Pentecost
Pentecost is a Greek word which means ‘fifty.’ Though this feast is celebrated fifty days after Resurrection Sunday, the significance of the number comes from the ancient Jewish feast which was celebrated fifty days after Passover. It was on this feast that the Blessed Virgin Mary and Jesus’ Apostles were gathered in an upper room, when God appeared to them in the form of Spirit, settling upon them in the form of tongues of fire. The Spirit gave them the power to evangelize the world. It is on the feast that God called all his people to unity and mutual understanding. Because of this, the Season of Pentecost invites us to meditate on the “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church,” which Christ founded and the Holy Spirit sanctified. The length of the season varies as it is dependent on when Resurrection Sunday falls in a given year, and then it stretches from Pentecost Sunday until the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. (excerpt from the Maronite Synaxarion)
Theme
Focus events on the Holy Spirit and our relationship with the Third Person of the Trinity.
Event Idea
Plan an event focused on the gifts we receive at Chrismation and how we use these in our life.
Insight From Catechism
In [Chrismation], the soul of a baptized Christian is imprinted with a permanent seal that can be received only once and marks this individual forever as a Christian. The gift of the Holy Spirit is the strength from above in which this individual puts grace of his Baptism into practice through his life and acts as a “witness” for Christ. (YOUCAT 205)
Wisdom From Scripture
“Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and they received the holy Spirit.” (Acts 8:14-17)
Reference from the Divine Liturgy
“In the Spirit, Christ made us children of the loving God.” (Qurbono, 406)
“O Holy Spirit [...] Fill us with the wisdom of your teachings. Make us temples worthy of your dignity. Quench our thirst with your grace. Enrich us with the knowledge of your Mysteries. Illumine us with your light.” (Qurbono, 410)