The feast of Pentecost, which we celebrate in a couple of weeks, is about God’s presence with us. In the story of Pentecost in the Acts of the Apostles, the disciples experienced the Holy Spirit entering into each one of them and then drawing them together.

On that day in Jerusalem there were people gathered from all over the world, people from every culture and language group. When the disciples went out to share the Spirit of Pentecost they were able to communicate with those people of diverse cultures and languages in a way that spoke personally to each one: ‘in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power’ (Acts 2: 11). On that day the first Christian community was born: a community of forgiveness, of cultural diversity, of sharing, of equality, of mutual support and benefit, of understanding and trust (Acts 2: 43–47). For this reason, Pentecost is sometimes called the birthday of the Church.

Suggestion: Celebrate the Church’s birthday as a Multicultural Festival.

Pentecost and the Catholic school

Pentecost is also the birthday of each of our learning communities, and of Catholic education. So it is an opportune moment for schools to celebrate who they are, to celebrate their ecclesial identity, their raison d’être. In The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, schools are strongly affirmed as ‘places of evangelisation, of complete formation, of inculturation, of apprenticeship in a lively dialogue between young people of different religions and social backgrounds’ (n. 11). This aspect of the Catholic school is not an adjunct but ‘a distinctive characteristic which penetrates and informs every moment of its educational activity’. Today more than ever, our schools are meeting places for the world’s cultures and languages, places of encounter and dialogue, where we learn about God’s presence within us and where we encounter God in the other. So it is a great idea to celebrate Pentecost in our schools.

The birthday of the Church

Church feasts don’t begin and end inside the walls of the church. This has been made abundantly clear by Pope Francis who, on Holy Thursday, chose to wash the feet of refugees who were Hindu, Muslim and Christian. There are other important instances too. Pancake Tuesday doesn’t happen in the church, it happens in the kitchen, and yet it is a rich traditional celebration of Shrove Tuesday. We don’t eat Hot Cross Buns in the church but they are an ancient Lenten and Easter tradition. These feasts happen in the kitchen and at the dining table, or at morning tea. In a similar way the feast of Pentecost could be celebrated in your school, perhaps in ways unique to your local context.

Archbishop Hart’s Pentecost Letter to Youth: Be Courageous

For some years Archbishop Denis Hart has written a Pentecost letter to the young people of the Archdiocese of Melbourne. This year his Pentecost Letter to Youth is entitled Be Courageous. In it he says,

Jesus was like us in all things but he chose to live a courageous life. Jesus found the courage to hear God’s will for his life and not his own. He found the courage not to conform to what others – his family, his friends, and the system he grew up in – wanted him to do when they contradicted God’s dream for him.

These words are liberating and galvanising. The Letter would be a powerful way to engage students in reflecting on the meaning of Pentecost for them today. The Archdiocesan Office for Youth website also has a number of resources to assist with this.

Pentecost is also an opportunity to welcome the stranger and to encounter the mystery of God. This theme runs all the way through the Bible. For instance, in the Old Testament, ‘You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt’ (Ex 22: 21), and in the New Testament, ‘Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels’ (Heb 13: 2). We should be reminded that God lived a human life and was for the most part unrecognised. Jesus also asks us to treat others as we would treat him: ‘Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’ (Mt 25: 40).

Embracing the cultural diversity of our schools