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The Time After Pentecost
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
The Mass
Ideas that the last two Sundays merely suggested are now brought out in bold relief. After the
Ember days of autumn, the end of the Church year approaches. The approaching end of the
year is apparent even in nature, for fall is here and life is dying. Christ prepares to return on the
last day, and the liturgy longs for redemption, for the return of the spouse who at last will lead
her home to the peace of heaven.
The eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost has quite a different character from those that
precede. It must be studied in the light of the celebration of the preceding Ember Saturday
and the associated ordination of priests. In ancient Rome the Christian community marched
to St. Peter’s late in the evening of that Saturday for the night service, during which the pope
performed the ordination rite. Early in the morning the newly ordained priests were taken to
the various churches of the city to celebrate their first Masses. Thus the eighteenth Sunday was
originally without its proper liturgy. The present Mass for this day bears the character of a Mass
of ordination, however thoroughly it may be preoccupied with thoughts of Christ’s return.
At the Introit we direct our eyes to the newly ordained priests entering the church. They rejoice
at their first sacrifice: “I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: We shall go into the house
of the Lord.” We pray for grace and for the blessing of God on the newly ordained priests.
“Give peace, O Lord, to them that patiently wait for Thee [the newly ordained priests] that Thy
prophets [the priests] may be found faithful” (Introit). At the same time we think of the house
of eternal glory: “Give peace [final salvation, eternal blessing], O Lord, to them that patiently
wait for Thee. . . . I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: We shall go into the house of the
Lord,” into heaven. This Introit is a wonderful pilgrim song placed in the mouth of Christians
going to heaven. We sing the Kyrie for the new priests and for ourselves, pilgrims on the way
to heaven. In the Collect we pray: “Let the operation of Thy mercy direct our hearts,” for our
salvation depends primarily on the mercy of God.
In the Epistle we look back gratefully to what we have received during the ecclesiastical
year. “I give thanks to my God always for you, for the grace of God that is given you in Jesus
Christ, that in all things you are made rich in Him, . . . so that nothing is wanting to you in any
grace.” Then we are instructed to look forward, “waiting for the manifestation of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who also will confirm you unto the end without crime, in the day of the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ.” This “manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ” is made daily at the Mass,
again at the hour of our death, and finally on Judgment Day. The words of the Gradual apply to
this threefold manifestation of the Lord. “I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: We shall
go into the house of the Lord.” In the Alleluia we greet the Lord in His glory as He will appear
at that day of His last manifestation. Now at Mass He manifests Himself to us as He did to the
man sick of palsy, as the gentle physician of soul and body. He tells us: “Be of good heart, son,
thy sins are forgiven thee. . . . Arise, take up thy bed” (Gospel).
We ourselves, who celebrate the sacrifice today, are the sick man of the Gospel. At the
Sacrifice of the Mass we are brought to Christ through the priest. He sends us His salvation and
His grace, an anticipation of the perfect salvation of the world to come. Through the celebration
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