Dear Friends,
Happy Mother's Day!
As I mentioned last week that May is the month of Mary, it only makes sense that Mother's Day is in May. Although we should honor and express our gratitude to our mothers (and fathers) daily, nevertheless, it is appropriate to have a specific day dedicated to our mothers (and fathers in June). Our mothers have given us life, nurtured us, comforted us, and are there for us in our difficult moments. As I write this, I think about the mothers in my life: my Mom, Emily; my now deceased grandmothers, Helen and Rosemary; my godmother, Aunt Mary; and the Blessed Virgin Mary. I think about all the mother figures at my past (and present) parish assignments, women who have looked out for me. I am deeply grateful to the mothers in my life.
Looking at the liturgical life of the Church, we celebrate today the 6th Sunday in Easter. We read in Acts of the Apostles that Jesus ascended into Heaven 40 days after His Resurrection. Based on this, the Feast of the Ascension (which has been traditionally a Holy Day of Obligation) should be celebrated this upcoming Thursday—for centuries, it was celebrated 40 days after Easter. However, for whatever reason for the last five decades or so, the Feast of the Ascension has been transferred to Sunday. I didn't know Jesus ascended into Heaven 43 days after His Resurrection.
I bring this up, even if in a slightly snarky manner, to highlight the approach of Pentecost and highlight novenas. The importance of Pentecost perhaps has not been emphasized as it should, but Pentecost is the biggest liturgical solemnity after Christmas and Easter. It is interesting to note that before the liturgical changes brought about by the Second Vatican Council there was an Octave of Pentecost, just as we have an Octave of Christmas and an Octave of Easter, and there was no such thing as “Ordinary Time” in the previous liturgical calendar—there was, for example, the 10th Sunday after Pentecost. Pentecost, 50 days after Easter, is a major celebration in the life the Church. It is the celebration of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples, emboldening them to proclaim that Jesus is risen from the dead and that Jesus is Lord. It is marked as the “birthday” of the Church.
Related to this are novenas. Novenas are nine day prayers, often asking for a specific intention or petition. The Ascension of Jesus and Pentecost play very much into novenas because those days are the origin, basis, and inspiration for novenas. After Jesus ascended into Heaven, the disciples, along with Mary, prayed in the upper room for nine days before the Holy Spirit descended upon them in the form of tongues of fire on Pentecost. They then went out into Jerusalem proclaiming Jesus risen from the dead and were understood by all, even those speaking different languages.
I recommend praying a novena to the Holy Spirit as we approach Pentecost, beginning the novena on Friday, May 14. There are many novenas to the Holy Spirit available online, and you can find one at praymorenovenas.com. If nothing else, you can pray this every day of the novena:
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful. Enkindle in them the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created, and You will renew the face of the earth.
Lord, You taught the hearts of the nations by the light of the Holy Spirit. Grant us, by that same Spirit, to have right judgment in all things and ever more to rejoice in His comfort. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
We are saints under construction, begging the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts and renew the face of the earth. Have a great week!
In Christ,
Fr. Matt