by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.
The great day, which consummates the work that God had
undertaken for the human race, has at last shone upon the world. The days of
Pentecost, St. Luke says, are accomplished. We have had seven weeks since the
Pasch; and now comes the day that opens the mysterious number of fifty. This
day is the Sunday, already made holy by the creation of the light, and by the
Resurrection of Jesus: it is about to receive its final consecration, and bring
us the fullness of God.
In the old and figurative Law, God foreshadowed the glory that was to belong,
at a future period, to the fiftieth day. Israel had passed the waters of the
Red Sea, thanks to the protecting power of his Paschal Lamb! Seven weeks were
spent in the desert, which was to lead to the promised land; and the very
morrow of those seven weeks was the day whereon was made the alliance between
God and His people. The Pentecost (the fiftieth day) was honoured by the
promulgation of the ten commandments of the divine law; and every following
year, the Israelites celebrated the great event by a solemn festival. But their
Pentecost was figurative, like their Pasch: there was to be a second Pentecost
for all people, as there was to be a second Pasch, for the Redemption of the
whole world. The Pasch, with all its triumphant joys, belongs to the Son of
God, the Conqueror of death: Pentecost belongs to the Holy Ghost, for it is the
day whereon He began His mission into this world, which, henceforward, was to
be under His Law.
But how different are the two Pentecosts! The one, on the
rugged rocks of Arabia, amidst thunder and lightning, promulgates a Law that is
written on tablets of stone; the second is in Jerusalem, on which God’s anger
has not yet been manifested, because it still contains within its walls the
first fruits of that new people, over whom the Spirit of love is to reign. In
this second Pentecost, the heavens are not overcast, nor is the roar of thunder
heard; the hearts of men are not stricken with fear, as when God spoke on
Sinai; repentance and gratitude are the sentiments now uppermost. A divine fire
burns within their souls, and will spread throughout the whole world. Or Lord Jesus
had said: “I am come to cast fire on the earth; and what will I, but that it be
kindled?” the hour for the fulfillment of this word has come: the Spirit of
love, the Holy Ghost, the eternal uncreated Flame, is about to descend from
heaven, and realize the merciful design of our Redeemer.
Jerusalem is filled with pilgrims, who have flocked
thither from every country of the Gentile world. They feel a strange mysterious
expectation working in their souls. They are Jews, and have come from every
foreign land where Israel has founded a synagogue; they have come to keep the
feasts of Pasch and Pentecost. Asia, Africa, and even Rome, have here their representatives.
Amidst these Jews properly so called, are to be seen many Gentiles, who, from a
desire to serve God more faithfully, have embraced the Mosaic law and
observances; they are called proselytes. This influx of strangers, who have
come to Jerusalem out of a desire to observe the Law, gives the city a
Babel-like appearance, for each nation has its own language. They are not,
however, under the influence of pride and prejudice, as are the inhabitants of
Judea; neither have they, like these latter, known and rejected the Messias,
nor blasphemed His works whereby He gave testimony of His divine character. It
may be that they took part with the other Jews in clamoring for Jesus’ death;
but they were led to it by the chief priests and magistrates of Jerusalem which
they reverenced as the holy city of God, and to which nothing but religious
motives have brought them.
It is the hour of Tierce, the third hour of the day,
fixed from all eternity for the accomplishment of a divine decree. It was a the
hour of midnight that he Father sent into this world, that He might take flesh
in Mary’s womb, the son eternal begotten of Himself: so now, at this hour of
Tierce, the Father and the Son send upon the earth the holy Spirit who proceeds
from Them both. He is sent to form the Church, the bride and the kingdom of
Christ: his to assist and maintain her; He is to save and sanctify the souls of
men; and this His mission is to continue to the end of time.
Suddenly is heard, coming from heaven, the sound of a
violent wind; it startles the people in the city, it fills the cenacle with its
mighty breath. A crowd is soon round the house that stands on Mount Sion; the
hundred and twenty disciples that are within the building feel that mysterious
emotion within them, of which their Master once said: “The spirit breatheth
where He will, and thou hearest His voice.” Like that strange invisible
creature, which probes the very depth of the sea and makes the waves heave
mountains high, this Breath from heaven will traverse the world from end to
end, breaking down every barrier that would stay its course.
The holy assembly have been days in fervent expectation;
the divine Spirited gives them this warning of His coming, and they in the
passiveness of ecstatic longing, await His will. As to those who are outside
the cenacle, and who have responded to the appeal thus given, let us, for the
moment, forget them. A silent shower falls in the house; it is a shower of
fire, which, as holy Church says “burns not but enlightens, consumes not but
shines.” Flakes of fire, in the shape of tongues, rest on the heads of the
hundred and twenty disciples; it is the Holy Ghost taking possession of all and
each. The Church is not only in Mary, but also in these hundred and twenty disciples.
All belong now to the Spirit that has descended upon them; His kingdom is
begun, it is manifested, its conquests will be speedy and glorious.
But let us consider the symbol chosen to designate this
divine change. He who showed Himself under the endearing form of a dove, on the
occasion of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan, now appears under that of fire. He is
the Spirit of love; and love is not only gentle and tender, it is also ardent
as fire. Now, therefore, that the world is under the influence of the Holy
Ghost, it must needs be on fire, and the fire shall not be checked. And why is
this form of tongues? To show that the heavenly fire is to be spread by the
word, by speech. These hundred and twenty disciples need but to speak of the
Son of God, made man, and our Redeemer; of the Holy Ghost, who renews our
souls; of the heavenly Father, who loves and adopts us as His children: their
word will find thousands to believe and welcome it. Those that receive it shall
all be united in one faith; they shall be called the Catholic Church, that is, universal,
existing in all places and times. Jesus had said: “Go, teach all nations!” The
Holy Ghost brings from heaven both the tongue that is to teach, and the fire
(the love of God and of mankind), which is to give warmth and efficacy to the
teaching. The tongue and the fire are now given to these first disciples, who,
by the assistance of the holy Spirit, will transmit them to others. So will it
be to the end of time.
An obstacle, however, opposes the mission at the very
outset. Since the confusion at Babel, there have been as many languages as
countries; communication by word has been interrupted. How, then, is the word
to become the instrument of the world’s conquest, and to make one family out of
all these nations that cannot understand each other? Fear not: the holy Spirit
is all-powerful, and has provided for this difficulty. With the other gifts,
wherewith He has enriched the hundred and twenty disciples, He has given them
that of understanding all languages, and of making themselves understood in
every language. In a transport of holy enthusiasm, they attempt to speak the
languages of all nations; their tongue and their ear take in, not only without
effort, but even with charm and joy, this plentitude of word and speech which
is to reunite mankind together. The Spirit of love has annulled the separation
of Babel; men are once more made brethren by the unity of language.
How beautiful art thou, dear Church of our God!
Heretofore, the workings of the Holy Ghost have been limited; but now, he
breatheth freely where He willeth; He brings thee forth to the eyes of men by
this stupendous prodigy. Thou art the image of what this earth was, when all
its inhabitants spoke the same language. The prodigy is not to cease with the
day of Pentecost, nor with the disciples who are its first receivers. When the
apostles have terminated their lives and preaching, the gift of tongues, at
least in its miraculous form, will cease, because no longer needed: but thou O
Church of Christ, wilt continue to speak all languages, even to the end of
time, for thou art to dwell in every clime. The only same faith is to be
expressed in the language of every country; and thus transformed, the miracle
of Pentecost is to be kept up forever with thee, as one of thy characteristic
marks.
The great St. Augustine alluded to this, when he spoke
the following admirable words: “The whole body of Christ, the Church, now
speaks in all tongues. Nay, I myself speak all tongues, for I am in the Body of
Christ, I am in the Church of Christ. If the body of Christ now speaks all
languages, then am I in all languages. Greek is mine, Syriac is mine, Hebrew is
mine, and all are mine, for I am one with all the several nations that speak
them.” During the ages of faith, the Church (which is the only source of all
true progress) succeeded in giving one common language to all the nations that
were in union with her. For centuries, the Latin language was the bond of union
between civilized countries. However distant these might be from one another,
there was this link of connexion between them; it was the medium of
communication for political negotiations, for the spread of science, or for
friendly epistolary correspondence. No one was a stranger, in any part of the
west, or even beyond it, who could speak this language. The great heresy of the
sixteenth century robbed us of this as of so many other blessings; it
dismembered that Europe which the Church and united, not only by her faith, but
by her language. But let us return to the cenacle, and continue our
contemplation of the wondrous workings of the holy Spirit within this still
closed sanctuary.
First of all, we look for Mary; for her who now, more
than ever, is full of grace. After those measureless gifts lavished upon her in
her Immaculate Conception; after the treasures of holiness infused into her by
the Incarnate Word during the nine months she bore Him in her womb; after the
special graces granted her for acting and suffering in union with her Son, in the
work of the world’s Redemption; after the favours wherewith this same Jesus
loaded her when in the glory of His Resurrection: we souls have thought that
heaven had given all it could to a mere creature, however, sublime the destiny
of that creature might be. But no. Here is a new mission opened for Mary. The
Church is born; she is born of Mary. Mary has given birth to the bride of her
Son; new duties fall upon the Mother of the Church. Jesus has ascended into
heaven, leaving Mary upon the earth, that she may nurse the infant Church. Oh,
how lovely and yet how dignified, is this infancy of our dear Church, cherished
as she is, fed, and strengthened by Mary! But this second Eve, this true Mother
of the living, must receive a fresh infusion of grace to fit her for this her
new office: therefore it is that she has the first claim to, and the richest
portion of, the gifts of the Holy Ghost. Heretofore, He overshadowed her and
made her Mother of the Son of God; now He makes her the Mother of the Christian
people. It is the verification of those words of the royal prophet: “The stream
(literally, the impetuosity) of the river maketh the city of God joyful: the
Most High hath sanctified His own tabernacle.” The Spirit of love here fulfills
the intention expressed by our Redeemer when dying on the cross. “Woman!” said
Jesus to her, “behold thy son!” St. John was this son, and he represented all
mankind. The Holy Ghost now infuses into Mary the plentitude of the grace
needful for her maternal mission. From this day forward, she acts as Mother of
the infant Church; and when, at length, the Church no longer needs her visible
presence, this Mother quits the earth for heaven, where she is crowned Queen;
but here, too, she exercise her glorious tittle and office of Mother of men.
Let us contemplate this masterpiece of Pentecost, and
admire the new loveliness that beams in Mary from this new maternity. She is
inflamed by the fire of divine love, and this in a way not felt before. She is
all devoted to the office put upon her, for which she has been left on earth.
The grace of the apostolate is granted to her. She has received the tongue of
fire; and although her voice is not to make itself heard in public preaching,
yet will she speak to the apostles, directing and consoling them in their
labours. She will speak, too, to the faithful, but with a force, a sweetness,
and a persuasiveness, becoming one whom God has made the most exalted of His
creatures. The primitive Christians, with such a training as this, will have
vigour and energy enough to resist all the attacks of hell, and, like Stephen
who had often listened to her inspiring words, to die martyrs for the faith.
Let us next look at the apostolic college. The frequent
instructions they have been receiving from their Lord, during the forty days
after His Resurrection, have changed them into quite other men; but now that
they have received the Holy Ghost, the change and conversion is complete. They
are filled with the enthusiasm of faith; their souls are on fire with divine
love; the conquest of the whole world, this is their ambition, and they know it
is their mission. What their Master had told them is fulfilled: they are endued
with power from on high, and are ready for the battle. Who would suppose that
these are the men who crouched with fear, when their Jesus was in the hands of
His enemies? Who would take these to be the men that doubted of His
Resurrection? All that this beloved Master has taught them is now so clear to
them! They see it all, they understand it all. The Holy Ghost has infused into
them, and in a sublime degree, the gift of faith; they are impatient to spread
this faith throughout the whole earth. Far from fearing, they even long to
suffer persecution in the discharge of the office entrusted to them by Jesus,
that of preaching His name and His glory unto all nations.
Look at Peter. You easily recognize him by that majestic
bearing, which, though, sweetly tempered by deep humility, bespeaks his
pre-eminent dignity. A few hours ago, it was the tranquil gravity of the head
of the apostolic college; now, his whole face gleams with the flash of
enthusiasm, for the Holy Ghost is now sovereign possessor of this vicar of
Christ, this prince of the word, this master-teacher of truth. Near to him are
seated the other apostles: Andrew, his elder brother, who now conceives that
ardent passion for the cross, which is to be his grand characteristic; John,
whose meek and gentile eye now glistens with the fire of inspiration,
betokening the prophet of Patmos; James, the brother of John, and called, like
him, the son of thunder, bears in his whole attitude the appearance of the
future chivalrous conqueror of Iberia. The other James, known and loved under
the name of the brother of Jesus, feels a fresh and deeper transport of
joyousness as the power of the Spirit thrills through his being. Matthew is
encircled with a glowing light, which points him out to us as the first writer
of the New Testament. Thomas, whose faith was the fruit he took from Jesus’
wounds, feels that faith now made perfect; it is generous, free, unreserved,
worthy of the brave apostle of the Far East. In a word, all twelve are a living
hymn to the glory of the almighty Spirit, whose power is thus magnificently
evinced even at the outset of His reign.
The disciples, too, are sharers, though in a less degree
than the apostles, of the divine gift; they receive the same Spirit, the same
sacred fire, for they too, are to go forth, conquer the world, and found
Churches. The holy women, also, who form part of the assembly of the cenacle,
have received the graces of this wondrous descent of the Holy Ghost. It was
love that emboldened them to stand near the cross of Jesus, and be the first to
visit His sepulcher on Easter morning; this love is now redoubled. A tongue of
fire has stood over each of them, and the time will come when they will speak,
with fervid eloquence, of Jesus, to both Jews and Gentiles. The Synagogue will
banish Magdalene and her companions: the Gentiles of our western Europe will
receive them, and the word of these holy exiles will produce a hundredfold of
fruit.
Meanwhile, a large crowd of Jews has collected round the
mysterious cenacle. Not only has the “mighty wind” excited their curiosity,
but, moreover, that same divine Spirit, who is working such wonders upon the
holy assembly within, is impelling them to visit the house, wherein is the
newborn Church of Christ. They clamour for the apostles, and these are burning
with zeal to begin their work; so, too, are all. At once, then, the crowd sees
these men standing in its midst, and relating the prodigy that has been wrought
by the God of Israel.
What is the surprise of this multitude, composed as it is
of people of so many different nations, when these poor uneducated Galileans
address them, each in the language of his own country? They have heard them
speak before this, and they expected a repetition of the jargon now; when lo!
There is the correct accent and diction of every country, and with such
eloquence! The symbol of unity is here shown in all its magnificence. Here is
the Christian Church; it is one, though consisting of such varied elements: the
walls of division, which divine justice had set up between nation and nation,
are now removed. Here, also, are the heralds of the faith of Christ; they are ready
for their grand mission; they long to traverse the earth, and to save it by the
word of their preaching.
But in the crowd there are some who are shocked at
witnessing this heavenly enthusiasm of the apostles. “These men,” say they,
“are full of new wine!” it is the language of rationalism, explaining away
mystery by reason. These Galileans, these “drunken men”, are, however, to
conquer the whole world to Christ, and to give the Holy Ghost, with His inebriating
unction, to all mankind. The holy apostles feel that it is time to proclaim the
new Pentecost; yet, this anniversary of the old is a fitting day for the new to
be declared. But in this proclamation of the law of mercy and love, which is to
supersede the law of justice and fear, who is to be the Moses? Our Emmanuel,
before ascending into heaven, had selected one of the twelve for the glorious
office: it is Peter, the rock on whom is built the Church. It is time for the shepherd
to show himself and speak, for the flock is now to be formed. Let us hearken to
the Holy Ghost, who is about to speak by His chief organ to this wondering and
attentive multitude. The apostle, though he speaks in one tongue, is understood
by each of his audience, no matter what his country and language may be. The
discourse is, of itself, a guarantee of the truth and divine origin of the new
law.
The fisherman of Genesareth thus pours forth his wondrous eloquence: “Ye men of Judea, and all you that dwell in Jerusalem, be this known
to you, and with your ears, receive my words! For these are not drunk, as you
suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was
spoken of by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days,
saith the Lord, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and
your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your
old men shall dream dreams. And upon my servants indeed, and upon my handmaids,
will I pour out, in those days of my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.’ Ye men
of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man approved of God among
you, by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by Him in the midst of
you, as you also know. This same being delivered up, by the determinate counsel
and foreknowledge of God, you, by the hands of wicked men, have crucified and
slain. Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the sorrows of hell (the tomb),
as it was impossible that He should be holden by it. For David saith concerning
Him: ‘My flesh shall rest in hope, because Thou wilt not leave my soul in the
tomb, nor suffer Thy holy One to see corruption.’ Ye men, brethren, let me
freely speak to you of the patriarch David: that he died and was buried, and
his sepulcher is with us to this day. Whereas, therefore, he was a prophet, he spoke
of the Resurrection of Christ; for neither was He left in the tomb, neither did
His flesh see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised again, whereof all we are
witnesses. Being exalted by the right hand of God, and having received of the
Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath poured forth this which you see
and hear. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know most certainly, that God
hath made both Lord and Christ this same Jesus, whom you have crucified.”
Thus did the second Moses promulgate the new Law. How
must his hearers have welcomed the stupendous gift of this new Pentecost, which
put them in possession of the divine realities foreshadowed by that figurative
one of old! Here again, it was God revealing Himself to His creatures, and, as
usual, by miracles. Peter alludes to the wonders wrought by Jesus, who thus
bore testimony to His being the Messias. He tells his audience that the Holy
Ghost has been sent from heaven, according to the promise made to this Jesus by
His Father: they have proof enough of the great fact, in the fits of tongues of
which they themselves are witnesses.
The holy Spirit makes His presence and influence to be
felt in the hearts of these favoured listeners. A few moments previously they
were disciples of Sinai, who had come from distant lands to celebrate the
by-gone Pasch and Pentecost; now they have faith, simple and full faith, in
Christ. They repent of the awful crime of His death, of which they have been
accomplices; they confess His Resurrection and Ascension; they beseech Peter
and the rest of the apostles to put them in the way of salvation: “Men and
brethren!” say they, “what shall we do?” Better dispositions could not be: they
desire to know their duty, and are determined to do it. Peter resumes his
discourse, saying: “Do penance, and be baptised, every one of you, in the name
of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins; and you shall receive the gift
of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all
that are afar off, whomsoever the Lord our God shall call.”
The Jewish Pentecost pales at each word of the new Moses;
the Christian Pentecost manifests itself with clearer light. The reign of the
Holy Ghost is inaugurated in Jerusalem, and under the very shadow of that
temple which is doomed to destruction. Peter continued his instructions; but
the sacred Volume has left us only these few words, wherewith, probably, the
apostle made his final appeal to his hearers: “Save yourselves from this
perverse generation!”
These children of Israel had to make this sacrifice, or
they never could have shared in the graces of the new Pentecost: they had to
cut themselves off from their own people; they had to leave the Synagogue for
the Church. There was a struggle in many a heart at that moment; but the holy
Spirit triumphed; three thousand declared themselves disciples of Christ, and
received the mark of adoption in holy Baptism. Church of the living God, how
lovely art thou in thy first reception of the divine Spirit! How admirable is
thy early progress! Thy first abode was in the Immaculate Mary, the Virgin full
of grace, the Mother of God; thy second victory gave thee the hundred and
twenty disciples of the cenacle; and now, three thousand elect proclaim thee as
their mother, and leaving the unhappy Jerusalem, will carry thy name and
kingdom to their own countries. Tomorrow, Peter is to preach in the temple, and
five thousand men will enroll themselves as disciples of Jesus of Nazareth.
Hail, then, dear creation of the Holy Ghost. Militant on earth; triumphant in
heaven; beautiful, noble, immortal Church, all hail! And thou, bright
Pentecost, day of truest birth, how fair, how glorious, thou makest these first
hours of Jesus’ bride on earth! The divine Spirit thou givest us, has written,
not upon stone, but upon our hearts, the Law that is to govern us. In thee, O
Pentecost, we find realized the hopes foreshadowed in the mystery of the
Epiphany; for though thou thyself art promulgated in Jerusalem, yet thy graces
are to be extended to all that are afar off, that is, to us Gentiles. The Magi
came from the east; we watched them as they visited the crib of the divine
Babe, for we knew that we too, were to have our season of grace. It was thou, O
holy Spirit, that didst attract them to Bethlehem: and now, in this Pentecost
of Thy power, Thou callest all men; the star is changed into tongues of fire,
and the face of the earth is to be renewed. Oh, grant that we may be ever
faithful to the graces thou offerest us, and carefully treasure the gifts sent us,
with Thee and through Thee, by the Father and the Son!
The mystery of Pentecost holds so important a place in
the Christian dispensation, that we cannot be surprised at the Church’s ranking
it, in her liturgy, on an equality with her paschal solemnity. The Pasch is the
redemption of man by the victory of Christ; Pentecost is the Holy Ghost taking
possession of man redeemed. The Ascension is the intermediate mystery; it
consummates the Pasch, by placing the Man-God, the Conqueror of death, and our
Head, at the right hand of the Father; it prepares the mission of the Holy
Ghost to our earth. This mission could not take place until Jesus had been
glorified, as St. John tells us; and several reasons are assigned for this fact
by the holy fathers. It was necessary that the Son of God, who, together with
the father, is the principle of the procession of the Holy Ghost in the divine
essence, should also personally send this divine Sprit upon the earth. The
exterior mission of one of the Three Persons is but the sequel and
manifestation of the mysterious and eternal production which is ever going on
within the Divinity. Thus the Father is not sent, either by the Son or by the
Holy Ghost, because He does not proceed from them. The Son is sent to men by
the Father, of whom He is eternally begotten. The Holy Ghost is from both. But,
in order that the mission of the Holy Ghost might give greater glory to the
Son, there was a congruity in its no taking place until such time as the
Incarnate Word should be enthroned at the right hand of the Father. How immense
the glory of human nature, that it was hypostatically united to the Person of
the Son of God when this mission of the Holy Ghost was achieved, and that we
can say, in strict truth, the Holy Ghost was sent by the Man-God!
This divine mission was not to be given to the Third
Person, until men were deprived of the visible presence of Jesus. As we have
already said. The hearts of the faithful were henceforward to follow their
absent Redeemer by a purer and wholly spiritual love. Now, who was to bring us
this new love, if not he who is the link of the eternal love of the Father and
the Son? This holy Spirit of love and union is called, in the sacred
Scriptures, the “Gift of God”; and it is on the day of Pentecost that the
Father and Son send us this ineffable Gift. Let us call to mind the words
spoken by our Emmanuel to the Samaritan woman at the well of Sichar: “If thou
didst know the Gift of God!” he had not yet been given, He had not yet been
manifested, otherwise than in a partial way. From this day forward, He
inundates the whole earth with His fire, he gives spiritual life to all, He
make His influence felt in every place. We know the Gift of God; so that we
have but to open our hearts to receive Him, as did the three thousand who
listened to St. Peter’s sermon.
Observe, too, the season of the year, in which the Holy
Ghost comes to take possession of His earthly kingdom. Our Jesus, the Sun of
justice, arose in Bethlehem in the very depth of winter; humble and gradual was
His ascent to the zenith of His glory. But the Spirit of the Father and the Son
came in the season that harmonizes with His own divine characteristic. He is a
consuming Fire; He comes into the world when summer is in its pride, and
sunshine decks the earth with loveliest flowers. Let us welcome the life-giving
heat of the Holy Ghost, and earnestly beseech Him that it may ever abide within
us. The liturgical year has brought us to the full possession of truth by the Incarnate
Word; let us carefully cherish the love, which the Holy Ghost has now enkindled
within our hearts.
The Christian Pentecost, prefigured by the ancient one of
the Jews, is of the number of the feasts that were instituted by the apostles.
As we have already remarked, it formerly shared with Easter the honour of the
solemn administration of Baptism. Its octave, like that of Easter, and for the
same reason, ended with the Saturday following the feast. The catechumens received
Baptism on the night between Saturday and Sunday. So that the Pentecost
solemnity began on the vigil, for the neophytes at once put on their white garments:
on the eighth day, the Saturday, they laid them aside.
In the middle-ages, the feast of Pentecost was called by
the beautiful name of the “The Pasch of roses,” just as the Sunday within the
octave of the Ascension was termed the “Sunday of roses”. The colour and
fragrance of this lovely flower were considered by our Catholic forefathers as
emblems of the tongues of fire, which rested on the heads of the hundred and twenty
disciples, and poured forth the sweet gifts of love and grace on the infant
Church. The same idea suggested the red-coloured vestments for the liturgical
services during the whole octave. In his Rational
(a work which abounds in most interesting information regarding the mediæval
liturgical usages), Durandus tells us that, in the thirteenth century, a dove
was allowed to fly about in the church, and flowers and lighted tow were thrown
down from the roof, during the Mass on Whit Sunday; these were allusions to the
two mysteries of Jesus’ Baptism, and of the descent of the Holy Ghost on the
day of Pentecost.
At Rome, the station is in the basilica of St. Peter. It
was but just that special honour should be paid to this prince of the apostles,
for it was on this day that his preaching won three thousand converts to the Church.
Though the station and the indulgences attached to it are at St. Peter’s, yet
the sovereign Pontiff and the sacred college of Cardinals solemnize today’s
service in the Lateran basilica, which is the mother-church of the city and of
the world.
Why do Catholics honor Mary? Because it’s biblical! Mary, the Mother of our Blessed Lord, is honored in the pages of the New Testament.
Of all humans who have ever lived, Catholics render the highest degree of honor to Our Blessed Lord, Jesus Christ. This, however, is not dulia. Jesus Christ was not just a human. He was both God and man. Thus, the honor we render to the person of Our Blessed Lord is latria. Of all God’s other creatures who have ever lived, Catholics render the highest degree of honor to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is dulia, proper, but because it is the highest degree of dulia that Catholics render it is distinguished by calling it hyper-dulia. This distinction was first expounded by St. Augustine of Hippo and St. Jerome. This does not mean that Mary was not honored before St. Augustine, but that her unique role in the faith lives of Catholics was being explained in ever greater detail by the fourth century.
Objection: I know there is something fishy here because I’ve heard Catholics say that they “worship” Mary. Are they lying or are you?
