Notre Dame de Rouen. The façade of the Gothic Church in France. Photographer: Hippo1947. Licence: SHUTTERSTOCK.

Wednesday 16 September 2020

Ember Wednesday In September.


Wednesday, 16 September 2020, is Ember Wednesday in September.

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless stated otherwise.

Ember Wednesday in September.

Station at Saint Mary-Major.

Violet Vestments.



Iona Abbey,
Scotland.

As on other Wednesdays in Ember Weeks, The Station is held at Saint Mary-Major.

The Prophet Amos had foretold in the 8th-Century B.C., the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel and its coming restoration (Lesson). Later on, indeed, Nehemias and Esdras brought back the captives from Babylon and rebuilt Jerusalem.

When this work was completed, they all assembled on the first day of the seventh month, when Esdras read to them The Law of Moses and said: "This is The Holy Day of The Lord, be not sad for The Joy of The Lord is our strength" (Epistle and Communion).


English: Basilica of Saint Mary-Major, Rome,
where The Mass is said on Ember Wednesday in September.
Photo: 23 May 2016.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Wednesday in September Ember Week, which month was formerly, as its name shows, the seventh month of the year in Roman times, recalls this joyous Anniversary, which was a figure of our redemption by Jesus; indeed, the Introit tells us to be thrilled with joy in God our protector.

This joy is accompanied by the Spirit of Penitence expressed in the Violet Vestments used, and The Church Prays that we, depriving ourselves of bodily nourishment, may also abstain from sins of the mind (Collect). The Gospel, indeed, speaks of the impure spirit, which can only be dispelled by Prayer and Fasting.

Having fallen into sin through our weakness, let us Pray and Fast, that God may give a remedy by His merciful help (Collect before The Lesson).

Mass: Exsultáte Deo.



The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.

In The Liturgical Calendar of The Western Christian Churches, Ember Days are four separate sets of three days within the same week — specifically, the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday — roughly equidistant in the circuit of the year, that are set aside for Fasting and Prayer.

These days, set apart for special Prayer and Fasting, were considered especially suitable for The Ordination of Clergy. The Ember Days are known, in Latin, as the “Quatuor Anni Tempora” (the “Four Seasons Of The Year”), or, formerly, as the “Jejunia Quatuor Temporum” (“Fasts Of The Four Seasons”).

The four Quarterly Periods, during which The Ember Days fall, are called The Embertides.

The term “Ember Days” refers to three days set apart for Fasting, Abstinence, and Prayer, during each of the four Seasons of the year. The purpose of their introduction was to thank God for the gifts of nature, to teach men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy.

Possibly occasioned by the agricultural feasts of ancient Rome, they came to be observed by Christians for the Sanctification of the different Seasons of the year. James G. Sabak argues that The Embertide Vigils were “ . . . not based on imitating agrarian models of Pre-Christian Roman practices, but, rather, on an eschatological rendering of the year, punctuated by The Solstices and The Equinoxes, and, thus, underscores the eschatological significance of all Liturgical Vigils in the City of Rome.”


THE SAINT ANDREW DAILY MISSAL



THE SAINT ANDREW DAILY MISSAL

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