Msgr. Pope on the Bloody Octave of Christmas

"Many are shocked to walk into daily Mass on December 26 and instead of hearing more of the 'Baby Jesus' we are confronted with Martyrdom, 'The Feast of Stephen' is ancient on the Church's calendar. More ancient than the Christmas cycle and hence it was not removed to another time.

"Bu[t] the martyrdom does not stop there. We are in the midst of the Christmas Octave, an Octave filled with blood as we shall see. . . . 

"During the week following Christmas many of the prayers speak of each day as though it were still Christmas. For example some of the prayers and antiphons say, 'Today is born our savior, Christ the Lord.' A purist might say, but it is NOT today that he is born, it was back on . . . the 25th that he was born. But, in certain sense this IS still Christmas day. Christmas Day is one long day of eight days from . . . the 25th to . . . January 1st.

"It is the same with Easter where for one whole week we announce: 'This is the day the Lord has made…' 

"So here we are in the Christmas Octave and, in a strong sense it is thus still Christmas Day. TODAY is born our savior Christ the Lord. This feast is so important that we stretch its observance a completed week and into the eighth day.

"Bloody Octave – But one of the striking things about the Christmas octave is its bloodiness. It is one of the bloodiest weeks of the Church's years. Thus, on December 26th, when we have hardly digested our Christmas dinner, we celebrate the Feast of St. Stephen, the Martyr who was stoned to death. On December 28th we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Innocents, the young and infant boys who were murdered by Herod seeking to kill Christ. On December 29th we celebrate the feast of St. Thomas Becket who was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral. Even St. (King) Wenceslaus of whom we happily sing 'on the Feast of Stephen' was brutally killed by his brother."

In a recent commentary, Monsignor Charles Pope (pastor of Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Parish, Washington, DC) reflected on why the Christmas Octave is so bloody, including a reminder that "Jesus came to this world, ultimately to die" and that "many of us too will share in Christ's lot."

To access Msgr. Pope's complete post, please visit:

Community in Mission: A Meditation on the Bloody Octave of Christmas (25 DEC 19)