Pentecost Sunday
TREASURES FROM OUR TRADITION
	Today we are at the fiftieth day of the Easter celebration: seven weeks of seven days, a week of weeks, now culminating in a festival fiftieth day. While the liturgical color of the Easter season is gold, on this last day we have red. For the first thousand years of the church, there were no firm rules for using colors. Only wealthy churches could afford a full array of colors, and most places used the best vestments, no matter the color, for the greatest feasts. The Church spelled out an exact plan for color, including red for Pentecost, only in 1570, but local differences held on until the 1800s.
	Color experts tell us that red is a hot color, best used for fast-paced, upbeat, active experiences. It is hard to be neutral before red, as any matador will tell you. It invites commitment, draws you in. It is a stimulating color, engaging the eye, stirring hunger. It is the most fitting color for this day when we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit into our lives, a dynamic presence overturning neutrality in favor of passion and commitment.
—James Field