PENTECOST

All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer,

together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus… (Acts 1:14).

In celebrating the feast of Pentecost or Whitsun (as it is often called in England) the Christian Church realises the fulfilment the Paschal Mystery of Christ in accordance with what he promised in the Cenacle: “I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor, to be with you for ever, the Spirit of Truth… you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you.” (Jn 14: 16f.; cf. Jn 14:25; 15:26; 16:13f.)

The activity of the Holy Spirit’s presence in the Christian community is finely set out in the sequence of the Mass of Pentecost, which is a hymn composed by Stephen Langton, the Archbishop of Canterbury, during his six years exile in France by King John. Archbishop Langton, being a person open to the Spirit of God, is also known for his contribution to the system of basic human rights set out in the Magna Carta, drawn up in June 1215. Inspired and enlightened by the Holy Spirit’s guidance, Langton shows the Church’s deep commitment for social conditions, which is reflected in phrases of his hymn, which is considered as a great masterpiece of Latin poetry:

“Come father of the poor... Best Consoler... Rest in work...

  Bend what is rigid... Warm what is cold.”

Living at the same time as Archbishop Stephen Langton, St Francis of Assisi followed the traditional teaching that regarded and honoured Mary as closely associated with the Church. Like St Ambrose in the 4^th century, for instance, the Mother of Jesus is considered as the pattern or model of the Church, Francis composed a beautiful, litany-like series of greetings, among which he invokes her in a quite unique way:

“Virgin made Church

chosen by the most Holy Father in heaven

whom he consecrated with His most holy beloved Son

and with the Holy Spirit the Paraclete,

in whom there was and is

all fullness of grace and every good.”

 Image above:

Pentecost – Pamplona Cathedral, Spain