Pentecost means so much more this year.  As Director of Social Media and Evangelization, I’m in charge of all the electronic communications and evangelization in the parish.  So I sent a special invitation to our Daily Inspirations subscribers to join together to pray the Novena to the Holy Spirit each day from Friday, the day after Ascension, to Saturday, the Vigil of Pentecost.  We got around 100 subscribers, more than I thought we would.  It was a very cool thought that at least  100 of our  friends were praying the same prayers each day.  What an incredible blessing for our parish!  I’m waiting to see what the fruits were.  I know it helped me  come up with a new creation –Hymn to the Holy Spirit .

So anyway, on Pentecost I always want to play “Happy Birthday” after we sing, “Thanks be to God, Alleluia!  Alleluia!”  However, I get to do the Golden Sequence, so I’ll take that instead.  This year Father decided to do something really awesome – he had someone carry the Easter Candle out of the church with the ministers at the recessional representing the end of the Easter Season.  He’s very big into visual representations and I thought this was quite powerful.

Thinking about the apostles crowded together in the upper room when the Holy Spirit came on them I have to smile.  It must have been a sight to see, probably chaotic to say the least.  They poured out of the room and started preaching and healing and teaching and here we are.  So anyway, Happy Birthday, Church of God, Elect and Glorious!