Pentecost

Pentecost comes fifty days after Easter, always on a Sunday, and its name comes from a Greek word that means fiftieth. It remembers the day the Holy Spirit came down on the first disciples of Jesus, and the Church calls it her birthday. At Mass that day the priest wears red, the color of fire. Before going up to heaven, Jesus promised to send the Spirit and asked his friends to wait for him in Jerusalem. We get to know the Holy Spirit in the lesson with Saint John of the Cross. Today we look at the day he came.

The apostles waited and prayed together with Mary, the mother of Jesus, and some other disciples. When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place, and suddenly a sound like a strong wind filled the whole house. Something like little flames appeared and rested on each one of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. The Church teaches that fire is a sign of the Spirit, who warms hearts and changes them. Then the apostles began to speak in other languages.

Jerusalem was full of visitors from many countries. When they heard the noise they gathered round, and they were amazed, because each person heard the apostles speaking in his own language about the wonderful things God had done. Then Peter stood up with the other eleven apostles. Peter was the fisherman who, on the night Jesus was arrested, had been so afraid that he said he did not know him. Now he spoke out loud in front of everyone: Jesus, who had died, was risen, and God had made him Lord. The people asked what they should do, and Peter told them to be baptized. That day about three thousand people were baptized.

The Spirit did not come only for those first friends. The Church teaches that we receive him in Baptism, and again in a special way in Confirmation, and that he gives gifts that help us love God and other people: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord, which means a loving wonder before God. His fruits, like love, joy and peace, can be seen in the way we live. The first Christians prayed, shared bread and took care of one another, and the Church began to grow. This is what Peter told the crowd, and it is meant for every family: