Discover the spiritual meaning of the long season after Pentecost as the Church leads the faithful toward growth, perseverance, and the completion of the liturgical year.
Volume 11 of Dom Prosper Guéranger’s monumental The Liturgical Year is Time After Pentecost, Book II, devoted primarily to the successive Sundays of the great season that stretches from Pentecost toward Advent.
After celebrating the great mysteries of Christ’s life—from His Incarnation and Passion to His Resurrection, Ascension, and the coming of the Holy Ghost—the Church enters a quieter but deeply important period. The focus now turns toward the growth of the Christian soul and the continuing work of the Holy Ghost within the Church.
Dom Guéranger guides the reader through these Sundays one by one, explaining the Mass texts, Gospel readings, prayers, and spiritual lessons the Church places before the faithful.
Readers will encounter:
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The successive Sundays after Pentecost
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The Masses and Gospel readings appointed for each Sunday
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Commentary on the Introit, Collect, Epistle, Gospel, Offertory, Communion, and other parts of the traditional Mass
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The spiritual work of the Holy Ghost within the Church
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The Church’s call to perseverance and growth in holiness
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Vespers and Compline for the Sundays of the season
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The traditional September Ember Days
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The additional Sundays after Epiphany used when the liturgical calendar requires them near the end of the year
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The gradual movement of the Church toward the conclusion of the liturgical cycle
One of the great strengths of this volume is Dom Guéranger’s explanation of a season that can otherwise appear ordinary.
The Sundays after Pentecost do not revolve around a single historical event in the life of Christ. Instead, they portray the life of the Church after Pentecost—the work of grace in souls, the struggle against sin, growth in virtue, and the Christian’s journey toward his final end.
Dom Guéranger describes how the Holy Ghost, sent upon the Church at Pentecost, continues the work begun by Christ. The truths revealed by Our Lord must now penetrate the Christian soul and transform it from within.
The Gospel readings throughout these Sundays provide lessons on faith, mercy, humility, charity, spiritual vigilance, and perseverance. Dom Guéranger places each reading within the broader rhythm of the Church year, helping the reader understand why the Church selected it and what spiritual lesson she intends to teach.
The volume also includes the Ember Days of September, the ancient quarterly days of fasting, prayer, and thanksgiving by which the Church sanctifies the changing seasons and asks God’s blessing upon His people.
As the Sundays progress, the liturgy gradually takes on a more eschatological character, directing the faithful toward judgment, eternity, and the coming of Christ—preparing the way for the end of the Church year and the return of Advent.
The Liturgical Year was written to help Catholics experience the Church calendar as a continuous school of prayer and doctrine rather than a collection of disconnected feast days.
Volume 11: Time After Pentecost II is especially valuable for Catholics who want to understand the spiritual purpose of the long post-Pentecost season and follow the traditional Sunday liturgy with greater depth throughout the second half of the year.
By: Dom Prosper Guéranger, O.S.B.
Translated by: Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B.
Series: The Liturgical Year, Volume 11 of 15
Season: Time After Pentecost — Book II
Primary Focus: Sundays After Pentecost & September Ember Days
