7th Sunday of Easter — 2026

Forty days after His Resurrection, Our Lord ascended into heaven from Mount Olivet. Before departing from His Apostles, He instructed them to remain in Jerusalem and await “the promise of the Father” — the coming of the Holy Ghost.

The Gospel and Epistle readings during these days between Ascension and Pentecost place us spiritually in the Upper Room with the Apostles, Our Lady, and the early disciples. These are days of expectation, prayer, and longing for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

The Journey to the Upper Room

After witnessing the Ascension, the Apostles returned to Jerusalem from Mount Olivet. Sacred Scripture tells us it was “a sabbath day’s journey away.” In practical terms, this was only about a mile — roughly the maximum distance permitted for travel on the Sabbath according to Jewish custom.

One can almost trace their path through the holy city. They descended the Mount of Olives, crossed the Kidron Valley, and climbed toward Mount Zion to the Upper Room — the very place where Our Lord had celebrated the Last Supper and instituted the Holy Eucharist.

There, Scripture tells us, they “devoted themselves with one accord to prayer.”

The Church was waiting.

Waiting for Pentecost.
Waiting for strength.
Waiting for the Holy Ghost.

The Gathering of the Infant Church

The scene in the Upper Room is deeply beautiful because it reveals the Church in her infancy.

The Apostles were there.
The disciples were there.
The holy women were there.

And among them was the Blessed Virgin Mary.

St. Luke specifically mentions her by name:

“All these were persevering with one mind in prayer, together with the women and Mary the Mother of Jesus.”
— Acts 1:14

This is the final explicit mention of Our Lady in Sacred Scripture, and it is profoundly fitting.

Mary is present at every major moment in the life of Christ:

• at the Annunciation,
• at Bethlehem,
• at the Presentation in the Temple,
• during the Flight into Egypt,
• at the Finding in the Temple,
• at Cana,
• at Calvary,
• and now in the Upper Room.

She who overshadowed by the Holy Ghost at the Annunciation now prays with the Church for a new outpouring of the same Spirit.

The Mother of Jesus is also the Mother of the Church.

We Too Must Enter the Upper Room

Spiritually speaking, the Church invites us to enter the Upper Room during these days between Ascension and Pentecost.

The world around us is noisy, distracted, anxious, and spiritually exhausted. Yet the Apostles teach us what to do in moments of uncertainty and need: gather together in prayer and await the action of God.

We too need the Holy Ghost.

We need:

• His wisdom in a confused world,
• His courage in moments of fear,
• His light in darkness,
• His purity in a corrupted age,
• and His strength to remain faithful to Christ.

The Church has always understood these days as especially powerful for prayer. That is why the traditional Novena to the Holy Ghost holds such an important place in Catholic devotion. In fact, it is often called the first novena, because the Apostles themselves prayed for nine days awaiting Pentecost.

Pray for a New Pentecost

I hope you are praying the Novena to the Holy Ghost with us. If you have not yet begun, it is not too late to start. Even if you have not been receiving our Flocknote messages, unite yourself spiritually with the Church by praying any prayer or novena to the Holy Ghost you can find.

Ask boldly for the gifts of the Holy Spirit:

• Wisdom
• Understanding
• Counsel
• Fortitude
• Knowledge
• Piety
• Fear of the Lord

Our Lord Himself encourages us:

“Ask, and it shall be given you.”

And again:

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the good Spirit to them that ask Him?”
— Luke 11:9–13

May these days before Pentecost become for all of us a true spiritual Upper Room — a time of deeper prayer, renewed faith, and a fresh outpouring of the Holy Ghost.