O God, who by the mystery of today’s great feast
sanctify your whole Church in every people and nation,
pour out, we pray, the gifts of the Holy Spirit
across the face of the earth
and, with the divine grace that was at work
when the Gospel was first proclaimed,
fill now once more the hearts of believers.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
- They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak.
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11
When the day of Pentecost arrived, the Apostles were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”
The word of the Lord.
Psalm 104
RSend forth your Spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.
Or: Alleluia.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, how great you are!
How many are your works, O Lord!
The earth is full of your creatures.
RSend forth your Spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.
You take away their breath, they die,
returning to the dust from which they came.
You send forth your spirit, and they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
RSend forth your Spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.
May the glory of the Lord last for ever!
May the Lord rejoice in his works!
May my thoughts be pleasing to him.
I will rejoice in the Lord.
RSend forth your Spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.
- In one Spirit we were all baptised into one body.
A reading from the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13
Brothers and sisters: No one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptised into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
The word of the Lord.
Sequence Veni, Sancte Spiritus
Holy Spirit, Lord of light,
from the clear celestial height
thy pure beaming radiance give.
Come, thou Father of the poor,
come with treasures which endure,
come, thou light of all that live.
Thou, of all consolers best,
thou, the soul’s delightful guest,
dost refreshing peace bestow.
Thou in toil art comfort sweet,
pleasant coolness in the heat,
solace in the midst of woe.
Light immortal, light divine,
visit thou these hearts of thine,
and our inmost being fill.
If thou take thy grace away,
nothing pure in man will stay;
all his good is turned to ill.
Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
on our dryness pour thy dew;
wash the stains of guilt away.
Bend the stubborn heart and will;
melt the frozen, warm the chill;
guide the steps that go astray.
Thou, on us who evermore
thee confess and thee adore,
with thy sevenfold gifts descend:
Give us comfort when we die;
give us life with thee on high;
give us joys that never end.
Alleluia, alleluia. Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Alleluia.
- As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. Receive the Holy Spirit.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 20:19-23
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Credo
Prayer over the Offerings
Grant, we pray, O Lord,
that, as promised by your Son,
the Holy Spirit may reveal to us more abundantly
the hidden mystery of this sacrifice
and graciously lead us into all truth.
Through Christ our Lord.
Preface of Pentecost: The mystery of Pentecost
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God.
For, bringing your Paschal Mystery to completion,
you bestowed the Holy Spirit today
on those you made your adopted children
by uniting them to your Only Begotten Son.
This same Spirit, as the Church came to birth,
opened to all peoples the knowledge of God
and brought together the many languages of the earth
in profession of the one faith.
Therefore, overcome with paschal joy,
every land, every people exults in your praise
and even the heavenly Powers, with the angelic hosts,
sing together the unending hymn of your glory,
as they acclaim:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory,
Hosanna in the highest,
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest.
Communion Antiphon Ac 2:4, 11
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke of the marvels of God, alleluia.
Prayer after Communion
O God, who bestow heavenly gifts upon your Church,
safeguard, we pray, the grace you have given,
that the gift of the Holy Spirit poured out upon her
may retain all its force
and that this spiritual food
may gain her abundance of eternal redemption.
Through Christ our Lord.
To dismiss the people the Deacon or, if there is no Deacon, the Priest himself sings or says:
Go forth, the Mass is ended, alleluia, alleluia.
Or:
Go in peace, alleluia, alleluia.
And the people reply:
Thanks be to God, alleluia, alleluia.
With Easter Time now concluded, the paschal candle is extinguished. It is desirable to keep the paschal candle in the baptistery with due honour so that it is lit at the celebration of Baptism and the candles of those baptised are lit from it.
It is after the Ascension. The remaining apostles “have kept [the Father’s] word”; “they have believed that [the Father] sent Jesus”. They witness to the Father’s glory by enacting their own sort of triumphal entry into Jerusalem, redolent of Christ’s on Palm Sunday. It was triumphant “when they had entered the city” because the Eleven were deeply united in faith and charity, resolved to do the will of the Father. It is not a coincidence how their actions mimic those of the Saviour: they go to the Upper Room and there devote themselves to prayer with one accord. Persecution is soon to follow, but they will rejoice to the extent that they “share Christ’s sufferings”.