Why do Catholics Celebrate Pentecost?

Item description

This interactive presentation explains why Catholics celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost.  It also includes a two-sided “worksheet” where students record both knowledge and the connections they make to themselves and their world.  It has 49 slides and many discussion questions so you would need to break this down into three or four parts depending on the instructional minutes you have.  The discussion questions are the most important part of this so be sure you leave time for students to make good connections through discussion.

The following topics are included:

• What is solemnity in the Catholic Church?
• What is the Solemnity of Pentecost?
• What does the word “Pentecost” mean?
• Where in the liturgical calendar is Pentecost celebrated?  
• Who is the Holy Spirit?
• What sequence of events lead from the Last Supper to the descent of the Holy Spirit?
• Where did the Holy Spirit come from?
• What happened on the day of Pentecost?
• What were the effects of Pentecost on the apostles?
• Why is Pentecost called the birthday of the Catholic Church?
• Who was the first Pope and why?
• How is the Holy Spirit “active”  today?
• In which two sacraments  do we have an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in a special way?
• What are the gifts of the Holy Spirit?
• What are the fruits of the Holy Spirit?
• What are the five common symbols for the Holy Spirit?

Notes: 

• Even though other faiths also celebrate Pentecost, this is a true Catholic resource.
• While this presentation does mention the sacrament of Confirmation , it is not designed as a resource about Confirmation but rather about Pentecost and how the gifts of the Holy Spirit bear fruit in our lives. It is a great resource to use before your students do a “deeper dive” into the Sacrament of Confirmation.
• There is a video included at the end of resource that I use to review. I can not be sure that the video will always be available online. The video is just a review and everything in it is already covered in the lessons. I just included the link in case you want to also use it to review.