Theme of the Day: He Lives To Pour Out His Spirit
When the disciples were distressed about Jesus ascending into heaven, he assured them, “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). That Advocate is the Holy Spirit. If Jesus had stayed in the grave, the Holy Spirit would have had no reason to enter the lives of disciples.
But Jesus lives, and it makes a difference. The Spirit provides faith and purpose for life. Pentecost, the celebration of the special arrival of the Holy Spirit, is the third great festival of the Church, along with the Nativity and the Resurrection. Pentecost closes the fifty-day period after Easter and ends the festival half of the church year. The Church dresses in red on this day to commemorate the tongues of fire that marked the Spirit’s gift as well as the blood of the martyrs.
John 7:37-39
Acts 2:1-21
1 Corinthians 12:3-11
Psalm 104A
962 – Hail Thee, Festival Day (Pentecost)
585 – Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord
477 – O Day Full of Grace
479 – God’s Holy Spirit Came
588 – Come, O Come, Life-Giving Spirit
Prayer of the Day: Holy Spirit, God and Lord, come to us this joyful day with your sevenfold gift of grace. Rekindle in our hearts the holy fire of your love that in a true and living faith we may tell abroad the glory of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Father, one God, now and forever.
Gospel Acclamation: Alleluia. Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful people, and kindle in them the fire of your love. Alleluia.