As the Catechism notes, “On the day of Pentecost, when the seven weeks of Easter had come to an end, Christ’s Passover is fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, manifested, given and communicated as a divine person: Of his fullness, Christ, the Lord, pours out the Spirit in abundance.
“On that day, the Holy Trinity is fully revealed. Since that day, the Kingdom announced by Christ has been open to those who believe in him: In the humility of the flesh and in faith, they already share in the communion of the Holy Trinity. By his coming, which never ceases, the Holy Spirit causes the world to enter into the ‘last days,’ the time of the Church, the Kingdom already inherited though not yet consummated” (731-732).
And as an EWTN.com document notes, “Pentecost is considered the birthday of the Church, since it was upon the believers in Jesus assembled in prayer that the Holy Spirit originally came down. What further careful examination of the New Testament evidence reveals is that the Church upon which the Holy Spirit originally descended in Jerusalem was the same Church we attend today — the Church which, each Sunday in reciting the Creed, we profess to be the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church of Jesus Christ the Savior.”
Have you always wondered about some aspect of the faith?
Or maybe you’d like to know some trivia about Pope Benedict.
If you do, email us your question at editor@ewtn.com and look for the answer in an upcoming issue.