Pentecost

Liturgical Notes

Knowing the background to the liturgical celebration of Pentecost is important to help us understand the feast correctly. People often say to me that they are unhappy with the way Pentecost is celebrated in the liturgy; they find it comes and goes too quickly.

Easter gets plenty of importance, having its own 'octave', so that the celebration continues for eight days; Ascension is celebrated until Pentecost, but Pentecost itself is over in one day, and then we are back in Ordinary Time. Churches are beautifully decorated in red - but only for one day.

There is a simple reason why Pentecost lasts one day only: in the church's liturgy, Easter is one fifty-day celebration, and Pentecost marks its close. This was one of the changes brought about by the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Before that, Pentecost - known as Whit Sunday -was celebrated as a major feast, with its own vigil and octave.

Restoring the importance of the liturgical seasons was one of the major conciliar reforms. The Decree on the Liturgy states (107 and 108): 'the liturgical year is to be revised so that the traditional customs and discipline of the sacred seasons shall be preserved and restored.'

It added, 'Their specifric character is to be re­tained so that they duly nourish the piety of the faithful as they celebrate the mysteries of the Christian redemption/ and again, 'The minds of the faithful should be directed primarily towards the feasts of the Lord whereby the mysteries of salvation are cel­ebrated throughout the years' so that 'the entire cycle of the mysteries of salvation may be suitably recalled.'

The seasons remind us that being followers of Jesus means more than obeying his commandments; it means being in union with him, in the words of Clyde Harvey's wonderful hymn, 'being the body of the Lord, having his spirit coursing through our souls.'

Each season celebrates a particular moment in the life of Jesus; we refer to these as 'mysteries' because he continues to live them in us today. We don't merely 'remember' the seasons, we 'celebrate' them, recognising similar stages in our own lives.

As the Vatican Council stated, They are in some way present at all times; the faithful lay hold of them and are filled with saving grace.'

There are five seasons, and they are arranged chronologically to correspond to the stages of Jesus' life:
• during Advent he is in Mary's womb;
• at Christmas he is a baby and then a little child;
• during Lent he is a powerful adult, preaching repentance and new life;
• in the Sacred Triduum he is powerless, passing through death to resurrection.

Easter is the fifth and final season; it celebrates the last stage in Jesus' life when he did three things:
• he rose from the dead,
• ascended into heaven,
• sent the Holy Spirit on his followers.

These are three different historical events but also three aspects of the one 'mystery' of Jesus' triumph over death.
• The resurrection reminds us that his tomb was empty, death had no power over him.
• The ascension that he was no longer limited to one place and time but was at the right hand of the Father and at the same time 'with' his followers as they went out into the whole world 'making disciples of all nations'.
• The sending of the Spirit that he was now really present
within them - the 'short time' had passed and they could 'see
him' again (cf John 16:17).

The sequence of the different aspects of the Easter event varies in the New Testament accounts. St Luke's gospel (which we read on the feast of the Ascension in Year B) tells us that Jesus as­cended on Easter Sunday, and in the gospel readings for the feast of Pentecost St John relates that Jesus breathed the Spirit on the disciples on 'the evening of the same day' - Easter Sunday.

It is also significant that, according to the lectionary, we read the story of the coming of the Holy Spirit in the first reading of Easter Monday, and that of Jesus' promise to send the Spirit on the Sundays and weekdays of the fifth and sixth weeks of Easter time.

The liturgy, then, far from downplaying the sending of the Holy Spirit, highlights it. But it also gives us some important pointers on how we are to understand this event. I will just mention three.

1. People sometimes refer to Pentecost as 'the feast of the Holy Spirit', but that is not a good expression. It is a feast of Jesus, the 'mystery' of his sending the Holy Spirit on his follow­ers, the moment when he became present to them in a new way - by being with them.
2. We too come to a stage in our lives as parents, teachers, church ministers and spiritual guides, when we have to let go of those God has entrusted to our care and let them live their own lives. Like Jesus, we must 'breathe on them', so that they may be guided inwardly by the values we taught them. Like Jesus too we can do that only if we have first given our lives for them -which will include being crucified.
3. The coming of the Holy Spirit is an event in our lives as it was for Jesus' disciples. It is the moment when we realise that following Jesus is not a matter of keeping commandments but of having him live within us. The experience is always the culmin­ation of a journey - we first have to look wonderingly at an empty tomb; to see the risen Jesus and then to have him vanish from our sight; to wait a long time in Jerusalem, trusting that the Lord's promise will be fulfilled.

Gospel Reading: John 20: 19 - 23

19 ln the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, 'Peace be with you',

20 and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord,

21and he said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the father sent me, so am I sending you.'

22 After saying this he breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.

23 For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.'

Gospel Meditation

In John's version, the sending of the disciples involves several stages; each one has its own special lessons for us.

The first stage is the meeting with the disciples in the room. We read this part of the story in conjunction with the story of Jesus' meeting with St Thomas, which occurs later.

The disciples are afraid; they have closed themselves off from the rest of the world. The events of the previous week had climaxed in Jesus' crucifixion, and they now fear for their own lives.

Jesus enters and stands before them, he appears to them with no previous warning, in contrast to what happens in the other gospels. He stays with them and his word challenges them.

The words 'Peace be with you' give us an important mes­sage. In a true sense, the disciples do not need to have any fur­ther sending of the Holy Spirit. They can feel his presence among them. They can now relate in peace, with themselves, with one another and with their God.

Jesus then invites them to look at his hands and his side, at the signs that he had truly risen from the dead. This important lesson would become clearer after he appeared to Thomas.

Further references to the resurrection would have to wait; now they had to appreciate fully that his wounds on the cross were real and had a purpose. Those who are today in difficulty can now know that they too are agents of the world's salvation.

In the second part of the story Jesus tells his disciples the wonderful news that they were sent by the Father. This is really the deep meaning of the sending of the Holy Spirit.

All disciples must feel within their hearts the wonderful message that they too have been sent as Jesus was sent. The Father sent him into the world so that he could truly die for it. Jesus in his turn has sent his followers into the world.

They must be for others what he had been for them. People could now live in union with him no matter what difficulties they were facing. Their suffering can bring the world closer to God. They must feel within themselves that by their personal sufferings they can help others experience the good news, and lift up humanity to a higher place with God.

The third event which symbolised the coming of the Holy Spirit is the deepest of all. The story is in two phases.

• Jesus breathes on the apostles. He had experienced a reality within himself that he wanted to communicate to the disci­ples. He wanted to teach them that they too can feel within themselves the power of being loved by God, a power that had always been his. He wanted them to experience this, to feel it within themselves. Being loved by God, they must be able to share it with one another. They must feel so close to God that no matter what suffering they might undergo, they would always bring greater glory to God and to one another.
• Jesus' word now explains his gesture. The disciples must receive the Holy Spirit so that, like Jesus, they may have the inner feeling that they are moved by a deep force from within themselves. They too must be able to lift up the rest of the world by giving themselves.

Finally, by the sending of the Holy Spirit, the disciples are given the power to forgive one another's sins or to retain them. This is truly a powerful saying. It tells us very powerfully how we are to relate to one another.

We can forgive one another's sins, but we can also do the opposite and retain them. It tells us what we are called to in this world. This is a wonderful gift and we thank God for it.

The lessons in this passage have great meaning for us be­cause all of us come to a similar stage in our lives sooner or later. As parents, teachers, church ministers or spiritual guides we come to a point where we have to let go of those God has en­trusted to our care.

We must let them live their own lives. Like Jesus, we too must tell them that they are sent, that we can "breathe on them'. They will have to be guided from within by the values we have taught them. Like him too we can do that only if we have first given our lives for them - and this will naturally include being crucified.

What happened to the apostles in their personal lives hap­pens to us also in our public lives. As public servants or employ­ers, we too must hand on to others what we have learnt from others in our own lives.

We do it as leaders of businesses or com­munities, and of course most especially as leaders of our church communities. To all who relate with us we can say as Jesus said, The Spirit that I have within me I must hand over to you, so that you too can enjoy it.'

Prayer

'Walk the dark ways of faith and you will attain the vision of God.'
St Augustine

Lord, we thank you for this Easter season which we have now completed.
We thank you for the times when we have to stand hopefully before an empty tomb, times when we see you and live with you and then have you vanish from our sight and have to wait for you in Jerusalem for what seems an interminable time, until eventually your promised Spirit comes on us and we can live again.

'The literal meaning of scripture is the field, while the deeper and more profound spiritual reading is the treasure hidden in the field.'  
Origen

Lord, we thank you for the times when we have remained hidden from others.
We too were afraid that the terrible deeds that were done to Jesus might be done to us.
Then you walked through our closed doors and, with no advance warning, you came to stand among us.
You did not condemn us.
You merely assured us that we can live in peace.
You made us feel secure - within ourselves, with one another, and with you, our only God.
Lord, we thank you for the times when we felt we were really thirsting to go to others as you sent us to them.
We too can tell others the good news that they can rise from the dead and find new life in you.
Lord, we thank you for the times that we can say to one another what Jesus said to his disciples.
We too have felt within us that feeling of being close to God.
We would like to share this feeling with all those you have given to us.
Help us by word and gesture to make this a reality.

'Understanding can follow where experience leads.'   
St Bernard

Lord, we thank you that just as you have felt his inner spirit within you, you eventually became able to breathe on us.
We could then feel your presence within us.
We knew then that you were at work among us.

"The gravest sin committed against our country is to have classified the
struggle of the Guatemalan people as the work of communists.'
Rigoberta Menchu

Lord, remind us that we who have been blessed by the sending of the Holy Spirit do not belong to the world.
We therefore have the ability to forgive the real sins of your people, but we can also retain those which need to be retained and not forgiven.