SEASON AFTER PENTECOST

The beginning of the Season of Sundays after Pentecost is determined by the date of Easter – and the related date of Pentecost, fifty days later. The Feast of the Reign of Christ is its climax and conclusion and is always the 5th Sunday before Christmas Day, i.e. the Sunday before Advent begins. During the long Season of Sundays after Pentecost we encounter Jesus as Healer, Teacher and the One who is to suffer and die as the Saviour of the World.

Liturgical Colour
The liturgical colour for the Season is Green – Green being the colour associated with the mission and work of the Church in the world. However, the liturgical colour for the celebrations of the first Sunday after Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, and the final Sunday, the Reign of Christ are white.



About the Sunday Readings for the Sundays after Pentecost

The 27 Sundays in the Season of Sundays after Pentecost are provided with two sets of readings. Two different readings from the Old Testament [First Reading] are assigned to each Sunday. The New Testament [Second Reading] and the Gospel reading are the same in both sets. Each of these two sets of readings has its own integrity and should be used as a full set and not as part of a list of 6 readings from which choices can be made. It is recommended that one ‘track’ of Sunday readings [either the semi-continuous or the thematic track] be chosen and used consistently throughout the Season in any one year.
The First Reading and Psalm offer a semi-continuous reading of some of the Old Testament historical books, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings followed by series from the Wisdom literature, Song of Solomon, Proverbs, and Job. The Alternate First Reading and Psalm offer the option of lections in thematic harmony with the Gospel of the day.

Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost and the gospel passage from John recounts Jesus speaking to the disciples of the Spirit and the Father.
The readings from Luke for the next 26 Sundays include miracles of healing [5]. Teaching disciples [14 including 9 parables] a confrontation with the Jewish authorities, encounters with Martha and Mary as well as Zacchaeus, and a little Apocalypse until we are reminded that our King reigns from the Cross. In the midst of all that Jesus did, we also have the story of the sending of the 70 to prepare the way for Jesus by proclaiming the kingdom and curing the sick. In all of these one is reminded again and again of Jesus’ concern for the outsiders, the women, the weak, and those whom society cast aside.

The series of readings from Jeremiah in the middle of the season could provide material for a series of sermons on the role of the prophet in society. The semi-continuous readings from the letters to the Galatians, Colossians and Timothy provide ample opportunity to focus the preaching on a series of Sundays and to encourage study groups to continue that focus in small groups.

Wading into the Ocean 

by Marina McCoy in Discernment

Ignatian spirituality often focuses on being attentive to the nature of our own desires, especially in discernment. Ignatius discovered that following God’s will is not a question of repressing our desires but rather of getting to know better what we really want. Our deepest desires sometimes are not what we initially think them to be. For example, many college students begin with a concern to earn good grades, to prepare to get a job, and to be accepted by their peers. There is nothing wrong with any of those desires, but over time Jesuit universities ask their students to consider their desires more deeply: About what subjects are they passionate? What sorts of activities enliven them? Where do they feel called to be more generous in relationship? Often this means trying out different majors or shifting friendships, and imagining themselves in different vocations or lines of work.

Here the invitation is like that of Jesus to the apostles: “Come and see” (John 1:39). At any age, this process of delving more deeply into our desires continues. The deepening of desire also characterizes our prayerful relationships with God. Over time, I have found that my desire to engage in talk with God, or in active and imaginative prayer, has softened although not disappeared. More and more often, I desire simply to “be with” God. Like spending time with a spouse or long-time friend, sometimes just being in one another’s presence is enough. Remarkably, in these times of mutual presence, other kinds of gifts unfold, and we are invited to plunge even more deeply into our desires for love, for communion and connection, and for God—who is both the object and the source of our very deepest desires. I find that a useful image to describe the deepening of desire in prayer is wading into the ocean. Near the shoreline, the waves are plentiful, and their activity and energy is engaging—and sometimes overwhelming! As one walks further in, however, the waves become gentler. 

Eventually the depth requires us to stop walking and swim, allowing the water’s power—instead of only our own—to carry us. As we all experienced when we first learned to swim, there is an act of deep trust in surrendering ourselves to the water and letting its buoyancy sustain and carry us. In our prayerful surrender to God, too, we find a letting go of “self” and letting God carry us. In all this, God also opens us to be more present and deeply connected to others in the larger human family, and to the wider cosmos. 

Love of God and love of others are interconnected. God invites us: “Come and see.” And then: “Go deeper.”