The Octave of Pentecost

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Pentecost used to be an octave with Holy Trinity Sunday being the last day of the octave. Does anyone know why the church removed this octave? Also does anyone have any links to a website that has a daily mass missal from before 1962? I’m curious to see what the introit, gradual, prayers, and scripture lessons were for each days of this octave. All I know is there were three ember days within this octave.
 
OK, with Pentecost coming I decided to post this. As I stated, before Vatican II, Pentecost was an octave. I don’t really know why they got rid of it, Pentecost is the birth of the Catholic Church, but I’m sure they had their reasons. Here are the Epistle and Gospel readings for each day of the old Octave. Whit Monday and Whit Tuesday used to be Holy Days of obligation.

Pentecost Sunday: Acts 2:1-11, John 14:23-31.

Monday in Octave of Pentecost: Acts 10:34, 42-48, John 3:16-21.

Tuesday in Octave of Pentecost: Acts 8:14-17, John 10:1-10.

Ember Wednesday of Pentecost: Acts 2:14-21 & Acts 5:12-16, John 6:44-52.

Thursday in Octave of Pentecost: Acts 8:5-8, Luke 9:1-6.

Ember Friday of Pentecost: Joel 2:23-24, 26-27, Luke 5:17-26 .

Ember Saturday of Pentecost: Joel 2:28-32; Lev 23:9-11, 15-17, 21; Deut 26:1-11; Lev 26:3-12; Dan 3:47-51, 52-56; Rom 5:1-5, and Luke 4:38-44.

Feast of the Most Holy Trinity: Rom 11:33-36, Matt 28:18-20.

I found by reflecting on these reading that I grew for a greater appreciation of this octave, it gives reflection on the birth of the church.
 
Thanks for the reminder. As a former Episcopalian, I miss “Whitsuntide” and those Ember Days. But there’s no law against us observing them ourselves. And I will!
 
Here’s a link explaing the old paschaltide customs of the church, the old pre-Vatican II paschal calendar it talks about the Rogation days, the 3 days prior to the Ascension; it talks about the old Ascension Octave as well as the Octave of Pentecost with its ember days.

holytrinitygerman.org/Paschaltide.html
 
Psalm45:9:
Pentecost used to be an octave with Holy Trinity Sunday being the last day of the octave. Does anyone know why the church removed this octave? Also does anyone have any links to a website that has a daily mass missal from before 1962? I’m curious to see what the introit, gradual, prayers, and scripture lessons were for each days of this octave. All I know is there were three ember days within this octave.
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In the current Roman Catholic calendar, there are only two octaves, Christmas and Easter. Pentecost has no octave associated with it, although the eighth day is the Solemnity of the Trinity. Pentecost was in the pre-Vatican II calendar celebrated more as a feast on its own and had its own octave, which it no longer does. Now it is more fittingly (and also more anciently) seen as the conclusion of Fifty Days of Easter (although red vestments instead of the regular white of the Easter Season are worn).

The Paschal candle is still lit in the week before Pentecost (a.k.a. the Seventh Week OF Easter) and is no longer extinguished on Ascension Thursday as it formerly was. Although it is not officially called as such, there is a sense in which Pentecost can be considered the Eighth Sunday OF Easter.

Ordinary Time begins the Monday after Pentecost – thus clearly there is no Pentecost Octave. There is then Trinity Sunday and Corpus Christi Sunday (and in the USA at least) before the actual numbered Sundays start, although the weekdays are of the nth Week.

Edward Pothier
 
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