Pentecost Vigil
This year we will be celebrating the extended Pentecost Vigil at Saint John the Baptist, on Saturday, May 22 starting at 5:00pm. This will include additional readings and psalms and will be a longer Mass than usual.
Little-Known Pentecost Vigil Mass Is a Hidden Gem of the Catholic Liturgy
The Pentecost vigil includes an extended number of readings and texts that reflect on, in particular, the Resurrection, Ascension and the descent of the Holy Spirit — and on the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church.
That the celebration of even one Mass has infinite value is a keystone teaching of the Church regarding its liturgy.
For Father Dennis Gill, the rector and pastor of the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, the director of the Office of Divine Worship for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and a professor of sacred liturgy at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, there is one Mass in particular that also holds infinite value for him — the extended form of the vigil of Pentecost. He hopes that others in the Church will also discover the richness of this Mass.
As things stand now, though, Father Gill is one of only a relative handful of priests in the United States celebrating this form. He has been celebrating this little-known-but-powerful liturgy since 2016. This year he will be celebrating it the evening of June 8 at Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral.
With a history that stretches back to the early Church, this more elaborate form of the Pentecost vigil Mass celebrates the same mystery of the Holy Spirit coming upon the apostles to institute the Church that the simple form of the vigil and the Mass for Pentecost Sunday celebrate. As part of the concluding celebration of Easter, it also harks back to the first Mass of the Easter season — the Easter vigil Mass.
Like this “mother of all vigils,” as St. Augustine referred to Easter vigil, the Pentecost vigil includes an extended number of readings and texts that reflect a particular aspect of the Paschal mystery (the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ and the descent of the Holy Spirit) — in this case, focusing on the last of these and more generally on the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church.
Unlike the Easter vigil, which typically also celebrates baptism and confirmation, the Pentecost vigil places no special emphasis on the sacraments other than the Eucharist. But Father Gill noted that the Pentecost vigil would be a fitting opportunity to celebrate confirmation “because this sacrament has, as one of its unique gifts, the outpouring of the Spirit.”
Also unlike the Easter vigil, which is to be celebrated only between the hours after sunset and before sunrise, the Pentecost vigil Mass can be celebrated any time during the day — although it is preferably celebrated in the evening, much like, yet distinct from, a typical Saturday Mass of anticipation.
But if the extended form of the Pentecost vigil Mass hasn’t quite met with universal acclaim, it’s not from a lack of trying on the part of the Church in the United States.
For their part, the U.S. bishops have promoted the Mass, including taking steps to facilitate its celebration, and Father Gill encourages anyone and everyone in the Church to participate in this unique celebration of the Third Person of the Holy Trinity.
Cathedral Celebration
Father Gill first began to celebrate the extended form of the Pentecost vigil when he was appointed rector of Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral in 2016 “because the cathedral is the mother church of the archdiocese and should set the example for each parish in the archdiocese.”
Beginning with that first celebration four years ago, “several hundred” faithful have attended each year, Father Gill reported, “and we also invite the charismatic community in the archdiocese to be present. It is a beautiful, reverent, joyful celebration of Pentecost.”
For the faithful who have been attending the Pentecost vigil at the cathedral, Father Gill told the Register, the celebration is an opportunity to see the fullness of the Easter season with its completion.
“For those who come to it, there is a more profound understanding of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit with Pentecost,” he said. “Part of that has to do with the preaching — I try to give an effective homily based on the text and the mystery. We also celebrate the Mass bilingually, in English and Spanish, and I think that also gives a sense of the mission of the Church and the unity of the Church.”
Father Gill acknowledged that the Pentecost vigil is not widely known, and therefore not widely celebrated, in the United States. In his capacity as the director of the Office of Divine Worship for the archdiocese, Father Gill sends out a letter every year before Pentecost, encouraging parishes to celebrate this seemingly hidden treasure of the Church’s liturgy.
“But it hasn’t really taken off yet,” he admitted.
More here: https://www.ncregister.com/features/little-known-pentecost-vigil-mass-is-a-hidden-gem-of-the-catholic-liturgy