Celebrating Pentecost, the Birthday of the Church!

by | Jun 1, 2009 | Feast Day Plans, Garden of the Good Shepherd, Liturgical Year, Pentecost | 5 comments


“Pentecost Sunday is the second greatest Feast of the liturgical year — the first being Easter — and takes place 50 days (7 weeks) after Easter (the earliest possible date for this Feast is 10 May). This day celebrates the coming of the Holy Ghost upon the disciples and Our Lady and, in a sense, the reversal of the story of the Tower of Babel in that the the Apostles were given the gift of tongues by which they could preach and be understood by anyone in any language — a demonstration of the Church’s true catholicity.”
Source

Here are a few pictures of what we did at home today, after attending Mass:

~ White Donuts after Mass on “Whitsunday,” another name for Pentecost ~

~ Completed our Garden of the Good Shepherd Calendar~

~ A Twelve-Fruit Salad for with Dinner~

Our 12 Fruit Salad (in honor of the 12 fruits of the Holy Ghost) included: Strawberries, Blueberries, Red Grapes, Green Grapes, Kiwi, Pineapple, Mandarin Oranges, Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Honeydew, Peaches, and Apples.
It was SO delicious!
~ A Symbolic Cake for Pentecost ~

Our cake is a white cake with white frosting since Pentecost is also known as Whitsunday.
The large candle in center represents Christ our Light, who promised to send the Holy Ghost, and the 12 smaller white candles represent the 12 Apostle and the tongues of fire.

The 7 red hearts represent the 7 gifts of the Holy Ghost:
Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord

We made them from strawberries this year since one of the girls seems to be allergic to red food coloring. However, I should have let them dry out a little since the juices ran down the sides of the cake! Oops!

The 12 strawberries, placed around the cake, represent the 12 fruits of the Holy Ghost:
Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience, Benignity, Goodness, Longanimity, Mildness, Faith, Modesty, Continency, and Chastity.

After we light the candles we sing Happy Birthday to the Church…
…then the children blow out the candles with a “mighty wind!”

After dinner (which was nothing special, unless you are a pregnant momma craving Albacore Tuna Melts!) the children colored some pictures of the Apostles on Pentecost. The day ended with an amazing thunderstorm (preceded by some more “mighty winds!”) while we prayed the rosary on this last day of May, the month of Our Lady!

Prayer for the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost

O Lord Jesus Christ, Who, before ascending into heaven, didst promise to send the Holy Ghost to finish Thy work in the souls of Thy Apostles and Disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me, that He may perfect in my soul the work of Thy grace and Thy love. Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal, the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of Thy divine truth, the Spirit of Counsel that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining Heaven, the Spirit of Fortitude that I may bear my cross with Thee, and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation, the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints, the Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable, the Spirit of Fear that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God, and may dread in any way to displease Him. Mark me, dear Lord, with the sign of Thy true disciples and animate me in all things with Thy Spirit. Amen.

I hope you all had a very blessed Pentecost Sunday!

5 Comments

  1. Charlotte (WaltzingM)

    Yeah. Strawberries are notorious weepers. Everything looked beautiful, Jessica!

    Reply
  2. Christine

    I had so much red food coloring in my white batter….sorta makes ya wonder why some of my kids did not eat it! I like your idea better. Lots and lots of berries

    Reply
  3. Unknown

    Pentecost is one of my favorite feasts of the year. Thank you for sharing the ideas for a beautiful celebration! I look forward to doing something like this next year with my family. You are such a saint:) thanks for your inspiration!

    Reply
  4. Erin

    I like the idea of the strawberries instead of red food coloring frosting! I haven’t tried them myself, but I have heard others say they like India Tree natural food coloring… gets you the color without the side effects!

    Reply
  5. Kristi

    I will definately do the fruit salad….the cake looks delicious too….so I might try it as well:D

    Reply

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