At Pentecost, parish holds micro-pilgrimage

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Michelle Bradshaw and three young catechumens lead prayer at the fifth station in the St. Rose of Lima Parish Pentecost micro-pilgrimage.

Kevin Cummings

Special to the Intermountain Catholic

“Pentecost is an overlooked day on the Church calendar,” Fr. Clarence Sandoval, pastor of St. Rose of Lima Parish, noted in his Pentecost homily. “We get dressed up for Christmas and Easter, but then Pentecost comes and it’s just another Sunday. Yet Pentecost is something very profound.”

To more fully appreciate the depth of Pentecost, St. Rose of Lima parishioners marked this important date in a variety of ways.

In mid-May the parish released a short bilingual video featuring two members of the St. Rose community. Jose Martin Mendoza reflected on the importance of Pentecost in the history of the Church, and Sue Bedard spoke of the importance of the Holy Spirit in her spiritual life.

Like many parishes around the world, members of St. Rose of Lima Parish began the Novena of the Holy Spirit on Friday, May 14, praying the novena each day through the nine days prior to Pentecost.

To mark the Vigil of Pentecost, St. Rose parishioners gathered on the afternoon of May 22 for a micro-pilgrimage and prayer service on the parish grounds. The event was organized by Sue Bedard and led by Deacon Manuel Trujillo. Stations were set up around the perimeter of the parish property; participants moved from one to another as they prayed. Each station included communal prayers and a brief reflection on one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Bedard noted that this was a particularly important event for her. “I relate to the Holy Spirit,” she said, “I grew up in an Evangelical background so the Holy Spirit was important to me. This procession is a way of meditating on – and asking for – the gifts of the Holy Spirit.”

“It is a beautiful thing we participated in,” Deacon Trujillo said. “Pentecost is the beginning of the Church and for us should be the beginning of the rest of our year. We should entrust ourselves to the Holy Spirit to lead us to God and to give us the courage to take God’s Word to anyone who needs to hear it.”

The preparations for Pentecost culminated in the Mass for Pentecost. “The Apostles were transformed by the Holy Spirit,” Fr. Clarence said in his homily. “The events of Pentecost unified all voices and relationships under Jesus and made us one church. The Apostles were grateful for the gift Jesus gave them and we should be grateful as well.”

Kevin Cummings is a St. Rose of Lima parishioner.