Feast of the Pentecost

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Sunday, 20 May 2029 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday (Psalm after Third Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 106 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

Let the redeemed of YHVH say this, those He redeemed from the hand of the foe, those He gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.

Some strayed in the wilderness and were lost, far away from the city. They wandered about hungry and thirsty, their lives ebbing away.

Then they cried to YHVH in anguish, and He rescued them from their distress. He led them by a straight way, to a city where they could dwell.

Let them thank YHVH for His love and wondrous deeds for humans. He quenches the thirst of the soul and satisfies the hunger of the heart.

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Sunday, 24 May 2026 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday (Third Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Ezekiel 37 : 1-14

The hand of YHVH was upon me. He brought me out and led me in spirit to the middle of the valley which was full of bones. He made me walk to and fro among them and I could see there was a great number of them on the ground all along the valley and that they were very dry.

YHVH said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live again?” I said, “Lord YHVH, only You know that.” He then said, “Speak on My behalf concerning these bones; say to them : Dry bones, hear the word of YHVH! YHVH says : I am going to put spirit in you and make you live. I shall put sinews on you and make flesh grow on you; I shall cover you with skin and give you My Spirit, that you may live. And you will know that I am YHVH.”

“I prophesied as I had been commanded and then there was a noise and commotion; the bones joined together. I looked and saw that they had sinews, that flesh was growing on them and that He was covering them with skin. But there was no spirit in them.”

So YHVH said to me, “Speak on My behalf and call on the Spirit, son of man! Say to the Spirit : This is the word of YHVH : Spirit, come from the four winds. Breathe into these dead bones and let them live!” I prophesied as He had commanded me and breath entered them; they came alive, standing on their feet – a great, immense army!

He then said to me, “Son of man, these bones are all Israel. They keep saying : ‘Our bones are dry, hope has gone, it is the end of us.’ So prophesy! Say to them : This is what YHVH says : I am going to open your tombs, I shall bring you out of your tombs, My people, and lead you back to the land of Israel.”

“You will know that I am YHVH, o My people! When I open your graves and bring you out of your graves, when I put My Spirit in you and you live. I shall settle you in your land and you will know that I, YHVH, have done what I said I would do.”

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Sunday, 24 May 2026 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday (Psalm after Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Daniel 3 : 52, 53, 54, 55, 56

Blessed are You, Lord, God of our fathers, be praised and exalted forever. Blessed is Your holy and glorious Name, celebrated and exalted forever.

Blessed are You in the Temple of Your sacred glory, Your praises are sung forever.

Blessed are You on the throne of Your kingdom, honoured and glorified forever.

Blessed are You Who fathom the depths, who are enthroned on the Cherubim, praised and exalted forever.

Blessed are You in the firmament of heaven, praised and glorified forever.

Alternative Psalm

Psalm 18 : 8, 9, 10, 11

The Law of the Lord is perfect : it gives life to the soul. The word of the Lord is trustworthy : it gives wisdom to the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right : they give joy to the heart. The commandments of the Lord are clear : they enlighten the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is pure, it endures forever; the judgments of the Lord are true, all of them just and right.

They are more precious than gold – pure gold of a jeweller; they are much sweeter than honey which drops from the honeycomb.

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Sunday, 24 May 2026 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Exodus 19 : 3-8a, 16-20b

The Israelites camped there in front of the mountain, but Moses went up to God and YHVH called to him from the mountain, saying, “This is what you are to say and to explain to the Israelites : You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried you on eagle’s wings and brought you to Myself.”

“Now if you listen to Me and keep My covenant, you shall be My very own possession among all the nations. For all the earth is Mine, but you will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” And He added, “This is what you are to say to the people of Israel.”

So Moses went and summoned all the elders of the people and related to them all that YHVH had commanded him to say. All the people responded with one voice, “All that YHVH has said, we will do.”

On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning and a dense cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast was heard. All the people in the camp trembled. Moses then made the people leave the camp to meet God and stand at the foot of the mountain.

Mount Sinai was completely covered in smoke because YHVH had come down in fire, and the smoke rose as from a furnace. The whole mountain shook violently, while the blast of the trumpet became louder and louder. Moses spoke and God replied in thunder. When YHVH had come down to the summit of Mount Sinai, God called Moses who went to the summit.

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Sunday, 24 May 2026 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday (Psalm after First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 32 : 10-11, 12-13, 14-15

The Lord frustrates the plans of the nations and brings to nothing the peoples’ designs. But His plan stands forever, and His heart’s design through all generations.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord – the people He has chosen for His inheritance. The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole race of mortals.

From where He sits He watches all those who dwell on the earth – He Who fashions every heart observes all their deeds.

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Sunday, 24 May 2026 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Genesis 11 : 1-9

The whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved from east, they found a plain in the country of Shinar where they settled. They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them in fire.” They used brick for stone and bitumen for mortar. They said also, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top reaching heaven; so that we may become a great people and not be scattered over the face of the earth!”

YHVH came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of man were building, and YHVH said, “They are one people and they have one language. If they carry this through, nothing they decide to do from now on will be impossible. Come! Let Us go down and confuse their language so that they will no longer understand each other.”

So YHVH scattered them over all the earth and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel, because there YHVH confused the language of the whole earth and from there YHVH scattered them over the whole face of the earth.

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Sunday, 8 June 2025 : Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday marks the very last day of this joyful and glorious Easter season, the fiftieth day since Easter Sunday, when we mark the Day of Our Lord’s glorious Resurrection from the dead. This Sunday is the Pentecost Sunday, with the word Pentecost meaning ‘fifty’ dating from the ancient Jewish and Israelite tradition of celebrating the Festival of the Pentecost, fifty days after the Passover. And since Easter is truly the New, Christian and Eternal Passover which the Lord Jesus, Our Lord, God and Saviour had sealed and made with all of us, therefore, this Pentecost is the celebration of the renewed Pentecost of the ancient past. This is why we celebrate this fiftieth day of Easter marking the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Church as a very significant event.

On this Sunday’s celebration, we remember the moment when the Lord’s promised Advocate or Helper, the Holy Third of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit, came down upon the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord, marking the moment when the Church was revealed to the whole world. This day of the Pentecost was often mistaken as the ‘birthday of the Church’ as it is understandable that many would have seen it that way. After all, it was the moment when the Church was manifested and became real to the world, as the Apostles and the other disciples, traditionally numbering a hundred and twenty of them all according to Apostolic traditions, went forth from their hiding place to go public and courageously proclaiming the Good News of God, gaining three thousand converts that day, and hence laying the foundation for the visible Body of Christ, the Church.

However, the true birthday of the Church actually happened on the Good Friday according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as the Church of God came forth from the side of the Lord, His pierced side that gave the outpoured Precious Blood and water, coming forth into this world after He has proclaimed it before the disciples, the Church of God, the Body that the Lord Himself has broken and shared with us all, so that by His gift of His Most Precious Body and Blood, all of us become sharers and partakers in the same Eucharist, the Real Presence of Our Lord, and thus becoming united as one Body of Christian believers, and hence, the Church of God. Nevertheless, this does not mean that what happened at Pentecost was less important in any way, as up to the Descent of the Holy Spirit, the Church was hidden from the world, hiding in fear and uncertainty.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard of the account of what had happened at the moment of that Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and disciples, strengthening and rejuvenating them all with hope and great courage, overcoming all their doubts, fears and all the things that had kept them in hiding from all those who sought to persecute and oppress them with threats and harm. They went forth joyfully in carrying out everything that the Lord had commanded them all to do, to proclaim Him and His Good News to all the people of all the nations. The Lord has reassured them of the Holy Spirit that He would send to them to remind them of everything that He had taught them and to strengthen them in their labours, and that was exactly what He had done for them.

Through the Holy Spirit, God had strengthened the hearts of the disciples, and gave them the wisdom and knowledge of languages and tongues, through which they had proclaimed courageously the Good News and truth of God to all those people who were assembled in Jerusalem at that time for the Festival of the Pentecost. It was symbolic reversal of what had happened in the past with the Tower of Babel, which if we recalled was the moment when God confused the language of mankind when they all came in pride and arrogance in trying to become like God themselves. Through the Holy Spirit, God brought back the unity that was lost to us mankind, gathering us all from the nations, regardless of our languages, races and origins, all called to become the same children and holy people of God.

Then, from our second reading, taken from the Epistle to the Romans, St. Paul the Apostle spoke to the faithful people of God in Rome referring to the Holy Spirit that has been given to all of the faithful, calling on all of them to holiness and to live their lives in accordance to the way of the Lord and the Holy Spirit. It is a reminder that all of us as Christians should also always strive to live in the manner that is worthy of the Lord, following His examples and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit at all times, keeping ourselves away from the wickedness of the world and from all the sins and darkness present all around us. By the Holy Spirit that we have received from the Lord, we should be encouraged and strengthened in our faith so that we can continue to persevere and be strong despite the challenges and trials that we may have to face and endure in life.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have reflected well upon these words from the Sacred Scriptures and reminded of what the Lord Himself had told His disciples in our Gospel passage today that all of us should keep His commandments, the Law of God, which is love, loving God and loving one another, and referring to the Holy Spirit that we have all received through Baptism, and which is then further strengthened and confirmed with us with the Sacrament of Confirmation, therefore, let us all as Christians joyfully proclaim the Lord at all times, all of His goodness and graces, through our works and actions, through everything we do, our every interactions with one another, filled ever more wonderfully by the gifts of the Holy Spirit within us, so that we may truly bear rich fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful and enkindle in all of us the fire of Your love. Lord, send forth Your Holy Spirit upon us and this world, and renew the face of the earth. May all of us be the loving examples and inspirations to one another, the perfect manifestation of the Love of God and the works of the Holy Spirit in our world today, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 8 June 2025 : Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

John 14 : 15-16, 23b-26

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments; and I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper to be with you forever. If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word and My Father will love him; and We will come to him and make a room in his home.”

“But if anyone does not love Me, he will not keep My words; and these words that you hear are not Mine, but the Father’s Who sent Me. I told you all this while I was still with you. From now on the Helper, the Holy Spirit Whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I have told you.”

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Sunday, 8 June 2025 : Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Romans 8 : 8-17

So, those walking according to the flesh cannot please God. Yet your existence is not in the flesh, but in the spirit, because the Spirit of God is within you. If you did not have the Spirit of Christ, you would not belong to Him.

But Christ is within you; though the body is branded by death as a consequence of sin, the spirit is life and holiness. And if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead is within you, He Who raised Jesus Christ from among the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies. Yes, He will do it through His Spirit Who dwells within you.

Then, brothers, let us leave the flesh and no longer live according to it. If not, we will die. Rather, walking in the spirit, let us put to death the body’s deeds, so that we may live. All those who walk in the Spirit of God are sons and daughters of God.

Then, no more fear : you did not receive a spirit of slavery, but the spirit that makes you sons and daughters, and every time, we cry, “Abba! (this means Dad!) Father!” the Spirit assures our spirit, that we are sons and daughters of God. If we are children, we are heirs, too. Ours will be the inheritance of God, and we will share it with Christ; for, if we now suffer with Him, we will also share glory with Him.

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Sunday, 8 June 2025 : Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 103 : 1 ab and 24ac, 29bc-30, 31 and 34

Bless the Lord, my soul! Clothed in majesty and splendour; How varied o Lord, are Your works! The earth full of Your creatures.

You take away their breath, they expire and return to dust. When You send forth Your Spirit, they are created, and the face of the earth is renewed.

May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in His works! May my song give Him pleasure, as the Lord gives me delight.