Pentecost & Final Good Shepherd Garden Party

Happy Pentecost!

"They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke of the great things God had done, alleluia."~Acts 2:4,11~

Today, the Easter season comes to an end on this Pentecost Sunday.  I was reading in my Magnificat that Easter, this year, was celebrated on the second latest possible date...Something that had not happened before in any of our lifetimes and the next time it will occur will be 2095!  This was a neat little piece of trivia and due to the nature of the lateness, it seems like it was a long 50 days.  (I am reminded that the word Pentecost comes from the Greek word pentekoste, the fiftieth day.)  The grace of a late Easter has certainly been the savoring of the season.  

The coming of the Holy Spirit is a great reason to celebrate!  This year, we decorated much the same as last year.  We brought out our Gifts of the Holy Spirit candles and used lots of red and white!

~We had a Vigil of Pentecost Dinner, due to a certain "Firefighter" work schedule~

 It was fun to pull out the Pentecost place mats that the kids made and use them again this year.  Good thing we put names on the back...I would have never remembered who was who!

Being the last week of the Easter countdown using the Good Shepherd calendar, we combined our Good Shepherd Garden Party with our Pentecost dinner.  I may appear to be a minimalist, but it stressed me out to think about doing food items for the Heavenly Zoo theme.  It worked well for our family to draw the heavenly animals instead!  We just used paper plates and oil pastels.  My kids love, love, using these.

~Here was our Deer~

"As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God." ~Psalm 42: 1-5

~Here was our Lion~

Daniel 6: 14-23

Everyone wanted to draw the lion!

Jesus is like a lion who roars so loudly that even the dead can hear his voice.  Jesus' mighty roar will awaken the dead.

~We ended up with 3~

~This was our Peacock~

King Solomon had many wonderful things, and some of the wonderful animals he had were peacocks.

1 Kings 10:21-25

People often think that the new feathers of a peacock are a good symbol of the Easter season, when we celebrate the new life that Jesus gives us in baptism.

~The Pelican~

Genesis 1:20-23

God created the fishes and birds on the same day.  Pelicans are sea birds that go fishing with their beaks...

As Christian people, we are called by Jesus to feed one another and to help one another, the way a pelican feeds its chicks.

~The Phonenix~

Job 29:14-20

The Phoenix is a legendary bird, said to have lived in Paradise.  The bird was sad when Adam and Eve sinned and eventually burst into flames.  In the ashes was an egg, and the egg hatched into a new beautiful phoenix, representing life is stronger than death.

We hung our art work over the dinner table for decoration!

Our Pentecost Dinner Menu:

(Sticking with the color red)

Red Beans and Rice

Flames of the Holy Spirit Sliced Strawberries

Bee Hive Garlic Bread

~The Beehive~

Judges 14:5-9

In helping one another and in protecting one another, we can imitate bees.  They teach us something of what it means to be a member of the church.

Living (flavored) Water

~The Water~

Revelation 7:13-17

The book of Revelation says that those who love God will drink from the waters of life.  

Chocolate Chip Dove Cheesecake
(Visit Catholic Cuisine where I posted the easy recipe!)

~The Dove~

Song of Songs 2:8-17

The dove represents the Holy Spirit on the 50th day...Pentecost!  When our eyes are opened by the power of the Holy Spirit to see deep into the heart of this world, Jesus Christ is everything!

~Our Dove was outlined with chocolate chips on our Pentecost Cheesecake for dessert~

This completes our count down!

50 Days of Easter...

At the culmination of the Easter season, let us unite in a great chorus of praise in the Spirit who is the life-breath of the whole world made new in the death and resurrection of Christ.

My heartfelt thanks to Jessica and Charlotte who inspire so many with creative ways to live our faith.  These Good Shepherd Garden Parties, through Catholic Cuisine, are just one of the many ways!

God Bless your Pentecost!

~One last Meditation on Pentecost to share~