Saturday
The Vigil of Pentecost
By Dom Guéranger
The dazzling splendour of tomorrow's
Solemnity forecasts its beauty on this day of its Vigil. The Faithful are
preparing themselves by Fasting to celebrate the glorious mystery. But, the
Mass of the Neophytes, which, formerly, was said during the Night, is now
anticipated, as on Easter Eve; so that by today's Noon, we shall have already
begun the praises of the Holy Ghost. The Office of Vespers, in the afternoon,
will solemnly open the grand Festival. The reign of the Holy Spirit is,
therefore, proclaimed by the Liturgy of this very day. Let us unite ourselves
in spirit with the holy ones, who are awaiting the fulfilment of Jesus'
promise.
Whilst following the Mysteries of the
past Seasons of the Liturgical Year, we have frequently been told of the action
of the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. The Lessons read to us, from both
the Old and New Testament, have more than once excited our respectful attention
towards this Divine Spirit, who seemed to be shrouded in mystery, the time of
his being made manifest not having yet arrived. The workings of God in his
creatures do not come all at once; there is a succession in their coming, but
come they certainly will. The sacred historian describes how the heavenly
Father, acting through his Word, employed six days in arranging, into its
several parts, this world which he had created; but he also tells us, though
under the veil of a mysterious expression, that the Spirit moved over the
waters, which the Son of God was about to divide from the earth.
If, then, the Holy Ghost's visible
reign on our earth, was deferred until such time as the Man-God should be
enthroned on the Father's right hand, we must not conclude that this Divine
Spirit has been inactive. What are the Sacred Scriptures, from which the
Liturgy has selected so many sublime passages for our instruction, — what are
they but the silent production of Him, who, as the venerable Symbol has it,
"spoke by the Prophets?” It was He gave us the Word, — the Wisdom of God,
— by the Scripture, who gave us, at a later period, this same Word in the Flesh
of Human Nature.
He has never been a moment of all the
past ages without working. He prepared the world for the reign of the Incarnate
Word; he did so, by bringing together the various races of once separate
nations, and by keeping up that universal Expectation of a Redeemer, which was
held alike by the most barbarous and by the most highly civilised. The earth
had not as yet heard the name of the Holy Ghost, but he moved over the universe
of mankind, as he moved over the dead mass of water at the beginning of the
world.
Meanwhile, the Prophets spoke of him
in several of the prophecies wherein they foretold the coming of the Son of
God. The Lord thus spoke by the lips of Joel: I will pour
out my Spirit upon all flesh. He said to us, through
Ezechiel: I will pour upon you clean water, and you
shall be cleansed from all your filthiness, and I will cleanse you from all
your idols. And I will give you a new heart, and put a new Spirit within you;
and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a
heart of flesh; and I will put my Spirit in the midst of you?
But previously to the manifestation of himself, the Holy Ghost was to
effect that of the Divine Word. When infinite power called into existence the
body and soul of the future Mother of God, it was he that prepared the Dwelling
for the Sovereign Majesty, by sanctifying Mary from the instant of her
Conception, and taking possession of her as the temple into which the Son of God
was soon to enter. When the ever blessed day of the Annunciation came, the
Archangel declared unto Mary that the Holy Ghost would come upon her, and that
the Power of the Most High would overshadow her. No sooner did the Virgin
consent to the fulfilment of the eternal decree, than the operation of the
Divine Spirit produced within her the most ineffable of mysteries: The Word was
made Flesh, and dwelt among us!
Upon this Flower that sprang from the branch of the tree of Jesse, upon
this Humanity divinely produced in Mary, there rested complacently the Spirit
of the Father and the Son: he enriched it with his Gifts, he fitted it for its
glorious and everlasting des tiny. He that had so filled the Mother with the
treasures of his grace, so that it seemed to border on infinity, — gave incomparably
more to her Child. And as ever heretofore, so also then, the Holy Spirit worked
these stupendous wonders silently; for the time of his manifestation had not
come. The earth is to catch but a glimpse of him on the day of Jesus' Baptism,
when he will rest with outstretched wings on the head of the well-beloved Son
of the Father. The holy Baptist, John, will understand the glorious vision, as
he had felt, when yet unborn, the presence of the Blessed Fruit in Mary's womb;
but as to the rest of the bystanders, they saw but a dove, and the Dove
revealed not his eternal secrets.
The reign of the Son of God, our Emmanuel, is established upon its
predetermined foundations. In him, we have a Brother, for he has assumed our weak human nature; a Teacher, for he is the Wisdom of the Father,
and leads us into all truth; a Physician, for he heals all our infirmities; a Mediator, for by his sacred Humanity he brings all creation to its Creator. In
him we have our Redeemer; and in
his Blood, our Ransom; for sin had broken the link between God and ourselves,
and we needed a divine Redeemer. In him we have a Head, who is not ashamed of
his Members, however poor they may be; a King, whom we have seen crowned with
an everlasting diadem; a Lord, whom the Lord hath made to sit on his right
hand.
But if he rules over this earth for all ages, it is from his Throne in
heaven that he is to rule, until the Angel's voice is heard proclaiming that
Time is no more, and then he will return again to crush the heads of sinners.
Meanwhile, long ages are to flow onwards in their course, and these ages are to
be the reign of the Holy Ghost. But, as we learn from the Evangelist, the
Spirit was not given until such time as Jesus was glorified. So that our
beautiful mystery of the Ascension stands between the two Divine Reigns on
earth; — the visible Reign of the Son of God, and the visible Reign of the Holy
Ghost. Nor is it only the Prophets who announce the succession of the second to
the first; it is our Emmanuel himself, who, during the days of his mortal life,
heralded the approaching Reign of the Divine Spirit.
We have not forgotten his words: It is expedient for you that I go; for
if I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you. Oh! how much the world must
have needed this Divine Guest, of whom the very Son of God made himself the
precursor! And that we might understand how great is the majesty of this new
Master who is to reign over us, Jesus thus speaks of the awful chastisements
which are to befall them that offend him: Whosoever shall speak a word against
the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but he that shall speak against the
Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world nor in the
world to come. This Divine Spirit is not, however, to assume our human nature,
as did the Son; neither is he to redeem the world, as did the Son; but he is to
come among men with a love so immeasurable, that woe to them who despise it! It
is to Him that Jesus intends to confide the Church, his Spouse, during the long
term of her widowhood; to Him will he make over his own Work, that he may
perpetuate and direct in all its parts.
We, then, who are to receive, in a few hours hence, the visit of this
Spirit of Love, who is to renew the face of the earth? — we must be all attention
as we were at Bethlehem, when we were awaiting the Birth of our Emmanuel. The
Word and the Holy Ghost are co-equal in glory and power, and their coming upon
the earth proceeds from the one same eternal and merciful decree of the Blessed
Trinity, who, by this twofold visit, would make us partakers of the divine
nature. We, who were once nothingness, are destined
to become, by the operation of the Word and the Spirit, Children of the
heavenly Father. And if we would know what preparation
we should make for the visit of the Paraclete, let us return, in thought, to
the Cenacle, where we left the Disciples assembled, persevering, with one mind,
in prayer, and waiting, as their Master had commanded them, for the Power of
the Most High to descend upon them, and arm them for their future combat.
Formerly, this Vigil was kept like
that of Easter. The Faithful repaired to the Church, in the evening that they
might assist at the solemn administration of Baptism. During the night, the
Sacrament of Regeneration was conferred upon such Catechumens as sickness or
absence from home had prevented from receiving it on Easter Night. Those, also,
who had then been thought insufficiently tried or instructed, and had, during
the interval, satisfied the conditions required by the Church, now formed part
of the group of aspirants to the New Birth of the sacred Font. Instead of the
Twelve Prophecies, which were read, on Easter Night, whilst the Priests were
performing over the Catechumens the rites preparatory to Baptism, — six only
were now read; at least, such was the usual custom, and it would lead us to
suppose that the number of those baptised at Pentecost was less than at Easter.
The Paschal Candle was again brought
forward during this Night of grace, in order to impress the newly baptised with
respect and love for the Son of God, who became Man that he might be the Light
of the World. The rites already described and explained for Holy Saturday were
repeated on this occasion, and the Sacrifice of the Mass, at which the
Neophytes assisted, began before the break of day. In later times, when the
charitable custom of conferring Baptism on children immediately after their
birth passed into a general law, the Mass of Whitsun- Eve was said early in the
morning, as was done in the case of Easter-Eve. The six Prophecies, of which we
have just spoken, are now read before the celebration of the holy Sacrifice;
after which, the Baptism Water is solemnly blessed. The Paschal Candle is used
at this ceremony, and the Faithful should consider it a duty to assist at it.
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