Abbé Bérenger Saunière served as parish priest at the village church of St Andrew in Antugnac, 4 May 1890 – 12 June 1891 Original French Transcript The Feast-day that we are celebrating today is called Pentecost, which means the fiftieth, because it was on the fiftieth day after His resurrection that Jesus Christ sent to His apostles the Holy Spirit that He had promised them. Here is how the Acts of the Apostles, in the Epistle for this day, announces this great event: "Immediately following His glorious Ascension, the apostles - with Mary the Divine Mother of the Saviour at their head - shut themselves up in the Temple and prepared themselves, in retirement and meditation, for the arrival of the Holy Spirit." Ten days had passed, during which they had persevered unanimously in prayer, when suddenly a strong wind arose around the Temple and a globe of fire appeared which, according to a religious tradition, rested on Mary's head and then divided itself into tongues of fire which were placed upon the head of each Apostle. Here is the fact, and here are the consequences of it: these men were suddenly able to speak all languages which they had previously been unable to speak. At one time they were weak and timid, now they were filled with courage… They went into the public places, they preached the Christ crucified, and they reproached their enemies for the crime that they have committed… They are threatened, but they continue to speak; they are whipped, imprisoned, even killed. Thousands are converted. - In spite of the rages of Hell, their persecution serves only to increase the number of the faithful,… the blood of the Christians is a seed… etc… Pentecost is the day on which the Church was born and, after Easter, it is the Church's greatest festival. - It is as old as the Church; its origin goes back to the Apostles, as St John Chrysostom, St Augustine and several other Church Fathers tell us. To enter fully into the spirit of this Feast-day we must: 1. ask the Holy Spirit to set ablaze our hearts with His love; 2. make us faithful to His inspirations; we must always act under His control and according to His impulses and must not cause Him sadness by resisting divine grace. |