Saint Michael the Archangel Parish

21 Manning St

Hudson, MA 01749

Pentecost

And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, 
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. 
 Acts of the Apostles 2: 4

Pentecost is Sunday, June 8th, 2025.  It is the 50th and the final day of The Easter Season


What is the Solemnity of Pentecost?

On the Solemnity of Pentecost, The Church and Christians commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, gathered around the Mother of the Lord.   The most significant manifestation of the Holy Spirit in Sacred Scripture is recorded at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 2. 


The first Pentecost is seen as the day the Church, newly endowed with the fullness of the Holy Spirit, began her sacred mission of evangelization mandated by Christ.


Pentecost is originally a feast on which Israel celebrated the establishment of the covenant with God on Mount Sinai.  Through the Pentecost event in Jerusalem, it became for Christians the feast of the Holy Spirit. 


The Church's liturgy celebrates the Solemnity of Pentecost fifty days after Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord, Jesus Christ.  Pentecost (from the Greek pentecoste meaning “fiftieth”).

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended with power upon the Apostles, thus began the mission of the Church in the world.
-Pope Benedict XVI, Homily on Pentecost Sunday 2006 

What did Jesus promise His Apostles before He ascended into Heaven?


After Jesus' Resurrection and before he ascended into heaven, Jesus ordered the Apostles “not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father” (Acts of the Apostles 1: 4-5), then he asked them to stay together to prepare themselves to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 

The "Promise of the Father" is the Holy Spirit.

What is the story of Pentecost?


The 11 remaining Apostles returned to Jerusalem after the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven.

When they entered the city they went to the upper room where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.  All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

Acts of the Apostles 1: 13-14

During this time, Peter stood among the Apostles and a group of 120 persons in one place guiding them to choose a replacement for Judas Iscariot.  They cast lots between two men, and the lot fell on Matthias as he was counted among the other eleven Apostles.


After nine days of prayer, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples. They heard a sound like a “strong driving wind,” and “tongues as of fire” were resting on their heads.

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together.  And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were.  Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them.  And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.  Acts of the Apostles 2: 1-4

This Pentecost event of the Holy Spirit descending on Christ's Apostles is seen as the day the Church began her sacred mission of evangelization mandated by Christ.

...the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us.

Romans 5: 5

What happened at Pentecost?


Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day.  They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.  (Acts of the Apostles 2: 41-42)


On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit transformed fearful apostles into courageous witnesses to Christ and to baptize those who believed. 


Those who were baptized created communities to share their new faith in Christ with one another.  Pentecost is the birthday of the Church and from this the age of the Church began.

Why is Pentecost known as the birthday of the Church?


When the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples, they immediately began proclaiming the Gospel. In fact, three thousand people were baptized that day. 


The disciples, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, were answering Jesus’ call to:


“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19).


The Holy Spirit is vital in the mission and witness of the Church, so we consider Pentecost the birthday of the Church.

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you."
John 14:15-17

Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Most Blessed Trinity. God the Father is the First Person, and God the Son (Jesus) is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity.


“Holy Spirit” is the proper name of the one whom we adore and glorify with the Father and the Son. The Church has received this name from the Lord and professes it in the Baptism of her new children. [Cf. Mattew 28:19]

The term “Spirit” translates the Hebrew word ruah, which, in its primary sense, means breath, air, wind. Jesus indeed uses the sensory image of the wind to suggest to Nicodemus the transcendent newness of him who is personally God’s breath, the divine Spirit. [John 3:5-8] On the other hand, “Spirit” and “Holy” are divine attributes common to the three divine persons. By joining the two terms, Scripture, liturgy, and theological language designate the inexpressible person of the Holy Spirit, without any possible equivocation with other uses of the terms “spirit” and “holy.”

-Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 691



The miracle of the languages (tongues) on Pentecost shows that the Church is there for all peoples from the very beginning.  The Church is universal (“Catholic” is the Latin term from the Greek "katholikos" meaning universal.) 

She speaks to all people, overcomes ethnic and linguistic barriers, and can be understood by all. To this day the Holy Spirit is the ”Soul” of the Church, the essential principle of her life.  The Church is missionary.  She receives her mandate to go out and make disciples.

​​​​​​​The mission of the Holy Spirit and the work of the Church are fused together.  The Holy Spirit works through the Church to make the mission of Jesus Christ known.  The Holy Spirit illuminates by revealing Christ is crucified and is Risen, indicating the way to become like him — that is, to be instruments of Christ’s love in the world. 

The Holy Spirit is the source of our lives together, brings us together in unity despite our diversity, and enriches us with all the gifts needed to be the Body of Christ. 

Knowledge of faith is possible only in the Holy Spirit: to be in touch with Christ, we must first have been touched by the Holy Spirit. He comes to meet us and kindle faith in us.
-Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 683

What is the role of the Holy Spirit in Pentecost?


Even though the Holy Spirit has been at work from the beginning forming creation (Genesis 1:1), through the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Church He forms a new creation in Christ.

What were the two signs of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost?


The two signs were the “sound… from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind” (Acts of the Apostles 2:2) and “tongues as of fire” over the disciples’ heads (Acts of the Apostles 2:3).


What was the Church’s first Novena?


The original Novena, “nine days of prayer”, occurred when the disciples gathered to await and pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. (cf. Luke 24:49; Acts of the Apostles 2:1-5)

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