Pentecost Sunday - Year C - Come, Fill, Go Forth & ‘Pentecost Hymns’

This Sunday, we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In the dramatic events of that first Pentecost, when the bewildered and excited disciples poured into the streets of Jerusalem, they had one purpose in mind: to let the Word go forth … and it did! The Word went forth from Jerusalem to Judea, and on to Corinth and Ephesus and Rome and Africa and Spain and even, eventually, in succeeding centuries, right here to Canada and the United States!

What began with a few frightened people in a darkened room in Jerusalem has spilled out and touched every corner of the earth. The word has gone forth in every language and is felt and understood in the hearts of billions of people. And it all began on this day we celebrate, Pentecost, often called the birthday of the Church.

 

Birthday is an appropriate image for Pentecost – especially when we look at it in the bigger Scriptural picture. The word “Pentecost” means 50th and was for the Jewish people a celebration that took place 50 days after the Passover. For them, this was a day to celebrate the giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai. There, different tribes of Israel entered into a covenant with God and with one another and became the People of God. Pentecost for the Jews celebrated the birth of this new people. We know that the Holy Spirit gives birth to God’s presence in amazing ways. It is through a different kind of Pentecost – when the Holy Spirit descended on Mary – that Jesus was born into our world. And it is through this Pentecost – the Holy Spirit descending upon Mary and the disciples – that the Body of Christ is once again born into the world; as the Church. And we, too, are part of that miracle, called to continue to bring forth the same Body of Christ into our world today.

 

It is said that the Church doesn’t have a mission, but that the Mission has a Church. Jesus didn’t come to give us an institution or an organization. Instead, Jesus gave us a task to accomplish. The institution of the Church came about not to serve itself, but to serve that mission; to help organize that work of God. 

 

The gift of the Holy Spirit is a strong reminder to us that God is still right here, in our midst; that God is still truly present to us. We have not been abandoned by our God, rather, He still dwells among us; He dwells in us. “Know that I am with you always until the end of the world.” “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful. Enkindle in us the fire of Your love.”

And let the Word go forth.

In honor of this weekend’s readings, we’d like to share our latest videos, "Creator Spirit, By Whose Aid" and “Send Forth Your Spirit”, two previously unreleased Sunday 7pm Choir recordings and videos that are perfect for the Feast of Pentecost!

1) Creator Spirit, By Whose Aid | Video can be watched by clicking here.

2) Send Forth Your Spirit | Video can be watched by clicking here.