| Ember Days
From the Catholic Encyclopedia:
"Ember days (corruption from Lat. Quatuor Tempora, four times) are the days at the beginning of the seasons ordered by the Church as days of fast and abstinence. They were definitely arranged and prescribed for the entire Church by Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085) for the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after 13 December (S. Lucia), after Ash Wednesday, after Whitsunday, and after 14 September (Exaltation of the Cross). The purpose of their introduction, besides the general one intended by all prayer and fasting, was to thank God for the gifts of nature, to teach men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy. The immediate occasion was the practice of the heathens of Rome. The Romans were originally given to agriculture, and their native gods belonged to the same class. 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; hence their feriae sementivae, feriae messis, and feri vindemiales. The Church, when converting heathen nations, has always tried to sanctify any practices which could be utilized for a good purpose."
We will be celebrating the Ember Days in September this week. The Saturday lessons make reference to two Hebrew festivals, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths). The Day of Atonement was the most solemn day in the Hebrew calendar, when the High Priest would, on this one day only, enter the holy of holies and offer sacrifice not only for his sins but for those of all the people. Obviously these sacrifices did not truly wipe away sin, as the sacrifice of the Mass does, but it is good to remind ourselves how far we have come since God revealed himself to Moses.
In former days, the Ember days were days of fast and abstinence (1 main meal , 2 smaller meals and no meat). Although this discipline no longer binds Catholics under pain of sin, we have so little that does bind us under sin in the modern day that we would do well to observe these opportunities for additional penance. Although this year, the feast of St. Matthew takes precedence over Ember Wednesday, one may still observe it as a day of penance. |