What is the Feast of Pentecost?

Any Christian worth his salt knows that apart from Christmas and Easter, Pentecost is probably the most important event of all Christian holidays . It takes place 50 days after Easter, followed by the famous Whit Monday, a public holiday for all workers around the world. But far beyond a simple international holiday, Pentecost evokes something infinitely more important for Christians.

The origin of Pentecost

Most people think of it as a simple holiday where you can rest and relax on Whit Monday, while you quietly search for a free invoice template on the Internet while sipping your coffee. However, for Christians, Protestant or Catholic and even for evangelicals, Pentecost is a very important event, since it commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit among the apostles .

However, be aware that this is not only a Christian holiday , but also a Jewish holiday. The term Pentecost means 50. In the Old Testament, this event marked the end of the Passover festivals, a series of Jewish celebrations in memory of their exodus from Egypt. Thus, on the 50th day, the Jewish people had the custom of offering to God their first fruits of the harvest. Later, this tradition was associated with the feast of the transmission of the Tablets of the Law to Moses and became a Jewish holiday in its own right.

For Christians, the story of PENTECOST is recorded in the book of Acts, in chapter 2. After Jesus' resurrection, he went to heaven, during the ascension. It was only after a few days of this event that the descent of the Holy Spirit took place among Jesus' disciples. Chapter 2 of the Acts of the Apostles tells that they were gathering in the upper room, a place where they usually gather to pray and discuss. Suddenly, a loud noise and a violent wind terrified the disciples. Tongues in the form of fire were placed on each of their heads. This was the Holy Spirit that Jesus himself had promised them when he was still among them. Moreover, not far from this chapter, more precisely in the chapter, when Jesus had not yet gone to heaven, he had told the apostles that they were going to receive strength to become his witnesses in the four corners of the world. What happened at Pentecost was the fulfillment of that promise .

Extraordinary phenomena during Pentecost

The coming of the Holy Spirit among the apostles marked the beginning of their ministry. The book of Acts records that immediately after the tongues of fire fell upon the disciples, they began to speak in tongues, meaning they spoke languages ​​that were not their native languages, but belonged to other countries. Because of Pentecost , Christians believe that they have the Holy Spirit of God within them and that they have the power of the Spirit to do what God Himself has called them to do.

It is worth emphasizing that it was at Pentecost that the church truly began to be born, as well as the Christian religion, because according to the book of Acts, it was from that moment that the apostles began to scatter everywhere to preach the Good News of Jesus .

Pentecost today

For years, Pentecost has been celebrated between May 10 and June 13 and the date is the same for all countries of the world . Pentecost Day is followed by Whit Monday which is a public holiday throughout the world.

Even though time and the churches of all kinds that have been created over the years have distorted the true meaning of Pentecost and even though it has become like a simple worldly celebration in some countries, Christians must never forget that Pentecost is the very origin of Christianity . Pentecost must be lived every day. As every Christian has the Spirit of God in him, he must walk in the Spirit, as Paul reminds us in certain epistles. This is the very essence of Christianity.

For the Catholic Church in particular, Pentecost is a very important event, so important that it is generally associated with the sacrament of Confirmation, an event during which some of the faithful reiterate their commitment to follow God. It is therefore not surprising that both events take place in many Catholic churches during Pentecost. During the sacrament of Confirmation, the bishop lays hands on the confirmands so that they can receive the Holy Spirit .