PROVIDENCE — St. Pius V Church is holding a weeklong celebration of the Feast of Pentecost that includes guest preachers, lectures and other special events.
“Hopefully it hits most things that affect the life of a parish,” said Father James Sullivan, O.P., the pastor of St. Pius V.
The week kicked off with the Mass for the Feast of Pentecost and a homily by guest preacher Father Peter John Cameron, O.P., the founding editor-in-chief of Magnificat and author of a book on preaching. The scheduled events for the week included: a lecture by Providence College theologian Aurelie Hagstrom on depictions of the Holy Spirit at 7 p.m. on Tuesday; Scripture reading and songs about the Holy Spirit at 7 p.m. on Wednesday; as well as a conference on the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Dominican saints by Father Patrick Briscoe, O.P., slated for Friday at 7 p.m.
Several Masses are also listed in the church’s bulletin as being part of the celebration, including a Mass at St. Anthony of Padua Church on Thursday.
“Our hope is that by dedicating a week to the Holy Spirit as a parish community, we might, all of us, be renewed,” said Father Briscoe, the parochial vicar at St. Pius V.
In his homily, Father Cameron described the Holy Spirit as “love in a person.” “This is the love that we’ve been made for,” Father Cameron said.
He said Pentecost was about this love “breaking through all the desolation … all the alienation, and all the isolation.”
“What’s the cause of so much of the misery in our life? Isn’t it the fear that we have to contend with? So the Holy Spirit comes to us to save us from our fear,” Father Cameron said.
Father Cameron also told the story of a teenage couple in New York City pregnant with conjoined twins who shared one heart. Despite the suggestion that they should have an abortion, the couple decided to proceed with the pregnancy. After their birth, the young father held his underweight little girls in his arms and said, “I’m here. Don’t be afraid. Daddy’s here.”
“Such a powerful beauty was manifesting itself that everyone in that room was changed,” Father Cameron said.
The new dad’s love for his newborn daughters reflected that of the Father. “This is the look of God the Father on us and on us at Pentecost,” Father Cameron said, quoting one of the Catholic doctors who witnessed the moment.
In the closing prayer, Father Sullivan reaffirmed Father Cameron’s message. “If you ever feel lonely, come here,” Father Sullivan said.
Afterwards, Father Sullivan told the Rhode Island Catholic that he hoped the weeklong series of events encourages parishioners to become more engaged with their parish — beyond merely attendance at Sunday Mass. “A parish is more than that. A parish is where you come to belong to something greater than yourself,” Father Sullivan said.
Pentecost, Father Sullivan said, is about the manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit and the manifestation of the Church to the world through the power of the Holy Spirit. One inspiration for the series was the recent institution of the memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church on the Monday after Pentecost.
Father Sullivan said the events are intended to celebrate Pentecost, provide ongoing catechesis, deepen a sense of community at the parish and increase awareness of the Holy Spirit. The events are open to anyone from the public, not just registered parishioners.
St. Pius V’s Pentecost celebration mirrors the eight-day octaves surrounding Christmas and Easter, according to Father Sullivan. In the octave, every day is thought of as Christmas or Easter. “That mystery that we’re celebrating — whether it be the Incarnation at Christmas, the resurrection at Easter, the manifestation of the Church to the world or the manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost — cannot be contained in one Mass, one day. It fills out,” Father Sullivan said.
In the liturgical life of the Church, Pentecost is part of a process of gradual revelation that goes all the way back to the Feast of the Annunciation, Father Sullivan said. “Jesus is continually revealing these inner truths that are not at first apparent and so you have to stay with Him to the end when it all will be revealed,” he said.
