Saturday, May 19, 2018

Pentecost Sunday - May 20, 2018

Here’s a bit of trivia for you. Do you know where the word “trivia” comes from? The Latin words tri via mean “three roads.” The place where three roads converged would be a place where people from all over would meet and share what was going on. Some of their conversation would be about important items, while others would be rather unimportant or “trivial.”

I was thinking of the etymology of “trivia” because I wanted to note the convergence of three celebrations. First of all, this weekend we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost. This celebration ends the season of Easter, but we can see it as not so much an ending as a beginning. We often refer to Pentecost as “the birthday of the Church.” When Christ ascended to heaven, he promised to remain with send the Holy Spirit upon His disciples to guide them in their work of proclaiming the gospel. Since then, the Church has been carrying out Christ’s mission, so that what the Lord did for us becomes the basis of everything we do.

As I write about Pentecost in that way, it strikes me that what I said sounds a lot like most graduation speeches. Often a speaker will comment that the word “commencement” means the beginning. What the students learned in school is something that they will put into practice now as the next part of their lives commences. So it seems fitting that Pentecost should also be the day when we celebrate the Senior Recognition Mass. At the 11:00 Mass this Sunday we will honor our graduating high school seniors and ask them to tell us where they will be going in the fall. As they move on to college or other destinations, we pray that the Holy Spirit who came upon the disciples at Pentecost – and who strengthened these young women and men at their Confirmation – will continue to guide them throughout their lives.

After Pentecost, we begin Ordinary Time. But this year there is a new twist on our change of seasons. Earlier this year Pope Francis announced that the Monday after Pentecost would now be the Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church. We have often referred to the Church as “the Body of Christ,” with Jesus as our Head. So Mary is our mother, and Mary is the Mother of the Church. If Pentecost is the “Birthday of the Church,” then we should celebrate Mary’s role in conjunction with Pentecost. So although it is not yet on our calendars, this Monday we honor Mary’s role for guiding us today. In approving the decree, Pope Francis said that he had “attentively considered how greatly the promotion of this devotion might encourage the growth of the maternal sense of the church in the pastors, religious and faithful, as well as a growth of genuine Marian piety.”

So today we tie three celebrations together in a way that is anything but trivial. In the coming weeks, there are three more celebrations known as “The Solemnities of the Lord in Ordinary Time.” These are the Solemnities of the Most Holy Trinity, The Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus (Corpus Christi), and the Sacred Heart of Jesus.                                                                               
                                                               Father H