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.
"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.