THEOLOGICAL CLUE

Pentecost is the "50th day" of Easter. It brings the great 50 days of the Pasch to a close and, at the same time, it introduces the Pentecost cycle, which is also the longest season of the church year; it extends to the First Sunday in Advent. As early as the eighth century, in France, there was an attempt to break the long season into shorter segments. Saints days provided the key to the division of the season - June 29, Saints Peter and Paul; August 10, St. Lawrence; September 29, St. Michael and All Angels. Thus, Sundays were numbered from Trinity Sunday to June 29, June 29 to August 10, August 10 to September 29, and September 29 to the Last Sunday after Trinity, or Pentecost (Roman Catholic). Such subdivisions are particularly useful in the planning of one's preachin…