However, if one takes that dim ember and places it back near the fire, it will quickly reignite. If one pulls a glowing ember away from a fire, it will gradually grow dim until it goes out. I think of myself as the ember in a fire. This is a great reminder throughout the entire year.Īnother thing that the Ember Days do for me, personally, is reignite my faith. When the Ember Days occur throughout the rest of the year, we are reminded in each season to, as I mentioned above, thank God for the gifts of nature, teach men to make use of them in moderation, and assist the needy. It is a reminder of the penitential nature of the season. This year, in particular, the Winter Ember Days occur in the third week of Advent, as we have just celebrated a moment of joy in this penitential season on Gaudete Sunday. I think it is quite wise that Holy Mother Church positions the Winter Ember Days where she does. Since Friday is a total abstinence day (according to Traditional norms), Ember Friday is also a day of total abstinence. The Wednesday and Saturday Ember Days are days of partial abstinence, meaning you may eat meat for one meal (generally the principal meal of the day). They are also abstinence days, though the abstinence rules are a little different for Ember Days. This means one regular-sized meal and two small meals which together do not equal the size of the regular meal. As Ember Days are penitential, they are also fasting and abstinence days. In the Winter, they occur on the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday following the feast of Saint Lucy, which is celebrated on December 13.Įmber Days are additional days of penance in the Church, and as such, the liturgical color for Mass is violet. In the Fall, they occur on the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the third Sunday in September. In the Summer, they occur on the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after Pentecost. In the Spring, the Ember Days occur on the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the first Sunday of Lent. So, what exactly is an Ember Day? According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Ember Days are special days set aside by the Church that are used to “thank God for the gifts of nature, teach men to make use of them in moderation, and assist the needy.” As mentioned above, the Ember Days occur at four times throughout the year, once in each season. However, many traditional Catholics and traditional Catholic parishes still observe them. In the United States, Ember Days were suppressed from the liturgical calendar. Ember Days are still practiced in many parts of Europe - especially in more rural areas. Unfortunately, with the revision of the liturgical calendar and the imposition of the Novus Ordo Missae in 1969, the Vatican left the celebration of Ember Days up to each nation’s Bishops’ Council. The one exception would be the Spring Ember Days, which were not instituted until later in the fifth century. Leo the Great (440-461) considered the Ember Days to have been instituted by the Apostles. Richert, in his article “The Tradition of Ember Days in the Catholic Church” points out that the Church adopted Ember Days so early, that Pope St. At the beginning of the time for seeding and harvesting religious ceremonies were performed to implore the help of their deities: in June for a bountiful harvest, in September for a rich vintage, and in December for the seeding.” Scott P. The Catholic Encyclopedia states, “The Romans were originally given to agriculture, and their native gods belonged to the same class. In my most recent article, “Yes, December 25th is the Biblical Date of Christmas” I mentioned that it was common for the early Church to Christianize pagan celebrations. In Latin, we call the Ember Days Quatuor Tempora, which simply means “four times.” The Ember Days are celebrated four times each year - once in each season. Just like the liturgical colors mean something, so do the special days which we observe this week. Because of the joyful nature of the day, the typically violet color gives way to Liturgical Rose, a cross between penitential violet and joyful white. Gaudete Sunday, as the Introit for the Mass suggests, is a day in which we rejoice in the Lord. However, on Gaudete Sunday, the priest is permitted to wear rose-colored vestments, and we light a rose-colored candle on the Advent wreath. As we have noticed as we work our way through this penitential season of Advent, the liturgical color is violet.
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