THE OCTAVE OF PENTECOST

 THE OCTAVE OF PENTECOST



    Fra Angelico, "Pentecost" National Museum of San Marco, Florence, showing Our Lady praying         with the Apostles in the Upper Room.

The Church gives to us an Octave to celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, with Ember Days this Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, as participation in the Season of the Church and to give thanks for the gift of the Holy Spirit. In the Gospel of Pentecost Sunday (St John 14.23-31), Christ said to the Apostles: "But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My Name, He will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you." I have reproduced parts of an article by Dr Peter Kwasniewski, (1) where he analyses the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Liturgy: Dr Kwasniewski observed that “[i]t is easy to find substantial doctrinal and devotional attention to the Holy Ghost in the preaching and prayers of all eras of the Church — and manifestly in her traditional liturgy, in which every day the priest utters those tremendous words: “Veni, Sanctificator omnipotens aeterne Deus, et bene+dic hoc sacrificium tuo sancto nomini praeparatum.” Come, O Sanctifier, Almighty and Eternal God, and bless + this sacrifice prepared for the glory of Thy holy Name.” “To this day, the traditional Roman rite celebrates the coming of the Holy Ghost with a glorious Mass of Pentecost day. The High Mass is preceded by the chanting of the Veni, Creator Spiritus, with all kneeling during the first verse in humble pleading. “The chanting of the Vidi aquam follows as the priest sprinkles the people with holy water and we sing of the water of grace flowing from the side of Christ, even as the Spirit proceeds from His mouth. (2) “The first of many alleluias resounds through the church. The Mass itself begins with the Spiritus Domini Introit (3) and the ninefold Kyrie, in its Trinitarian spaciousness. The double Alleluia includes the petitions Emitte Spiritum tuum (send forth Thy Spirit) and Veni, Sancte Spiritus (Come, Holy Ghost), during the latter of which all kneel again (we take this invocation business seriously!). Then follows the magnificent Pentecost sequence that begins, once more, Veni, Sancte Spiritus. All this — even before the Gospel has been chanted! “There is more — much more. The Church from antiquity through the twentieth century traditionally celebrated Pentecost for an entire week (an octave), even as she does Easter and Christmas, recognising it as a feast of topmost importance. Every day the propers trumpet forth alleluias. Every day the readings extol the sacraments of initiation, which are efficacious by the power of the Spirit. “Every day, we kneel at the Veni, Sancte Spiritus before the Golden Sequence. The Preface of Pentecost links the Ascension, the sitting at the right hand of God, and the outpouring of the Spirit of adoption on the sons of God. “The Roman Canon uses the special Communicantes and Hanc igitur. “Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday of the octave are Ember Days with special readings and prayers. “The mid-morning office of Terce each day begins with the hymn Veni, Creator Spiritus, the first stanza again said kneeling. In every way, this week is a worthy tribute and supplication to the divine Person. “Finally, every Sunday after the octave of Pentecost is denominated as a “Sunday after Pentecost,” enfolding in green vestments the long season of planting and harvesting, until we reach the Last Sunday after Pentecost and begin the cycle anew with Advent.” Dr Kwasniewski concluded with a passage from the encyclical Divinum Illud Munus, 1837: "Then Pope Leo writes a passage that should make us tremble with awe and delight: 'God by grace resides in the just soul as in a temple, in a most intimate and special manner. From this proceeds that union of affection by which the soul adheres most closely to God, more so than the friend is united to his most loving and beloved friend, and enjoys God in all fullness and sweetness. Now this wonderful union, which is properly called “indwelling,” differing only in degree or state from that with which God beatifies the saints in heaven, although it is most certainly produced by the presence of the whole Blessed Trinity — “We will come to Him and make our abode with Him” (John xiv. 23.) — nevertheless is attributed in a peculiar manner to the Holy Ghost. For, whilst traces of divine power and wisdom appear even in the wicked man, charity, which, as it were, is the special mark of the Holy Ghost, is shared in only by the just.' "Consider carefully what the pope is teaching here. The union with God of a soul in the state of grace differs only in degree or mode from the state of the beatific vision. When God dwells in our soul by sanctifying grace and its chief virtue, charity, we enjoy the same union in this life as the saints and angels enjoy in the heavenly fatherland. The differences are accidental: that God is seen or unseen, that we possess him changeably or unchangeably. As important as those differences are, the union itself far outweighs them: He is possessed by us. That is the essence of holiness. This realisation of the indwelling of God is ultimately the most effective antidote against mortal sin: we do not want to lose Him, now or for ever. "Then Pope Leo XIII expounds St. Thomas’s teaching on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Here, too, we are reminded that a thirteenth-century Doctor of the Church had not just a theological grasp, but a profound experiential knowledge. When speaking of the gifts, Saint Thomas underlines the absolute necessity of special assistance by the Holy Spirit — each and every day, throughout the day — if we are to attain the glorious end God has in store for us, because it so far exceeds our natural abilities. It exceeds, in a way, even the superadded power of the theological virtues. As we pray with the Psalmist: “Thy good spirit shall lead me into the right land” (Ps. 143:10), the Promised Land, Heaven. Only the Spirit of God can lead us to that end; our spirit, no matter how perfect(ed), is inadequate. "Going farther, St. Thomas argues that we need the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit not only for reaching the ultimate end, but also for accomplishing any of the particular ends we aim at as Christians — if, that is, we want to accomplish them as God’s children, acting by His wisdom, knowledge, fortitude, and so on. We can do the right thing, as far as natural virtue is concerned, but still not manage to do it “divinely well,” like a meal that is edible but not delicious. For this, we have to place ourselves in prayer at the disposal of the Holy Spirit in order to be guided in our activity, to be His instruments as we exercise our own faculties of judgment and choice. In this sense, there can be no truly Catholic apostolate at all without interior prayer behind it, as the Acts of the Apostles shows us emblematically." Happy Octave of Pentecost! (1) Peter Kwasniewski, “Did the Church ‘Forget’ the Holy Spirit until the ‘60s?”, One Peter 5; onepeterfive.com

(2) Exodus 24:5-11: Then Moses took the Blood of the Covenant and threw it on the people and said: Behold the Blood of the Covenant which the Lord has made with you in accordance with these words.

John 19:34: One of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear and immediately blood and water came out.

The Vidi Aquam opens with this beautiful Antiphon, sung from Easter to Whitsunday:

Vidi aquam egredientem de tempolo a latere dextro, alleluia:
Et omnes ad quos per venit aqua ista salvi facti sunt et dicent: Alleluia, alleluia.

I saw water flowing from the right side of the temple, alleluia: and all they to whom that water came were saved; and they shall say: alleluia, alleluia.

(3) Introit - Wisdom 1.7:
Spiritus Domini replevit orbem terrarium, alleluis: et hoc quod continent Omnia, scientiam habet vocis alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Psalm: Exsurgat Deus, et dissipentur inimici ejeus: et fugiant qui oderunt eum, a facie ejeus. Gloria Patri…

The Spirit of the Lord hath filled the whole world, alleluia; and that, which containeth all things hath knowledge of the voice, alleluia, alleluia alleluia. Ps 67.2. Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered: and let them that hate Him flee from before His face. Glory be to the Father....

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