Repost: Ember in September

The equinox has just arrived, bringing with it the beautiful days of Autumn (and Spring in the Southern Hemisphere). The Roman Church once again reminds us of the cycle of the seasons in these Ember Days in September.

We re-post, for those who are not aware of it, this article first posted by us in 2008. May you all have fruitful days.

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THE GLOW
OF THE EMBER DAYS

By Michael P. Foley

Repost: Ember in September

The equinox has just arrived, bringing with it the beautiful days of Autumn (and Spring in the Southern Hemisphere). The Roman Church once again reminds us of the cycle of the seasons in these Ember Days in September.

We re-post, for those who are not aware of it, this article first posted by us in 2008. May you all have fruitful days.

___________________________________________________________

THE GLOW
OF THE EMBER DAYS

By Michael P. Foley

Ember Week in September

The equinox is coming, bringing with it the beautiful days of Autumn (and Spring in the Southern Hemisphere). The Roman Church will once again remind us of the cycle of the seasons in this Ember Week in September.

We re-post, for those who are not aware of it, this article first posted by us in 2008. May you all have a fruitful week.

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THE GLOW
OF THE EMBER DAYS

By Michael P. Foley

A potential danger of traditionalism is the stubborn defense of something about which one knows little. I once asked a priest who had just finished beautifully celebrating an Ember Saturday Mass about the meaning of the Ember days. He replied (with an impish twinkle in his eye) that he hadn’t a clue, but he was furious they had been suppressed.

Traditionalists, however, are not entirely to blame for their unfamiliarity with this important part of their patrimony. Most only have the privilege of assisting at a Sunday Tridentine Mass, and hence the Ember days—which occur on a weekday or Saturday—slip by unnoticed. And long before the opening session of the Second Vatican Council, the popularity of these observances had atrophied.

So why care about them now? To answer this question, we must first determine what they are.

The Four Seasons

The Ember days, which fall on a Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday of the same week, occur in conjunction with the four natural seasons of the year. Autumn brings the September Embertide, also called the Michaelmas Embertide because of their proximity to the Feast of St. Michael on September 29.¹ Winter, on the other hand, brings the December Embertide during the third week of Advent, and spring brings the Lenten Embertide after the first Sunday of Lent. Finally, summer heralds the Whitsun Embertide, which takes place within the Octave of Pentecost.

In the 1962 Missal the Ember days are ranked as ferias of the second class, weekdays of special importance that even supersede certain saints’ feasts. Each day has its own proper Mass, all of which are quite old. One proof of their antiquity is that they are one of the few days in the Gregorian rite (as the ’62 Missal is now being called) which has as many as five lessons from the Old Testament in addition to the Epistle reading, an ancient arrangement indeed.

Fasting and partial abstinence during the Ember days were also enjoined on the faithful from time immemorial until the 1960s. It is the association of fasting and penance with the Embertides that led some to think that their peculiar name has something to do with smoldering ash, or embers. But the English name is probably derived from their Latin title, the Quatuor Tempora or “Four Seasons.”²

Yes, Autumn is here...

...with its "moving barricades" of polar air...

François Couperin

Second Livre [clavecin] - 6e ordre - "Les baricades mystérieuses"

And warm and gentle vernal wishes to our friends in the Southern Hemisphere!

Ember Week in September

The equinox is coming, bringing with it the beautiful days of Autumn (and Spring in the Southern Hemisphere). The Roman Church will once again remind us of the cycle of the seasons in this Ember week in September.

As we enter a week of recess, we re-post, for those who are not aware of it, this article first posted by us in 2008. May you all have a fruitful week.

___________________________________________________________

THE GLOW
OF THE EMBER DAYS

By Michael P. Foley

A potential danger of traditionalism is the stubborn defense of something about which one knows little. I once asked a priest who had just finished beautifully celebrating an Ember Saturday Mass about the meaning of the Ember days. He replied (with an impish twinkle in his eye) that he hadn’t a clue, but he was furious they had been suppressed.

Traditionalists, however, are not entirely to blame for their unfamiliarity with this important part of their patrimony. Most only have the privilege of assisting at a Sunday Tridentine Mass, and hence the Ember days—which occur on a weekday or Saturday—slip by unnoticed. And long before the opening session of the Second Vatican Council, the popularity of these observances had atrophied.

So why care about them now? To answer this question, we must first determine what they are.

Because it is a Saturday in Winter

Canciones Populares Españolas (I. El paño moruno; V. Nana; VI. Canción) [Inst.]

Manuel de Falla y Matheu

Happy St. John's Day!

Fuit homo missus a Deo, cui nomen erat Ioannes.

Non erat ille lux, sed ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine.

Christ is the completion of the law for righteousness unto every one that believes. ... For this reason the blessed Baptist is brought forward, as one who had attained the foremost place in legal righteousness, and to a praise so far incomparable. And yet even thus he is ranked as less than one who is least: "for the least, He says, is greater than he in the kingdom of God." But the kingdom of God signifies, as we affirm, the grace that is by faith, by means of which we are accounted worthy of every blessing, and of the possession of the rich gifts which come from above from God. For it frees us from all blame; and makes us to be the sons of God, partakers of the Holy Ghost, and heirs of a heavenly inheritance. (St. Cyril of Alexandria, Sermon XXXVIII [Commentary on Luke])

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A happy St. John's Day to all our readers, wishing you and yours joyful celebrations of Midsummer (or Midwinter, for those in the Southern Hemisphere)!

Summer recess notes: You report

Edgar Fernández, of Una Voce México, reports on the pilgrimage of the Traditional Latin Mass community of Guadalajara to the shrine of the Mexican martyr Saint Toribio Romo, in Jalostotitlán, Jalisco:

[A] pilgrimage [was undertaken] this past Thursday August 7th to visit the shrine of Santo Toribio Romo who is one of the martyrs that died during the terrible persecution during the Cristiada war, he died very young (28 years old) as a parish priest during one of the fiercest catholic persecutions the world has seen in modern times. After visiting the shrine in the town of Santa Ana and celebrating the TLM in the chapel the pilgrims, led by Father Jonathan Romanoski went on to pay their respects and pray for the success of the new FSSP apostolate in Guadalajara to our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos which is the 2nd largest Marian shrine in our country. [Pictures]

Congratulations to the Traditional Latin Mass community in the Mexican state of Jalisco and to Father Romanoski! Please, keep sending us your reports during the summer (or winter, for our readers in the Southern Hemisphere).