Pentecost Mass

Cardinal Péter Erdő attended Pentecost Mass in Hungary on Sunday, where he was greeted with prolonged applause after months of uncertainty over his condition Cardinal Péter Erdő has made his first public appearance in more than three months on Pentecost Sunday after suffering serious health complications, including multiple surgeries and a stroke. The Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, 73, attended the Pentecost Mass at the Basilica of the Assumption and Saint Adalbert in Esztergom, Hungary, where he was greeted with prolonged applause from the congregation. Although too weak to celebrate the liturgy himself, the cardinal’s presence at the packed basilica was received by many of the faithful as a sign of encouragement after months of uncertainty over his health. Cardinal Erdő had not appeared publicly since February 2, when he last celebrated Mass in the basilica on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord. The Pentecost Mass was celebrated by Bishop Levente Balázs Martos, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest, during which 81 young people received the sacrament of Confirmation. At the beginning of the liturgy, parish priest Fr Csaba Török welcomed the cardinal warmly, with applause from worshippers gathered inside the cathedral. In his homily, Bishop Martos reflected on the Jewish origins of Pentecost and the covenant made between God and His people on Mount Sinai. “Pentecost was originally the feast of the giving of the law and the making of the covenant,” the auxiliary bishop said, adding that “the Jewish people made a covenant with God through Moses at Mount Sinai”. He described the covenant as taking place “under terrifying circumstances”, recalling how “the chosen people did not dare to go near the mountain, which God surrounded with fire, lightning and thunder”. The bishop contrasted this with the relationship between God and man established through Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit. Quoting the Letter to the Hebrews, Bishop Levente said: “You have come to Mount Zion, to the festive gathering of the firstborn who are numbered in heaven.” “I could put this in freer words: it is not terror that keeps me close to God,” he added. Bishop Martos told the confirmands that the promise of the Old Testament is fulfilled through the Church because “the law is not written on stone tablets”. Instead, the words of Scripture are realised when God declares: “I will put my law into their hearts, and write it on their minds.” The bishop also spoke of how Christianity transformed the relationship between God and humanity from one founded principally on fear to one rooted in love. “Yes, the Bible says God is a jealous God, but in this it actually presents his condemning, burning, irrevocable love to us,” Bishop Levente said. “The New Testament celebrates that we can respond to this love through the law of the Holy Spirit.” Addressing those preparing to receive Confirmation, Bishop Martos emphasised the communal nature of the Church and the diversity of spiritual gifts within it. “The Church is a mysterious body in which the gifts of the Spirit can be experienced in different ways, and which lives its life precisely in the diversity of these gifts,” he said. He compared the life of the Church to a pilgrimage from Sinai to the heavenly Jerusalem. “We come from Sinai, we are heading to the heavenly Zion, to Jerusalem, but at the same time we really need this community, in which so many different gifts, so many different charisms, so many different opportunities and capacities complement each other,” the bishop said. In one of the most personal moments of the homily, Bishop Martos recalled teaching catechism to children and explaining the Christian covenant in simple terms. “Christ is counting on you,” he said he would tell them. “The answer was: ‘I am counting on you too.’” He said this reflected one of the deepest realities of Christian life. “We all experience situations in life where we feel like we need help. We need to have someone to count on,” he said. At the end of the Mass, Bishop Martos invited the congregation to renew their own faith and pray for the newly confirmed. “Let us all revive in our hearts the grace of the profession of faith. Let us all revive in our hearts the power of the Spirit, the faith placed in us,” the auxiliary bishop said. According to the Vatican journalist Diane Montagna, Cardinal Péter Erdő had been making a slow recovery from a serious health condition earlier this month. A prominent defender of traditional Catholicism, his public appearance will likely provide reassurance to the conservative wing of the Church.