The challenge came with red vestments because these are usually worn when we remember martyrs or for Pentecost. With all the smiling, expectant faces looking up at me I didn't know how to talk about people dying for the faith and trying to explain the Holy Spirit to excited five to seven year olds has its own challenges! As I showed them the red vestments and said that I would be wearing red for Confirmations this year I was saved from any further explanation by one of the pupils who thought we had Red Vestments for Red Nose Day (it was Red Nose Day so you can see the logic). Since then that has helped me understand why we used red as a liturgical colour in the Church: red is the colour of giving.

The image of the Red Cross is a very powerful symbol of life being lived at the service of others and the cross itself is the ultimate expression of life given for others. Jesus gave this example to his followers but they needed the gifts of the Holy Spirit to live this example out in their own lives. At the first Pentecost the Apostles were given the Holy Spirit so that they could become martyrs giving their lives as witnesses to Christ. This is what we celebrate on Pentecost Sunday.

But as with any celebration in Church we are not spectators, we are called to be caught up in the drama and be transformed by it. In other words we are called to pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our own lives that we need so that we can bear witness to Christ. If we pray in this way when we say 'Come, Holy Spirit' then our lives will be transformed just as the lives of the Apostles were transformed. This Sunday we wear red, the colour of giving. This Sunday we pray for the Holy Spirit to transform us.