St. Monica, Widow

At Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit made the Church manifest to the world and began the age in which Christ makes present and communicates his saving work. God’s eternal plan blesses us in Christ and calls us to be holy and blameless before him as his children through Jesus Christ. Throughout salvation history, God’s blessings guide humanity toward life, and Scripture recalls these saving gifts with praise and thanksgiving. In the Church’s liturgy, the Father’s blessings of creation and salvation are fully revealed and communicated. As we pray together, we can respond with adoration, praise, thanksgiving, and trust in the gift of the Holy Spirit.

In the Catechism, we learn that Christ, seated at the right hand of the Father, acts through the sacraments to communicate his grace to the Church, his Body. In the liturgy, he makes present his Paschal Mystery—his death, burial, Resurrection, and being seated at the Father’s right hand. This saving mystery is not confined to the past: the Cross and Resurrection abide and draw everything toward life. Through the Holy Spirit, Christ entrusted the apostles, and through them their successors, with his sanctifying power. He is present in the Church’s liturgical celebrations: in the Sacrifice of the Mass, especially in the Eucharistic species; in the sacraments; in his word when Scripture is read; and when the Church prays and sings. For Catholic families, participating in the sacraments and liturgy is a way of joining the Church in worshiping the Father through Christ, receiving his grace, and looking forward with hope to the heavenly liturgy and eternal glory.