraclete. The same is true at Mass today, every day; through prayer we ready our souls for the advent of the Spirit.

The descent upon the apostles was internal and invisible in nature although accompanied by certain visible phenomena. There came a mighty roar, like the onrush of a violent wind. It came suddenly, from heaven; but unlike storms that strike a structure from without, this one penetrated and filled the room where the disciples were gathered. Therefore it was not a natural wind, it was a miracle peculiar to the occasion. A second visible sign consisted in tongues of fire that descended upon each one present. These fiery tongues gave visible evidence that the Holy Spirit had descended upon them.

Today at Mass, particularly at holy Communion, the power of the Holy Spirit will come down upon us; fiery tongues will not be seen, but invisible tongues of fire will not be absent. There was still another external manifestation of the Holy Spirit; the apostles and disciples were enabled to speak various languages.

After the roar of the wind many of Jerusalem's pilgrims hurried to the Cenacle. Pentecost was one of the three festivals which obliged all Jews to be present in Jerusalem. Jews from distant lands, and Jewish converts from paganism too, attended these feasts. As a result, a colorful crowd speaking a variety of languages surrounded the house. Now the apostles, who so shortly before had hid in fear behind locked doors, came forth and courageously walked among the multitude speaking to each in his native tongue. It was indeed amazing! Galileans, and multilingual?

But the malicious too were present; they had the answer. Nothing marvelous at all! Those Galileans were simply drunk, and their drunken babble sounded like a foreign language! Peter showed no hesitation in answering the charge. None of their number, he said, were intoxicated; it was but nine o'clock in the morning, and at that hour men usually are sober. What the multitude saw was, in fact, the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy: In those days (of the Messiah), God will pour forth His Spirit upon men and they will prophesy. . . . Then the apostle pointed his words more directly against the accusers: they had killed Jesus, had nailed Him to the Cross; but God had awakened Him and after His departure to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit.

The pilgrims who had heard Peter give this first pentecostal sermon "were pierced to the heart and said: Brethren, what shall we do? But Peter said to them: Repent and be baptized; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Three thousand responded.

One final question: why the miracle of tongues? In answer, recall the story regarding the tower of Babel. Puffed up by pride, men attempted to build a tower that would touch the heavens. To punish their sin, God confused their speech. Sin causes confusion and division. Now Christ came to gather all men into His Church and thereby to unite them to Himself. This should result in creating but one family of nations again. To this blessed state the miracle of tongues points.

Yes, even we as individuals have a gift of tongues which all men can understand. It is the gift of love infused into us by the Holy Spirit. Love unites, love is a common language, by means of love we can speak to all nations. — The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Collect:
Almighty and ever-living God, you fulfilled the Easter promise by sending us your Holy Spirit. May that Spirit unite the races and nations on earth to proclaim your glory. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Recipes:

·	Wiltshire Whitsuntide Cake
·	Gooseberry Pudding
·	Herb Salad Dressing
·	Strawberry Cake
·	Baba au Rhum
·	Strawberry Glaze
·	Pentecost Cake
·	Gingerbread for Whitsun Monday
·	Gook
·	Herb Vinegar
·	Gateau au Rhum
·	Coffee-Rum Syrup
·	Rum Cream Filling
·	Nut Sponge Cake
·	Cheese Knishes
·	Cheese Blintzes
·	Milk and Honey Cookies

 

Activities:

·	Pentecost Wheel
·	Pentecost Activities
·	Come, Holy Ghost
·	Pentecost Favors
·	To Thee the Holy Ghost, We Now Pray
·	Pentecost "Novena" — Focus on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
·	Pentecost Picnic
·	Wooden Doves for Pentecost
·	Whitsunday, The Cenacle
·	Confirmation Catechesis
·	Pentecost Tree
·	Make Your Own Windmill
·	Cenacle Project

 

Prayers:

·	Prayer to the Holy Spirit
·	The Golden Sequence
·	Renewal of Confirmation
·	Pentecost Prayers
·	Prayer Commemorating the Reception of Confirmation
·	Veni, Creator Spiritus
·	Novena to the Holy Spirit
·	Novena to the Holy Spirit (2)

[Salvation]

Bump to the top for the Vigil of Pentecost, 05-14-05!

[lightman]

From Luther's Small Catechism,1529 (intended for the head of the household to use in instructing the children),explanation of the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed:,

Of Sanctification.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

What does this mean?

I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith; even as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith; in which Christian Church He forgives daily and richly all sins to me and all believers, and at the last day will raise up me and all the dead, and will give to me and to all believers in Christ everlasting life. This is most certainly true.

And from the Large Catechism (intended for clergy), 1529:

I believe that there is upon earth a little holy group and congregation of pure saints, under one head, even Christ, called together by the Holy Ghost in one faith, one mind, and understanding, with manifold gifts, yet agreeing in love, without sects or schisms. 52] I am also a part and member of the same, a sharer and joint owner of all the goods it possesses, brought to it and incorporated into it by the Holy Ghost by having heard and continuing to hear the Word of God, which is the beginning of entering it. For formerly, before we had attained to this, we were altogether of the devil, knowing nothing of God and of Christ. 53] Thus, until the last day, the Holy Ghost abides with the holy congregation or Christendom, by means of which He fetches us to Christ and which He employs to teach and preach to us the Word, whereby He works and promotes sanctification, causing it [this community] daily to grow and become strong in the faith and its fruits which He produces.

54] We further believe that in this Christian Church we have forgiveness of sin, which is wrought through the holy Sacraments and Absolution, moreover, through all manner of consolatory promises of the entire Gospel. Therefore, whatever is to be preached concerning the Sacraments belongs here, and, in short, the whole Gospel and all the offices of Christianity, which also must be preached and taught without ceasing. For although the grace of God is secured through Christ, and sanctification is wrought by the Holy Ghost through the Word of God in the unity of the Christian Church, yet on account of our flesh which we bear about with us we are never without sin.

55] Everything, therefore, in the Christian Church is ordered to the end that we shall daily obtain there nothing but the forgiveness of sin through the Word and signs, to comfort and encourage our consciences as long as we live here. Thus, although we have sins, the [grace of the] Holy Ghost does not allow them to injure us, because we are in the Christian Church, where there is nothing but [continuous, uninterrupted] forgiveness of sin, both in that God forgives us, and in that we forgive, bear with, and help each other.

56] But outside of this Christian Church, where the Gospel is not, there is no forgiveness, as also there can be no holiness [sanctification].