There are certain feasts so important that the Church celebrates them with an Octave. Currently we only have two: Christmas and Easter. Strangely, in 1970, the Octave of Pentecost was dropped. Not only was it dropped, but the very way of enumerating the year was altered as well: the weeks were no longer expressed in relation to Pentecost (e.g., “The Third Sunday After Pentecost”).
To me this is a sad loss because the Church really began her public mission to the nations on Pentecost. This was the date of her commission, her sending forth by the Lord. Renaming the time after Pentecost as “Ordinary Time” comes across poorly in English. Even pointing out that in this usage the word “ordinary” comes from “ordinal” (relating to the position of an item in a series (e.g., first, second, third)) doesn’t fully counteract the notion of ordinary as “nothing special.”
Pentecost was a pivotal event. Indeed, the Church’s entire history pivots here. She goes from discipleship (student) status to apostolic status. Having been formed and quickened by the Spirit, she is sent forth to make disciples of the nations and to baptize them. It makes perfect sense to enumerate the Church year in reference to this critical moment.
As for the Octave, if Christmas and Easter are foundational, certainly Pentecost is no less so. Restoring the Octave will give us the time to reflect more deeply on the meaning of that profound event. It will also allow us to draw more deeply from the Acts of the Apostles; currently we end our study of Acts too abruptly, speaking too little of St. Paul’s journey to Rome, a profoundly symbolic journey for him, the Church, and the Gospel.
For priests celebrating the Ordinary Form, it is often an option to celebrate votive Masses of the Holy Spirit in the week after Pentecost, as long as there are no obligatory memorials. But Pope Francis last year limited the Pentecost options even further when he instituted a new obligatory memorial: Mary Mother of the Church on the Monday following Pentecost. I love this title of Mary and the Mass for her under that title is good. But it has completely removed the possibility that a priest in the Ordinary form could ever celebrate an uninterrupted octave of Pentecost and that is unfortunate.
The celebration of the Extraordinary Form still includes a formal celebration of the Octave. Further the Sundays of the year are enumerated as Sundays after Pentecost.
I encourage my brother priests to consider celebrating as many votive Masses to the Holy Spirit that the calendar will allow in the week after Pentecost. This might mean, for those who are able to do it, celebrating in the Extraordinary Form during the whole week. Pentecost is just too important to be relegated to a one-day observation. Pentecost is pivotal; it is the prime feast of the Church’s mission to the world. An Octave is called for and the Sundays of the year should be restored in reference to Pentecost IMHO.
Octave anyone?
Cross-posted at the Catholic Standard: On Restoring the Lost Emphasis on Pentecost by Restoring the Octave and the Numeration of the Sundays after Pentecost