The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1955-05-27


gave way TO the Christian celebration of the Resur
rection The name Mass is only part Of Latin
verb which indicates the dismissal of the eongre-
cation after the Sublime Sacrifice. The word
Pentecost means only ftftieth.
This naming of things by unimportant details
Of circumstance, is not restricted TO matters re-
ligous. II is universal human habit Consider, for
instance of the word bus to indicate pub
lie conveyance The full word is of course, omnibus
which is Latin meaning for oil We make the last
three letters serve for the whole word, although
those three letters the terminal of thousands
of other Latin nouns, and, taken by themselves have
meaning at all.
PentecOst is sometimes called Whitsunday, that
is White-Sunday. This name long fading in popular
use was given because of the white abs of candi.
dates for ordination and the white garments of per-
to be baptizeo Pentecost Eve. Here again
have framed upon circumstance, and
neither the word PentecoSt the word Whit
sunday has any clear suggestion that il means the
Feast of the Descent of the Holy Ghost upon the
Apostles.
Pentecost is sometimes called the Birthday Of
the Church. For the Church. founisd and formed
by Our Lord before His departure into heaven on
Ascension Day, first existed somewhat an unborn
child and was not delivered into manifest being
and function until is burst forth from the room
where the Holy Ghost had come with great wind
and tongues of FIRE and the Apostles hitherto sill
ent and afraid, proclaimed the truth of our Faith to
all the world.
The descent Of the Holy Ghost with the outer
manifestation of wind and fire not only great
miracle; it was also the fulfment of repeated
prophecy of Christ. When the Holy Ghost comes TO
us AS He does with each grace received, with each
sacrament, and especially in Confirmation, we do
not call His coming miracle for there is no outer
and striking sign then given. Nor does His coming
the wondrous illumination of mind that it
meant to the Apostles does it bring the gift of
tongues which enabled all hearers of all nationali-
ties to understand what the Apostles said.
Yet we receive the Holy Ghost as truly as the
Apostles received Him, and His coming gives us
complete equipment for our own lives and
vocations as the Apostles received for themselves
and their work OF this fact too we ought TO think
Pentecost Day, and because of il we should stir
up in souls the spirit of appreciation and last
ing gratitude to God. And must pray that what
has been so generously bestowed upon us may be
received by the millions who stubborny close hearts
and wills against the entrance of the Holy Spirit.
When one Divine Person of the Blessed Trim
y is said 10 be sent, that word has special mean
ing Our Lord said that the Father had sent Him.
and that He and the Father would send the Holy
Ghost ST Thomas Aquinas tells us that the sending
of a Divine Person is the coming present of that
Person IN new way The Three Persons are One
God; and God is everywhere Yet God the Son came
present in a new way when He became Man; God
the Holy Ghost came present in new way when He
manifested Himself by the mighty wind and the
tongues of fire.
Certainly, We know that the Three Persons twho
are One God) are eo-equa and that One is not the
superior of Any Other as TO send that Other
as child or servant is sent upbn errand We
cannot to be sure, express divine mystery with
adequacy in human speech; we do our best and
make constant check and reminder to keep our
best from being misleading mised. We say that
the Son is sent by the Father that the Holy Ghost
is sent by the Father and the Son; do not speak
of the Father sent
What an amazing change The coming of the
Holy Ghost produced in the Apostles. They had
been timd; now they were unafraid They had
kept behind locked doors for fear of the Jews;
now they stood before the world and proclaimed
Catholic Faith They had no plan of campaign:
now they went about the business OF winning all
men to Christ and in hort time they changed
the face of the earth"
Our Lord had told Ills Apostles that the Holy
Ghost would come upon them, and would bring
to their minds all that He had taught them. indeed
every WOIu lndl ne nau Sdlu TO lnem, by the grace
OF the Resurrection and by their ordination the
Apostles knew the truth of the Faith And still they
must have been oggy in mind on many of its details
In the very hour of Our Lords Ascension they
had asked Him If He were then going TO restore the
kingdom of God earth. making Israel great
and conquering power: the old notion Of an earthly
triumph had not been wholly cleared from their
minds
The Apostles knew very we'll that the people
who had crucified Christ would put TO death the
men chosen to preach His Resurrection and His
Church. They knew this before the Holy G. oSt came
and they knew it, with added clarity, after He
came TO them But once the Holy Ghost had come,
that knowledge made no difference. They went
forward to certain martyrdom. rejoicing that they
we're found worthy TO suffer contumey and perse-
entlon in the cause Of Jesus Christ
Thus Pentecost Day is really the birthday Of
the Church. On that day the Church was set
before the world like city hill that cannot
be hid. On that day the Faith, like tidal
wave, swept over the earth despite the fact that
everything on earth bitterly opposed to its
spreading Overnight the startled word was aware
of this New Thing that had been but recently a
mere local movement and disturbance in and around
Jerusalem. and had been presumably topped and
IL