First Sunday after Pentecost

by Fr. Mark Wojdelski, FSSP

(This is part of a series of articles, and will make little sense without the introductory articles: (1) , (2), (3), and (4).  There are more than four articles in the series, but the first four are very important to understanding the conceptual framework.  There is also an index available here for the rest of the articles which includes a calendar with links.)

We left Moses on the mountain in the previous article, but we have not exhausted the topic.

However long it took for the octave of Pentecost to take final shape, the Ember days after Pentecost are very old, possibly going back as far as the early third century.¹ The Sunday that follows them is now celebrated as Trinity Sunday, but there is an even more ancient Sunday buried underneath that feast, which would be celebrated during the week in green vestments if a ferial Mass were being celebrated.

In terms of how this fits with the Exodus and the lunar calendar, the Ember Saturday after Pentecost would be the last day that Moses spends on the mountain before entering the cloud. (13 Sivan)

So Moses rose with his servant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God.  And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us, until we come to you again; and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a cause, let him go to them.” Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the sons of Israel. And Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. (Ex 24:13–18)

It is always interesting to see Joshua son of Nun mentioned, since the name in Hebrew is identical to “Jesus.” Joshua is here called the servant of Moses. In the old covenant, the law of Moses is imposed upon the Israelites, and the law of charity existed in a subordinate role until the fullness of time arrived. In the new covenant, the law of Jesus Christ reigns supreme in the hearts of men of good will, and this due to the love of God (and our fellow man) which “has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Rom 5:5) This passage just quoted is used in the introit for the Ember Saturday Mass, which we should regard as the final day of the seven days of Pentecost, just as the seven days of Easter begin after sunset (Vespers) of Holy Saturday and continue until Vespers of the following Saturday.

At this point it is worth noting that the feast of Pentecost as later instituted by Moses was an observance of a single day. However, since according to the more literal determination of its date, it would always fall on a Sunday, that would mean that there would always be two consecutive days of Sabbath rest for Pentecost, since the Saturday and the Sunday would always be concurrent. Regardless, it was certainly not a week-long celebration like Passover or Sukkot.

This is significant because of a very early tradition:  “Therefore, after you have kept the festival of Pentecost, keep one week more festival, and after that fast; for it is reasonable to rejoice for the gift of God, and to fast after that relaxation: for both Moses and Elijah fasted forty days, and Daniel for ‘three weeks of days did not eat desirable bread, and flesh and wine did not enter into his mouth.’ (Dan 10:3)”  ²

While this might seem to imply that there were no Ember Days at first, this merely reflects a primitive conflict between two different traditions, which eventually resolved by having liturgical rejoicing³ in the Mass and office of these Ember Days combined with fasting and penance for the rest of the day. This continued to be the practice until the observance of the Ember Days, one of the crown jewels of Roman liturgical distinctiveness, was eliminated in the 20th century. In recent years, a resurgence of interest in the Ember days (as well as the constant need for penance) has led a few diocesan bishops to restore them as days of penance for their subjects. Perhaps we can pray for their eventual full restoration for the entire Roman church.

The Ember Days that we are concerned with here, as was alluded to above, are an overlap of feast and fast and this phenomenon is unique to Pentecost week. This would have been the week during which Moses was on the mountain, but had not yet been called into the cloud. (see above Ex 24:15–16)

The day that he went into the cloud would be 14 Sivan, corresponding to our first Sunday after Pentecost. As previously noted, this Mass is rarely celebrated since it was replaced by the feast of the Holy Trinity, but it remains in the missal, in the background, as it were. The texts of the Mass act as a sort of “octave day” celebration of Pentecost, similar to the octave of Easter (Quasimodo/Low Sunday). For example, the epistle simply begins:

God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

Before continuing, it is worth observing that “Love” is also one of the proper names of the Holy Spirit,⁴ once again making this a highly appropriate passage of scripture on this “octave day” of Pentecost.

Before Moses went into the cloud, presumably it was acting like most clouds and was preventing him from seeing inside it. He might have been afraid, but his love for God and his people allowed him to conquer his fear. The epistle concludes:

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his own Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we know and believe the love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. In this is love perfected with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because he first loved us. If any one says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should love his brother also. (1 Jn 4:8–21)

The gospel reading assigned for this Sunday is likewise appropriate instruction in the Christian life that every adult Christian who has received the Holy Spirit should be aware of:

“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but every one when he is fully taught will be like his teacher. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.” (Lk 6:36–42)

Our Lord reminds us that perfection consists in being like the Divine Teacher, with all the sacrifices that entails. We are told to be merciful, since it is only by being merciful that we can be truly prudent, with our sights set on the next life, when we will be forgiven to the extent that we have forgiven others and shown them mercy, as almighty God continuously shows us mercy during our lives.⁵

The communion antiphon and postcommunion prayer complete the framework of the Christian life. First the communion antiphon: “I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you, I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.” (Ps. 9:1–2) The postcommunion prayer reflects the same sentiment: “Filled with such great gifts, O Lord, grant, we beseech Thee, that we may both receive these saving benefits and never cease from Thy praise.”

We can and should praise God “in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (Eph 5:19) but the greatest praise that we can offer to almighty God is opening ourselves to the Holy Spirit and maintaining a clean heart, ready to receive his inspiration and to do his will. The collect of the Mass summarizes all these things: “O God, the strength of all them that put their trust in Thee, mercifully hear our prayers; and because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do nothing without Thee,⁶ grant us the help of Thy grace, that in keeping Thy commandments we may please Thee both in will and in deed.”

The church now enters into the long period of time after Pentecost, the longest season of the liturgical year. Moses went into the cloud, was surrounded by it, breathed it in and out, and came out after 33 days. We are meant to go into the cloud of the Holy Spirit and remain within it until we come to our eternal home.