Pentecost Sunday

This weekend we celebrate Pentecost Sunday. The prefix “penta-” means “five” in Greek. Thus a penta-gon is a geometrical shape with five sides (the suffix “-gon” means side or angle). The name “Pentecost” means fiftieth (day) and is always celebrated 50 days after Easter. But why is 50 a significant number?

Scripture uses numbers in a symbolic way. In Scripture, the number 7 is the number of completion or perfection. We see the number 7 all throughout the Scriptures and Christian tradition, to name only a few: 7 days of creation, 7 penitential psalms, 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit, 7 joys and sorrows of Mary, 7 last words of Christ from the Cross, 7 Churches in Asia Minor, 7 seals on the Book of Life, 7 Sacraments, 7 great councils in the early Church, 7 Christian virtues, etc.

In the Old Testament, every 7th day is a Sabbath and a day of rest. Every seventh year is called a sabbatical year (which is where we get the word “sabbatical”). The Old Testament mandates that during a sabbatical year the land is left to lie fallow and all agricultural actively, including plowing, planting, pruning, and harvesting, is forbidden. All debts, except those of foreigners, are also to be remitted. Then every seven sabbatical years there is what is called a jubilee year. During a jubilee year, Hebrew slaves and prisoners would be freed, debts would be forgiven, and the mercies of God would be particularly manifest. 

In the New Testament, Pentecost falls on the 50th day after Easter. The number fifty represents the first day of new life and the fulfillment of divine promises. On Pentecost we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, which marks the completion of Christ’s mission on earth and the birth of the Church. May the Holy Spirit descend upon us all and renew us in our Christian identity and mission!