Eight days a week

The Queenship of Mary doubles as a liturgical bookend, concluding eight full days since celebrating her Assumption. In liturgical language, these eight days form an octave. Most simply, an octave extends the celebration of a church feast from a single day into eight. Historically, Christianity inherited the practice from Judaism, which, for instance, celebrates eight days of Hanukkah and circumcision eight days after a boy’s birth—the latter being why many baptismal fonts are octagonal. If a week is seven days, then the eighth day begins a new week—the eighth day signaling the start of something new or renewal, just as Baptism makes a person new or “born again.” Honor Mary anew by praying the Salve Regina today.