Dear Father Angelo,

First of all, I thank you for your service, which has allowed me to clarify some issues.

I am writing to you regarding this day, Friday of the Octave of Christmas, and whether it should be considered penitential or not.

From what I know, the Octave of Christmas should not be considered a single day like Easter, in which the joy of Christ’s Resurrection is prolonged. In the CEI document “The Christian Meaning of Fasting and Abstinence,” non-penitential Fridays are those on which a solemnity falls, as you have already mentioned in some of your responses. However, Friday of the Octave of Christmas is a liturgical feast, not a solemnity.

It is also true that the Liturgy of the Hours includes the “Te Deum” in the Office of Readings, and Holy Mass includes the “Gloria.”

How do we behave on this Friday of the year?

Thank you in advance for your response and, again, for all you do.

I ask you to remember me in your prayers and, since we are in the Octave of Christmas, best wishes.

Best regards

Marco

Priest’s answer

Dear Marco,

1. Yes, from a liturgical perspective, the days of the Christmas Octave are feast days.

So much so that the feasts of St. Stephen, St. John the Apostle, and the Holy Innocents are celebrated.

Furthermore, in the rubrics of the Liturgy of the Hours for the days mentioned, we read the clause: “where it is celebrated as a solemnity.” This means that everywhere it is a feast day and not a solemnity.

2. Therefore, in itself, the Friday that falls within the Christmas Octave retains a penitential character, despite the joyful atmosphere typical of this liturgical season.

3. It may seem strange, certainly. Especially if such a Friday fell close to Christmas, as on the feast of St. Stephen, when perhaps there is still much to be consumed from what was left over from the previous day.

4. However, there is no need to be alarmed because the current discipline of the Church is so broad that it allows abstinence from meat and particularly expensive foods to be replaced by any penance one wishes.

5. Such penance is especially fitting during this Christmas season, given the mystery of Christ, “he became poor although he was rich” (2 Cor 8:9), and through this very poverty he saved and redeemed us.

In the liturgical hymns of the Church, he expresses himself thus: “He who rules the world lies poor and humble in the stable of Bethlehem” (Office of Readings) and “He who rules the world lies poor and humble in the stable of Bethlehem” (Lauds). T-N

6. Meditating on the poverty of the Bethlehem grotto, just as we are inspired to recite the joyful mysteries of the Holy Rosary, how can we not feel encouraged to take a step and unite ourselves, with even a very small personal sacrifice—which is, after all, a true act of love—to the far greater sacrifice and love of our Lord?

Upon closer inspection, more than a penance, it is a grace granted to us. I wish you a joyful continuation of these Christmas holidays. I bless you and assure you of my fraternal remembrance in prayer and in the celebration of Holy Mass this evening.

Father Angelo

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