This Week: The Octave of Pentecost / Traditional Latin Mass
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May 30, 2023This week: The Octave of Pentecost/ Traditional Latin Mass
On the Monday after Pentecost in 1970, so the story goes, St. Pope Paul VI rose early and went to his chapel to celebrate Mass.
Instead of the red vestments he expected, green ones were laid out for him. He asked the Master of Ceremonies, “What on earth are these for? This is the Octave of Pentecost! Where are the red vestments?” “Your Holiness,” replied the Master of Ceremonies, “this is now The Time Throughout the Year. It is green, now. The Octave of Pentecost is abolished.”“Green? That cannot be," said the Pope, “Who did that?” “Your Holiness, you did.” And, the story concludes, Paul VI wept.
The authenticity of the story remains in question, but it points to the deep sadness many Catholics felt when the Pentecost Octave was abolished in the Ordinary form of the Roman Rite, a time that used to be one of the most cherished moments of the Church’s liturgical year. Indeed, it is regarded as the Church’s second greatest feast, the first being Easter. St. Cardinal John Henry Newman called the breviary offices of Pentecost and its octave perhaps the “grandest” of the liturgical year.
Baltimore Catechism
LESSON EIGHT: ON THE HOLY GHOST AND HIS DESCENT UPON THE APOSTLES- De-scent', the act of coming down
- En-a'ble, to make able
- En-light'en, to make them understand better
- Pen'te-cost, the fiftieth day after Easter
- Preach, declare publicly, spread by word of mouth
- Sanct'ti-fy, to make holy
- Strength'en, make strong
- Whit'sun-day, white Sunday
97. Q. On what day did the Holy Ghost come down upon the Apostles? The Holy Ghost came down upon the Apostles ten days after the Ascension of our Lord; and the day on which He came down upon the Apostles is called Whitsunday, or Pentecost.
99. Q. Who sent the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles? Our Lord Jesus Christ sent the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles.
100. Q. Why did Christ send the Holy Ghost? Christ sent the Holy Ghost to sanctify His Church, to enlighten and strengthen the Apostles, and to enable them to preach the Gospel.