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January 2, 2022Dear Parishioners,
Happy New Year to everyone. Now that Christmas has come to an end I thought it appropriate to explain why the Church has octaves. When it comes to celebration, festivity, holiday, and the like, the Church always wants us to know that there is more. For instance, Christmas day is not really one day of joy, celebration, and leisure, but eight days. This means that December 25th is Christmas day; December 26th is Christmas day, and so on. In Her liturgy, during the octave, every day is treated the same as on December 25th. This means that all the prayers are repeated. I am sure kids would love to know this, since in their minds that would mean Santa would come eight times! The “octave” of Christmas ends on the eighth day after Christmas, which is January 1st, the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. The end of the octave is the capstone which ties together all the different aspects of the mystery of the Incarnation. Interestingly in the older tradition Christmas season (or Christmastide) lasted until the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Presentation of the Lord on February 2nd.
The Church has octaves for several historical, liturgical, philosophical, and spiritual reasons. Historically the eight days can be traced to Jewish festival customs. God is said to have created the universe in six days, rested on the seventh, and then redeemed the world on the eighth day.
I am sure that all of us would agree that part of being human is having celebrations, holidays and leisure. Josef Pieper in his Leisure: the Basis of Culture agrees and for him “the most festive festival it is possible to celebrate is divine worship.” The Church understands human nature. So the reason why the Church has us celebrate Christmas for at least eight days is to give us plenty of time to celebrate and to feast. One day is not enough to celebrate and take in the great mystery of the Incarnation. It would be like walking into St. Peter’s Basilica and walking right out. We need to be like Mary who pondered all these things in her heart. Of course if we view the liturgy and the Mass more as an obligation than as a festive celebration in which we truly engage in celebration, then the Christmas Octave will seem inconsequential to us. This idea of the liturgy is changed both by trying to understand what the Mass truly is (changing what our mind knows) and also by removing attachment to sin (changing what our will desires so that we desire rightly). I hope that all of us can reorient our minds and desires and live liturgical lives.
God bless,
Fr. Barrow
