Saturday within the Octave of Easter
Solemnity
- Feast Day
- April 11
Saturday within the Octave of Easter, the eighth day of the Octave reckoning from Easter Sunday, completes the Octave's daily celebration as Solemnities of the Lord. The Gospel is Mark 16:9-15, a summary in the longer ending of Mark of the Resurrection appearances to Mary Magdalene, to two disciples on the road, and to the Eleven, concluding with the Great Commission to preach the Gospel to every creature.
The first reading is Acts 4:13-21, in which the Sanhedrin, recognizing that Peter and John have been with Jesus, commands them not to speak in the Name, and Peter and John reply: whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge.
In the early Church, this day was known as Sabbatum in albis or Saturday of the white garments, marking the day on which the newly baptized of the Easter Vigil set aside the white robes they had worn through the Octave. The following day completes the Octave with the Second Sunday of Easter.
Saturday within the Octave of Easter brings to a close the most intense liturgical period of the Christian year. The day's readings unite the proclamation of the Gospel to all creation with the apostolic refusal to be silent before civil authority, a pairing that has shaped the Church's witness in every era of persecution.
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