By Kathy Horan Each year when we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, we rejoice and celebrate the Spirit of Jesus alive in our midst – in us, in the Church and in the world.
The story of Pentecost reminds us of the birth of the Church and the transformation of the disciples from being fearful, uncertain individuals into spirited, bold proclaimers of the good news of Jesus. At that Pentecost time, they finally began to grasp the importance of what Jesus had said and done, and urged on by the Spirit of Jesus, they began to take up the challenge of being missionary disciples, spreading the joy of the gospel, and baptising people in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
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By Kathy Horan We recently celebrated the feast of Pentecost, 50 days after the Easter celebration of the Resurrection.
During those 50 days, our liturgies and experiences of the richness of the word of God have been more than food for thought. We have been challenged by the word of God, reminded of all that Jesus said and did while he was with his disciples. We have been comforted by Jesus’ words and we have pondered on what all of this might mean for us, followers of Jesus for today’s world. In one sense, it is easy to be caught up in the euphoria of being known as disciples of Jesus, knowing that in his resurrection to new life Jesus overcame suffering and death, and promised that his followers would also share in the experience of life to the full, in so far as they remained close to him and focused on his message. Author: Jenny O'Brien If you look in your Sunday Missal you will find an interesting fact: the weeks following Easter Sunday are not called the Sundays after Easter, but the Sundays of Easter. This is for a very good reason. The fifty days between Easter Sunday and Pentecost Sunday were viewed by the Early Church as a single great celebration of Jesus’ resurrection, like a “Great Sunday” that extended for a week of Sundays! Indeed the word “Pentecost” actually means “50 days” and it was the late fourth century before this title referred only to the fiftieth day.
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