Easter to Pentecost

The Easter season is one of the most joyful seasons in the liturgical calendar. The period from Easter Sunday through Divine Mercy Sunday (the Sunday after Easter Sunday) is know as the Octave (or eighth day). But Easter doesn’t end there – the Easter season continues on for 50 days, through the Ascension of Our Lord to Pentecost Sunday.

Divine Mercy Sunday (Sunday After Easter)
The Church has always taught through scripture and tradition that God is merciful and forgiving. We too must show mercy and forgiveness to others. On the Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, the message we receive is that God’s love is unlimited and available to everyone, especially the greatest sinners.

The devotion to the Divine Mercy began in the 1930s and is derived from the diary of a young Polish nun, Saint Faustina Kowalska. In her diary she wrote of the vision she received in which Our Lord appeared. In the vision she saw Jesus clothed in a white garment with His right hand raised in blessing. His left hand was touching his heart, where two rays were coming from, one red and the other white. Saint Faustina asked about the two rays and their meaning. Jesus responded:

"The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross ... Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him"(Diary, Divine Mercy of My Soul, 299)

The message of Divine Mercy Sunday is that God loves us no matter how great our sins. By following His example and receiving his mercy we can extend love and forgiveness to others. In Saint Faustina’s diary, she states that Our Lord Jesus wants His Image of the Divine Mercy to be displayed in public. In addition, Our Lord asks that we go to confession and receive Communion.

Lent should be used as preparation for the Feast of the Divine Mercy. The confessional requirement does not have to be met on the Feast itself and that would be an impossible requirement for the clergy if it did. If confession is received during Lent, we would only need it again if we were in the state of mortal sin on the Feast.

The Ascension of Our Lord (Holy Day of Obligation)
The Ascension of Our Lord occurs 40 days after Easter Sunday. On this day, the risen Christ, in sight of His apostles, ascended bodily into Heaven. The Apostles’ Creed, which is recited during Sunday Mass, affirms this reality:

"He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of his Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.”

The Feast of the Ascension marks the beginning of the first novena, or nine days of prayer. Before His Ascension, Christ promised to send the Holy Spirit to His apostles. The Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary spent the next nine days in prayer, waiting for The Holy Spirit. Their prayer for the coming of the Holy Spirit, which began on Ascension Thursday, ended with the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday, ten days later.

The period between Ascension and Pentecost can be celebrated by praying the Novena to the Holy Ghost, asking God the Father to send His Spirit and to grant us the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Pentecost Sunday
Pentecost Sunday falls 50 days after Easter Sunday and 10 days after the Ascension of Our Lord. Pentecost marks the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles. When the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles, they were granted the “Gifts of the Holy Spirit.” On Pentecost the Holy Spirit gave the Apostles the ability to speak in strange tongues to the crowds in Jerusalem. They were empowered to proclaim the Gospel and the Good News of our Lord to people of all the Nations. The Holy Spirit transformed the Apostles from selfish and timid men into men of courage and faith.

The Holy Spirit comes with seven gifts. These gifts transformed the Apostles on Pentecost Sunday and they help us to live our lives in God’s name.

1. Wisdom
2. Understanding
3. Counsel
4. Fortitude
5. Knowledge
6. Piety
7. Fear of the Lord

Sources:
>> www.catholicism.about.com
>> www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/index.htm
>> www.divinemercysunday.com/divine_mercy.htm