Assumptiontide: Within the Octave of the Assumption

While the Novus Ordo calendar unfortunately only has 2 octaves, traditional Catholics will be familiar with the idea of multiple overlapping Octaves.  The practice of celebrating an Octave, while not only traced to the time spent by the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary awaiting the Paraclete, also has its origins in the Old Testament eight-day celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:36) and the Dedication of the Temple (2 Chronicles 7:9). Very truly, Christ did not come to abolish the Old Law but to fulfill it.

By the 8th century, Rome had developed liturgical octaves not only for Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas but also for the Epiphany and the feast of the dedication of a church.

After 1568, when Pope Pius V reduced the number of octaves (since by then they had grown considerably), the number of Octaves was still plentiful.  Octaves were classified into several types. Easter and Pentecost had "specially privileged" octaves, during which no other feast whatsoever could be celebrated. Christmas, Epiphany, and Corpus Christi had "privileged" octaves, during which certain highly ranked feasts might be celebrated. The octaves of other feasts allowed even more feasts to be celebrated.

To reduce the repetition of the same liturgy for several days, Pope Leo XIII and Pope St. Pius X made further distinctions, classifying octaves into three primary types: privileged octaves, common octaves, and simple octaves. Privileged octaves were arranged in a hierarchy of first, second, and third orders. For the first half of the 20th century, octaves were ranked in the following manner, which affected holding other celebrations within their timeframes:

• Privileged Octaves
  
  • Privileged Octaves of the First Order
    
    • Octave of Easter
    • Octave of Pentecost
  • Privileged Octaves of the Second Order
    
    • Octave of Epiphany
    • Octave of Corpus Christi
  • Privileged Octaves of the Third Order
    
    • Octave of Christmas
    • Octave of the Ascension
    • Octave of the Sacred Heart

• Common Octaves
  
  • Octave of the Immaculate Conception of the BVM
  • Octave of the Solemnity of St. Joseph
  • Octave of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist
  • Octave of Saints Peter and Paul
  • Octave of All Saints
  • Octave of the Assumption of the BVM

• Simple Octaves
  
  • Octave of St. Stephen
  • Octave of St. John the Apostle
• Octave of the Holy Innocents 

Traditional Catholics still attached to the pre-1962 Missal will be familiar with the above list of Octaves. And while Assumptiontide is not a liturgical season per se, this period of time between the Feast of the Assumption and that of the Immaculate Heart (on August 22nd which is on the Octave Day not by mere coincidence) can be a time for us to continue to pray to our Lady who was truly bodily and soul assumed into Heaven.

We can live out this forgotten Octave by adding to our daily prayers the Collect from the Assumption:

O Lord, we beseech Thee, forgive the transgressions of thy servants, and, forasmuch as by our own deeds we cannot please thee, may we find safety through the prayers of the Mother of Thy Son and our Lord.