THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Her Doctrine and Morals

Pentecost Sunday

24 May 2026

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The Sunday

Sermon

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Dear Friends in Christ,

Today, we rejoice in the coming of the Holy Ghost upon the Church and in His abiding presence with us until the end of time, when Our Lord Jesus Christ will return to judge the living and the dead.

The Holy Ghost, the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, is the Paraclete, the God of Love, the Sanctifier, and the God of unity. Proceeding as the love of the Father for the Son and of the Son for the Father, He reveals the unity of the Trinity: One Spirit, One God. He does not contradict the Father or the Son, but reveals the mysteries of God in a way suited to our understanding.

Saint Augustine teaches that Pentecost manifests this unity of the Church:

"What is the meaning of the Coming of the Holy Ghost? What did it accomplish? How did He tell us of His Presence, reveal It to us? By the fact that all spoke in the tongues of every nation. There were a hundred and twenty people gathered in one room; ten times twelve. The sacred number of the Apostles was multiplied ten times. What then? Did each one, upon whom the Holy Spirit descended, speak in one of the tongues of each of the nations: to this man one language, to this man another, dividing as it were among themselves the tongues of all the nations? No, it was not so: but each man, singly, spoke in the tongue of every nation. One and the same man spoke the tongue of every nation: the unity of the Church amid the tongues of all the nations. See here how the unity of the Catholic Church spread throughout all nations is set before us."

The Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, is united not by a single human language but by a common language of doctrine, belief, and Sacraments. Catholics throughout the world profess the same revealed truths and receive the same seven Sacraments. Human languages and customs differ, but the faith and Sacraments remain the same.

Heresies and schisms attack this unity and strike at Christ Himself, who gave us the Sacraments and dogmas, and at the Holy Ghost, who preserves what Christ entrusted to His Church. From the beginning, these threats have appeared. Saint Paul notes this in 1 Cor. 11:18: "I hear there are schisms among you; and in part I believe it…"

From creation itself, God revealed His plan for unity. He made many animals — fish, birds, reptiles, cattle — but only one man. From this one man, Adam, He formed Eve, and from the two came all humanity. The demons, however, sought from the start to break this unity, setting man against man. With the coming of Christ and the founding of His Church, they turned their efforts toward dividing the Church. Almost from the beginning, heresies and schisms appeared.

The Protestant Revolution greatly advanced this division. New doctrines were introduced to break apart the unity of the Holy Church, the work of the Holy Ghost. The Sacraments were denied or altered, and the worship of God was replaced with forms more appealing to our fallen nature than faithful to divine revelation.

In our own time, the attacks have intensified. Modernists who still call themselves Catholic have reinterpreted, rewritten, and redefined doctrines, beliefs, practices, and even the Sacraments, so that they no longer match what the Church has always taught. As a result, we see a multitude of conflicting religions, forms of worship, beliefs, doctrines, and sacraments.

The priesthood is often reduced to the vague idea of a "priesthood of the faithful." The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is treated merely as a memorial of the Last Supper, rather than the unbloody renewal of the Sacrifice of Calvary. Vows are dispensed with increasing ease, weakening the sense of the sacred. Annulments are granted more and more readily. Many priests and religious have abandoned their vows and returned to the world, some taking earthly spouses instead of remaining faithful to the Divine Bridegroom.

At the same time, anarchy and confusion grow in the world. Language itself is changing rapidly and is often manipulated to obscure truth and create division. Words are emptied or distorted, dividing not only nations but even generations within families. The Church has not been spared: her dogmas, worship, and Sacraments are under constant attack. Many groups with incompatible teachings now claim the names "Christian" or "Catholic," and many terms once clearly Catholic have been given new and misleading meanings.

In response, we must return to the spirit of the first Pentecost. As the early Church prayed for the coming of the Holy Ghost, so we must persevere in prayer, sacrifice, and fidelity to the true faith, begging for the guidance and protection of the God of Love and Unity. Sustained by the grace of the Holy Ghost, we can remain in true union with the Catholic Church born on Pentecost and resist the demonic efforts to divide and destroy all that God has made good.

May the Immaculate Heart of Mary inspire, guide, and protect us.