Sunday, June 4, 2028
The feast 50 days after Easter celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and the birth of the church.
Pentecost (from the Greek pentekoste, 'fiftieth') is the feast celebrated 50 days after Easter, marking the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles in Jerusalem (Acts 2). On that day, gathered disciples heard a sound 'like the blowing of a violent wind,' saw 'what seemed to be tongues of fire' resting on each of them, and were filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in other languages so that pilgrims from across the empire heard the gospel in their own tongue. Peter's sermon that morning resulted in 3,000 baptisms — the founding of the Christian church. Pentecost was originally a Jewish harvest festival (Shavuot) commemorating the giving of the Torah at Sinai 50 days after Passover. The parallel is intentional: as God gave the Law on Sinai 50 days after the first Passover, so he gave the Spirit on Pentecost 50 days after the true Passover Lamb. Pentecost concludes the 50-day Easter season and inaugurates 'Ordinary Time' in the liturgical calendar. It is often called 'the birthday of the church' because Acts 2 marks the moment the church became a public, Spirit-empowered, multinational community.
Pentecost observance includes red vestments (recalling the tongues of fire), the reading of Acts 2, the singing of the Veni Creator Spiritus or other invocations of the Spirit, and in many traditions, the Pentecost sequence Veni Sancte Spiritus. In Italy, rose petals were historically dropped from the ceiling of the Pantheon during the Pentecost Mass to evoke the tongues of fire. The Easter candle is extinguished after the Gospel of Pentecost Sunday or kept in the baptistry for baptisms.
The traditional Bible readings for Pentecost include:
Pentecost was originally a Jewish harvest festival (Shavuot) celebrated 50 days after Passover. In the New Testament, it became the day the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles in Jerusalem (Acts 2), giving birth to the Christian church. The disciples spoke in many languages, Peter preached his first sermon, and 3,000 were baptized. Pentecost is called the 'birthday of the church.'
Pentecost is celebrated 50 days after Easter Sunday — always a Sunday, always seven weeks after Easter. Because Easter's date changes each year, Pentecost's date also varies, but it always falls between May 10 and June 13 in the Western calendar. Pentecost concludes the 50-day Easter season.
Red is the liturgical color for Pentecost, recalling the 'tongues of fire' that rested on each apostle when the Holy Spirit descended (Acts 2:3). Red also evokes the blood of martyrs, since Pentecost launched the church on its mission to the ends of the earth — a mission that has often cost lives.
The primary reading is Acts 2:1-21 (the descent of the Holy Spirit). Other readings include 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 (the gifts of the Spirit), John 20:19-23 (Jesus breathing the Spirit on the disciples) or John 14:15-26 (the promise of the Spirit), and Joel 2:28-29 (the Old Testament prophecy Peter quoted).