After 50 days of Easter, it all came to an abrupt end on Pentecost Sunday in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Calendar. Monday resumed the 11th week in Ordinary Time, although it also happened to be the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua, so the liturgical color was white.
Tuesday saw a return to the liturgical color green.
Not so, though, at St. Joseph's Tuesday afternoon Low Mass in the Extraordinary Form. The Octave of Pentecost was being celebrated, eight days of celebrating one event, the Gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The liturgical color is red for the entire Octave. And like the Octave of Christmas and Easter, the Gloria is said or sung.
To be honest, I like the simplification of the Ordinary Form of the Roman Calendar and it has gotten into my blood. I also like the classification of feasts, little "m" memorials; capital "M" Memorials, Feasts and Solemnities. I still get a bit discombobulated by the EF's descriptions of first and second class commemorations.
I wouldn't change the OF Roman Calendar too much. But I would like to suggest that we get rid of the name "Ordinary Time." Doesn't it sound banal to you? Ordinary?
I would also like to suggest that we return to the Octave of Pentecost. That wouldn't take too much to change and the Holy Father could do it with the stroke of a pen tomorrow if he so desired.
I would also suggest that winter/spring's Ordinary Time be called "Time After Epiphany" and summer/winter's Ordinary Time be called "Time After Pentecost." You wouldn't need to change much else.
9 comments:
Good ideas. For now, we could offer the votive Mass of the Holy Spirit on these days in the OF. I wonder how the OF Latin term "per annum" gets translated into all the Romance and Germanic languages to some version of "ordinary time". "Of the year" sounds better.
I suspect 99% of Latin Rite Catholics have little awareness of the weekday calendar, so any changes there would be easy enough. I wonder how aware they are of the Sunday calendar, apart from the higher feasts.
Excellent Suggests, and "Of the Year" is good, but might lead people to think that when we resume the numbered Sundays after Corpus Christi, that July 3 is actually the 14th Sunday since the beginning of January, which of course it isn't.
I like the calendar and use it, with my almanac, to pace myself through the year. I never thought much about the name 'Ordinary' time as anything except meaning sequenced. The use of "After Epiphany" etc, might help me be mindful of where I am in time. Like planting the garden.
rcg
I like the picture you posted of the calendar. Where can I get a copy of it?
Great ideas father, though I would also advocate for the return of pre-Lent, or the Season of Septuagesima. I find that this is a spiritually fruitful way of preparing for, or easing oneself into Lent.
My other gripe is withe the present feast of the Body and Blood of our Lord. Why this is a more holistic approach than the separate feast of Corpus Christi and the Precious Blood, much of the liturgical richness found in these two feasts seems to have been thrown under the bus. As if to acknowledge this defect, or weakness, there is still a votive mass of the precious blood in the ordinary form.
However, as you know the "old" system was not that old, but replaced the older system of doubles, etc. For overall ease, I agree, the new system is easier.
Father Shelton's point regarding the liturgical awareness regarding the weekday by laity , such as myself, is well taken. Our parish used to provide a liturgical calendar that gave the colours for the day and us altar boys had colour coordinated cassocks (thrown out by the last parsih priest), red for Pentecost, etc. The old Christ the King Seminary (Buffalo Diocese), built in 1948, had colour coordinated Curtains that vividly let you know what liturgical time it was.
As all too many priest wear only white albs with a stole, all too many people no longer see a chasuble colour coordinated for the season. In many ways, we are in a situation like the liturgical movement 100 years ago where we need to reeducate the laity, and I daresay the clergy, on the liturgical year. We need a new Pius Parsch!
James I. McAuley
Love the colorful liturgical calendar. Where did you find it?
As with many of my pictures on the blog, I find them surfing the web, typed in Catholic Calendar Pics and it came up!
I agree also with the pre-lenten season. There would be no need to change any of the prayers or readings, simply call these three Sundays by the Latin names and wear violet.
Don't many or most parishes indicate the color of the day by such means as this red tabernacle veil Sunday:
http://www.knoxlatinmass.net/gallery/Pentecost2011/HG_Pentecost_2011.htm
In whose place today was a green one of the same design, to be replaced Sunday by a similar white one.
Or is it suggested that most Catholics looking at these are oblivious to the meanings of the different colors.
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