Posted on 09/21/2006 1:45:29 PM PDT by NYer
This week is an Ember week on the old liturgical calendar. Specifically Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday are Ember Days. An Ember week proceeds the start of each new season (the name is a corruption of Quatuor Tempora or four times). Each Ember Day is a day of fast and abstinence to “thank God for the gifts of nature, to teach men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy,” according to the Catholic Encyclopedia. Since Ember Days are tied to the changing of the seasons, they are also a time to pray for each season to be sanctified by God. Traditionally ordinations were allowed to take place on any Ember Saturday, so Ember Days also have an aspect of being a time of deep prayer for our clergy.
An emphasis on Ember Days seems to be just what need in today’s church. In our consumer based society we could certainly use some help from God to learn some moderation. Sanctifying each season with prayer and fasting seems like a good idea in the wake Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters. And there can be no doubt that our priests, bishops, and seminarians (and those considering the priesthood) could use twelve days of prayer and fasting on their behalf each year.
So what happened to the Ember Days that were an important part of the old liturgical calendar? The USCCB addressed this issue in the same meeting they torpedoed Rogation Time. This is what they say (my emphasis):
Dioceses could begin consideration of Ember Day observances by consulting the Roman Missal, and especially the Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Occasions. In line with their specific needs, dioceses might then set aside one day in each season (with or without fast and abstinence) and encourage special intentions to be prayed for accordingly. In this way, the many and varied needs of the Church can be addressed flexibly and practically.
And with that Ember Days are swept under the Rug, never to be heard from again. Even if a bishop did follow through with this recommendation we would likely have just one day per season, and probably there would be no fast or abstinence. Besides all that, I don’t see that the intent of Ember Days needs to be varied to address the churches needs “flexibly”. The needs they already address are some of the most pressing in the church!
Well, my bishop has not made any effort whatsoever to address Ember Days, so I will just stick with the original plan and fast today, Friday and Saturday.
Thank you for that interesting post!
It's from the link that FJ290 provided. I just did a copy and paste.
Sorry, I forgot my manners, and forgot to ping you when I mentioned your name in the post above.
It's from the link that FJ290 provided. I just did a copy and paste.
Great suggestions re fasting, etc. One of the things I liked in the old liturgical calendar was that there was more of a rhythm to the year. I suppose it would be possible to bring some of this back, but the Novus Ordo has so many options (and so many things that can be omitted) that the general effect is very hit-or-miss. Obviously, some dioceses and priests are better than others, but somehow there still seems to have been a loss of what I recall as a sort of majestic procession through the year.
And the pattern of fast-times was part of this.
Yeah, I realized that when I did a Google search for the text. Thanks!
You are being very generous I think. The richness of our Catholic heritage was largely lost for my generation (I am 36). Like you I did not know about meatless Fridays until someone on FR corrected me. I am having to rediscover these things that I should have known all my life.
I am very thankful to FReepers like yourself who educate me a little more everyday but I am also annoyed at the Bishops and Priests who allowed this to happen.
It is not the job of the media to inform us about our traditions, customs and practices but rather it is the job of the clergy and religious to pass this on.
No problem, no harm done. :-)
Amen to that! It's a spirituality that is sorely missing, a general loss of the sacred. It's sad to think that since my mother's passing, I hadn't remembered it really at all. Not that it's celebrated much or mentioned by local clergy. I'm so glad you've posted it, and others have added more info about it.
Thank you.
Pope John Paul II said a prayer to Saint Francis in Assisi just before he was selected Vicar of Christ.
I,ll try and send it to you if I can find complete version.
I too hold a special place in my heart for Saint Francis along with many other Saints
My mother and many members of my family were raised in Eastern traditions. I especially remember as a child the fasting they observed and the rich, mystical liturgies. I remember her lamenting the loss of Ember Week, among other traditions, and her crediting that to Vat II, which itself was misused to 'modernize'. Thank you for the commentary and info about something that had almost passed out of my memory!
First I've heard of them...
Then again, I'm probably one of the youngest here...8^)
K, it's true what you say about the laity, but when one can go from Catholic parish to parish, from villages to cities, to different parts of the country, and be hard pressed to find a single Mass properly offered, or a single homily without theological errors or even heresy....then one does start to feel some of the responsibility is a failure of the shepherds to tend their flock.
The lack of consistancy in how the NO Mass is celebrated, combined with a generation of priests formed by 'Resurrection' theology in the seminaries, is the root cause of this frustration. Eventually, though probably not in our lifetime, the liturgy will become fixed, as will the calendar.
While I can't speak for the Orthodox, I can assure you that in the Eastern Catholic Churches, the liturgical calendar is fixed. Major feasts are still considered Holy Days of Obligation, even when they fall in the middle of a week. 'Resurrection' theology is not taught in their seminaries and orthodox homilies are the norm.
If you have the opportunity to do so, I would strongly encourage you to attend an Eastern Catholic Divine Liturgy. The following link is not up to date but provides a decent listing of parishes across the US.
"K, it's true what you say about the laity, but when one can go from Catholic parish to parish, from villages to cities, to different parts of the country, and be hard pressed to find a single Mass properly offered, or a single homily without theological errors or even heresy....then one does start to feel some of the responsibility is a failure of the shepherds to tend their flock."
Certainly the clergy and hierarchy bear responsibility. The laity has to do something about it, though.
"The lack of consistancy in how the NO Mass is celebrated, combined with a generation of priests formed by 'Resurrection' theology in the seminaries, is the root cause of this frustration."
What is "Resurrection" theology? If it means something like my tagline, then that is precisely what Orthodoxy teaches. I suspect though that it means something else, correct?
"While I can't speak for the Orthodox, I can assure you that in the Eastern Catholic Churches, the liturgical calendar is fixed. Major feasts are still considered Holy Days of Obligation, even when they fall in the middle of a week. 'Resurrection' theology is not taught in their seminaries and orthodox homilies are the norm."
Funny you should mention this. Just yesterday my secretary and I were discussing the issue of Holy Days of Obligation. She is a very committed Roman Catholic and is among the finest examples of a Roman Catholic layperson I have ever met. She is, by the way, a convert. She remarked that one never heard the "of Obligation" part anymore. I commented that the shame was that these Great Feasts were ever called Holy Days of Obligation in the first place. Holy feast days are not just to remember the past. By participating in these feasts each believer draws closer to the experience of the Holy Church, and follows its leadership. Each Christian soul relives the great events of the Gospels and of Church history, and in this way goes through a school of spiritual growth. We know that it is good for us to participate in these liturgies because our ancient traditions, passed down by The Church and our families and communities and the experiences of our own lives themselves tell us so. We don't need to be ordered, on pain of hell, to do what is right for us. Indeed, I will opine that by making attendence at these liturgies mandatory, that attendence becomes the fulfilling of an "obligation" to The Church or God (who of course doesn't need it at all) rather than an opportunity for spiritual healing or growth, an opportunity to advance in theosis. By living the liturgical calendar of The Church, a rhythm develops in our lives which directs us evermore to conform ourselves to a likeness of Christ, which is our created purpose. +Symeon the New Theologian tells us what will happen when we stand before Christ's throne at the Final Judgment:
"In the future life the Christian is not examined if he has renounced the whole world for Christ's love, or if he has distributed his riches to the poor or if he fasted or kept vigil or prayed, or if he wept and lamented for his sins, or if he has done any other good in this life, but he is examined attentively if he has any similitude with Christ, as a son does with his father."
Everything The Church and Holy Tradition has instituted has the foregoing purpose...no other.
"If you have the opportunity to do so, I would strongly encourage you to attend an Eastern Catholic Divine Liturgy."
Though I am Orthodox, allow me to second NYer's suggestion. As a Roman Catholic, it is very important that you maintain your personal ties to the bishops of your particular church and the Pope of Rome. You can do that in an Eastern Rite Church and experience a sort of spirituality unlike anything you have seen or lived before. I am particularly fond of the Melkites and Maronites,(the latter being the more Latinized of the two but they're getting better!) though that may be because I identify with Arab Christian culture generally more readily than Ukranian/Ruthenian.
You may recall one of my repeated posts in which I related an encounter with my previous pastor. On the backwall of the Sanctuary in that parish, was a larger than life Risen Christ statue. Father would gussy it all up on Easter Sunday, surrounding it with gold lame fabric and white lace. According to the GIRM (the regulations that govern the Latin Mass), it specifically states that there is to be "a cross with a corpus on or near the altar and visible to the entire congregation". Each week, I would approach the principal celebrant before the start of Mass, remind him of this instruction and ask that the processional cross be removed from the closet and placed in a receptacle adjacent to the altar. This request was usually met with a priestly scowl and two altar girls pleading with the priest for the privilege of carrying the cross up to the Sanctuary.
Three years ago, the pastor replaced the RC statue with a beautiful Crucifix during Lent. So excited to finally have one in the Sanctuary, I approached him after Mass to inquire if this Crucifix was now a permanent fixture. He smiled and said: "Christ was ONLY on the cross for 3 hours but is risen forever". Those words hit me like a stake through the heart. I was aghast at this response.
After arriving on the Maronite shores, and experiencing their great love and respect for the Cross of Christ, I mentioned this exchange to Abouna. Having been through both seminaries, he immediately recognized the former pastor's response and labeled it "Resurrection theology" where the emphasis is placed on Christ risen, rather than on His Passion. Is that what is taught in Orthodoxy? I didn't think so.
Just yesterday my secretary and I were discussing the issue of Holy Days of Obligation. She is a very committed Roman Catholic and is among the finest examples of a Roman Catholic layperson I have ever met. She is, by the way, a convert. She remarked that one never heard the "of Obligation" part anymore.
Converts are usually more staunch in the faith since it was a choice made after a long journey. You have no doubt pointed her to this forum and given her my freeper name to join the catholic ping list, right :-)? Here she can learn about these beautiful feasts and make some other choices ;-)
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