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Violet Privileged Vigil of the First Class O rex gloriæ, Domine virtutum, qui triumphator hodie super omnes cœlos ascendisti, ne derelinquas nos orphanos; sed mitte promissum Patris in nos Spiritum veritatis, alleluia. O King of glory, Lord of hosts, who didst this day ascend in triumph above all the heavens! leave us not orphans, but send upon us the Spirit of truth, promised by the Father, alleluia. THE DAZZLING SPLENDOR of tomorrow’s Solemnity forecasts its beauty on this day of its Vigil. The Faithful are preparing themselves by Fasting to celebrate the glorious mystery. But the Mass of the...

Pentecost is the only Feast day which was looked upon by Jewish teachers as a “mystery” Feast, a Feast which was identified with a time of Gentile redemption. In fact, we shall see that the apostle Paul uses terminology pointing to the Feast of Pentecost and to the Offering at Pentecost in regards to the future resurrection of the Church. We also discover that this is the only Feast on Israel’s liturgical calendar which could typify the Rapture of the Church and at the very same time not be subject to the error of “date setting” in terms of its...

By Philip Cottraux Israel was steeped in idolatry under King Ahab, and God had cursed them with a drought. Rainfall was crucial to a civilization’s survival in the ancient world; drought was usually followed by famine. But God was getting ready to shake things up. And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth (I Kings 18:1). Rain was coming; but first the Lord had a plan to rid Israel of its wickedness. Elijah...

Green Semidouble THE NUMBER of the Sundays after Pentecost may exceed twenty-four, and go up as far as twenty-eight, according as Easter is each Year, more or less near to the vernal equinox. But the Mass here given is always reserved for the last; and the intervening ones, be their number what it may, are taken from the Sundays after the Epiphany, which in that case were not used at the beginning of the year. This, however, does not apply to the Introit, Gradual, Offertory, and Communion, which, as we have already said, are repeated from the twenty-third Sunday....

Green Semidouble THE NUMBER of the Sundays after Pentecost may exceed twenty-four, and go up as far as twenty-eight, according as Easter is each Year, more or less near to the vernal equinox. But the Mass here given is always reserved for the last; and the intervening ones, be their number what it may, are taken from the Sundays after the Epiphany, which in that case were not used at the beginning of the year. This, however, does not apply to the Introit, Gradual, Offertory, and Communion, which, as we have already said, are repeated from the twenty-third Sunday....

Green Semidouble FOR the years when the number of the Sundays after Pentecost is only twenty-three, the Mass for today is taken from the twenty-fourth and last Sunday: and the Mass appointed for the twenty-third, is said on the previous Saturday, or on the nearest day of the preceding week, which is not impeded by a double or semi-double feast. But, under all circumstances, the Antiphonary ends today. The Introits, Graduals, Communions, and Postcommunions, which are given below, are to be repeated on each of the Sundays till Advent, which may be more or less in number, according to...

Green Semidouble INTROIT Si iniquitates observaveris, Domine, Domine, quia sustinebit? quia apud te propitiato est, Deus Israel. If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities, Lord! who shall endure it? For with thee there is merciful forgiveness, O God of Israel! Ps. De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine: Domine, exaudi vocem meam. Gloria Patri. Si iniquitates. Ps. Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord: Lord! hear my voice. Glory, &c. If thou. We have just been rousing our confidence, by singing, that with God, there is merciful forgiveness. It is He himself who gives that loving...

Green Semidouble The remaining Sundays are the last of the Church’s cycle; but their proximity with its final termination varies each Year, according as Easter was early or late. This their movable character does away with anything like harmony between the composition of their Masses and the Lessons of the Night Office, all of which, dating from August, have been appointed and fixed for each subsequent week. This we have already explained to our Readers. Still, the instruction, which the Faithful ought to derive from the sacred Liturgy, would be incomplete, and the spirit of the Church, during these...

Green Semidouble THE Gospel of last Sunday spoke to us of the nuptials of the Son of God with the human race. The realization of those sacred nuptials is the object which God had in view by the creation of the visible world; it is the only one he intends in his government of society. This being the case, we cannot be surprised that the parable of the Gospel, while revealing to us this divine plan, has also brought before us the great fact of the rejection of the Jews, and the vocation of the Gentiles, which is not...

Green Semidouble THE divine Leader of God’s people is their salvation and that in all their distress. Did we not last Sunday see him prove himself as such, and in a very telling way—by curing both body and soul of the poor Paralytic, who was a figure of the whole human race? Let us hear his voice, in the Introit, with love and gratitude; let us promise him the fidelity he asks of us; his Law, if we will but observe it, will preserve us from a relapse. The Anthem which follows is made up of several passages of...

Green Semidouble The Paralytic carrying his bed is the subject of this day’s Gospel, and gives the eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost its title. It has been thought, by some, that its having the number it bears has caused it to be inserted in the Missal immediately after the Ember Days of autumn. We will not, like the Liturgists of the Middle Ages, discuss the question as to whether we should consider it has having taken the place of the vacant Sunday, which formerly used always to follow the ordination of the sacred ministers, in the manner we have elsewhere...

Green Double THE Gospel, which is now assigned to the Mass of the seventeenth Sunday, has given it the name of the Sunday of the love of God, dating, that is, from the time when the Gospel of the cure of the dropsy and of the invitation to the wedding-feast, was anticipated by eight days. Previously, even, to that change, and from the very first, there used to be read on this seventeenth Sunday, another passage from the New Testament which is no longer found in this serial of Sundays: it was the Gospel which mentions the difficulty regarding...

Green Semidouble THE resuscitation of the son of the widow of Naim, on which our thoughts were fixed last Sunday, has reanimated the confidence of our beloved Mother the Church; her prayer goes up all the more earnestly to her Spouse, who leaves her on earth, for a time, that she may grow dearer to him, by sufferings and tears. Let us, of course, enter into these her sentiments, which guided her in the choice of today’s Introit. INTROIT Miserere mihi, Domine, quoniam ad te clamavi tota die: quia tu, Domine, suavis ac mitis es, et copiosus in misericordia...

Green Semidouble THIS Sunday's Introit—which now goes under the name of the Sunday of the widow of Naim, because of the Gospel read on it—gives us a sample of the prayers we should address to our Lord in our necessities. Last Sunday, we heard our Jesus promising to provide for all our wants, on the condition that we would serve him faithfully, by seeking his kingdom. When we present our petitions to him, let us show him the confidence he so well deserves from us; and we shall be graciously heard. INTROIT Inclina, Domine, aurem tuam ad me, et...

White Double THE dominical series—which, formerly, counted from the feast of Saint Peter, or of the Apostles—never went beyond this Sunday. The feast of Saint Laurence gave its name to those which follow; through that name began with even the ninth Sunday, for the years when Easter was nearest the Spring equinox. When, on the contrary, that Solemnity was kept at its almost latest date, the weeks began from today be counted as the Weeks of the seventh month (September). The Ember-Days of the Autumn quarter sometimes occur even this week, while, other years, they may be as late...

A Short Consideration of the Sequence Hymn for Pentecost Msgr. Charles Pope • May 15, 2016 • There are several feasts of the Church during which a “sequence” hymn may be sung. The sequence hymn is sung just before the Alleluia (Gospel Acclamation). The feasts with sequence hymns are these: Easter – Victimae Paschali Laudes (To the Paschal Victim give praise)Pentecost – Veni Sancte Spiritus (Come, Holy Spirit)Corpus Christi – Lauda Sion (Praise O Sion)Our Lady of Sorrows – Stabat Mater (Stood the Mother, sad and weeping)All Souls – Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) Too many parishes simply omit...

The Spirit of the Lord Filled the Earth – A Homily for Pentecost Msgr. Charles Pope • May 14, 2016 • What a wondrous and challenging feast we celebrate at Pentecost! A feast like this challenges us because it puts to the lie a lazy, sleepy, hidden, and tepid Christian life. The Lord Jesus said to Apostles, and still says to us, I have come to cast a fire on the earth (Luke 12:49). This is a feast about fire, a transformative, refining, purifying fire that the Lord wants to kindle in us and in this world. It is...

Celebrating Pentecost Prior to 1970, the Church observed the feast for more than 8 days, marked liturgical calendar by it Msgr. Charles Pope 4/20/2016 Question: Shouldn’t we be celebrating Pentecost for more than one day? Given the amount of time we celebrate Christmas and Easter, it seems appropriate that Pentecost be given at least a short season.— Dianne Spotts, via email Answer: Before 1970, the Church emphasized Pentecost in two ways. The first was the celebration of an “octave.” An Octave is a stretch of eight days that included and followed the actual feast of Pentecost Sunday. It is one...

The Spirit of the Lord Filled the Earth – A Homily for Pentecost Msgr. Charles Pope • June 3, 2017 • What a wondrous and challenging feast we celebrate at Pentecost! A feast like this challenges us because it puts to the lie a lazy, sleepy, hidden, and tepid Christian life. The Lord Jesus said to Apostles, and still says to us, I have come to cast a fire on the earth (Luke 12:49). This is a feast about fire, a transformative, refining, purifying fire that the Lord wants to kindle in us and in this world. It is...

“From Tabernacles to Pentecost” (John 7:37-39) Today is the Feast of Pentecost, a major festival in the Christian church year. Today we celebrate the giving of the Holy Spirit, whom our ascended Lord Jesus Christ poured out on his church, as we read about in the second chapter of Acts. That was the beginning of the worldwide spread of the gospel, and you and I are here today as Christians because of what began on that first Pentecost. Actually, though, that was not the first Pentecost. For the Christian Feast of Pentecost has its roots in the Jewish Feast of...