Born at Reims, France, on 30 April 1651, of an illustrious family, Saint John Baptist de la Salle made himself, from childhood, dear to all by the virtues of his Soul, the gentleness of his nature and the keenness of his mind. He went to Paris to study Theology at The Sorbonne. At seventeen, he was a Canon of the Cathedral.
When he reached the Priesthood, he offered The Holy Sacrifice with fervent Faith and intense love; these never left him when he was at the Altar. God had raised him "to give a Christian education to the Poor and to confirm youths in the way of truth" (Collect). With this object in view, he Founded a new Religious Congregation which he called "Brothers of The Christian Schools" and which soon spread throughout the World.
Out of humility and out of love for poverty, he gave up his Canonry and gave all he had to the Poor (Epistle). "Inflamed with zeal for the salvation of Souls, he spent himself during his whole life," says The Breviary, "for their greatest good." Assiduously treating himself with rigour, in fastings, flagellations and other austerities, he passed the night in Prayer (Introit).
Such was his manner of life, until, remarkable for every virtue, especially for his obedience, his zeal for the accomplishment of The Divine Will, his love and devotion towards The Apostolic See, and loaded with merits, he fell asleep in The Lord, at Rouen, France, on Good Friday, 7 April 1719, at the age of sixty-eight."
After striving to pass his life in the most humble duties, by serving Jesus in little children (Gospel), he was called to Heaven by The Divine Redeemer Whose Glory he shares, and Who still Blesses his work throughout the World.
"Let us burn with zeal like this Saint to procure The Glory of God by saving Souls, so that we may share his reward in Heaven" (Collect).
Another proper Mass is said in the Houses of The Brothers of Christian Schools.
Arrested at Tarsus, Boniface "bore himself with much fortitude in presence of his torturers" (Epistle). They tore his body with iron hooks, they thrust pointed reeds under his nails, and poured molten lead into his mouth.
He was beheaded at Tarsus on 14 May, towards 275 A.D., under the Emperor Galerius. His remains were brought to Rome and deposited on Mount Aventine, in the Church which took first his name and, later on, that of Saint Alexius.
[Editor: This Saint is not to be confused with Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr. Feast Day 5 June.]
Mass:Protexisti.
The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.
Because of the date of his Feast, Boniface of Tarsus was one of three Saints, who, because a cold spell was believed to be common on 12 May – 14 May, were called The Ice Saints, in Poland, Bohemia and Eastern Germany.
The period from 12 May to 15 May was noted to bring a brief spell of colder weather in many years, including the last nightly frosts of the Spring, in the Northern Hemisphere, under the Julian Calendar. The introduction of the Gregorian Calendar in 1582 involved skipping ten days in the Calendar, so that the equivalent days from the climatic point of view became 22 May – 25 May.
Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, unless otherwise stated.
Saint Robert Bellarmine. Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of The Church. Feast Day 13 May.
Double.
White Vestments.
Saint Robert Bellarmine.
Jesuit, and Doctor of The Church (4 October 1542 - 17 September 1621).
Beatified 13 May 1923. Canonised 29 June 1930 by Pope Pius XI.
Date: 16th-Century.
Source: istitutoaveta.it
Author: Anonymous.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Born at Montepulciano, Italy, died in Rome. Proclaimed Doctor of The Church on 15 August 1931.
Successively, Professor of Theology and Preacher at Louvain (1569 - 1576), Director of the Course of Controversy in Rome, where Saint Aloysius Gonzaga was his Penitent, Provincial of The Jesuits at Naples, sent by Pope Sixtus V on a Diplomatic Mission to France, Bellarmine was raised to the Cardinalate in spite of his unwillingness in 1599.
Pope Clement VIII alleged as motive for this promotion that his (Editor: Bellarmine's) equal in learning was not at that time to be found in The Church.
Apart from the three years he spent in Capua as its Archbishop, he passed his life in Rome, where he rendered signal services to Pope Clement VIII, Pope Paul V, and Pope Gregory XV.
By his controversial books, he dealt formidable blows to Protestantism, while, by his Catechism, translated into forty languages, he spread the knowledge of Christian Doctrine in all Countries of the World.
As a Religious, he shone by his Angelic purity, humility, and obedience, and, as Bishop, he was a model of watchful care and Charity to the Poor.
Towards the end of his life, he obtained leave of the Pope to retire to the Noviciate of Saint Andrew, the cradle of his Religious Life, where he prepared for a happy and holy death.
Nereus and Achilleus, Officers of the household of Flavia Domitilla, a niece of the Emperors Titus and Domitian, were Baptised by Saint Peter. The Gospel praises their Faith when it praises that of the Officer who obtained the cure of his son and believed in Jesus.
These Saints, having inspired Domitilla with the resolution to consecrate her Virginity to God, Aurelianus, her betrothed, accused them, all three, of being Christians. Out of hatred for Christ, they were put to death under the Emperor Trajan, at Terracina, about 100 A.D.
Their bodies rest in Rome in the Church of Saints Nereus and Achilleus. This Church was Stational on Monday in Holy Week, but the bad state of the building caused the Station to be transferred to Saint Praxedes's in the 13th-Century. Saints Nereus and Achilleus Church was restored in the 16th-Century.
Saint Pancras was arrested in Rome at the age of fourteen and put to death towards 275 A.D., under Emperor Diocletian, for having refused to sacrifice to the Roman Gods. His constancy earned him a place among The Saints, whose joy he shares (Epistle, Communion).
The advent of Streamlining not only enabled Car Designers to radically experiment with both the style and substance of the automobile, it practically encouraged them to "go nuts". Fitting, then, that three of the most experimental takes on the automobile’s form from that period will highlight an upcoming exhibition of the Streamlining Era’s most provocative Cars.
While the format and the location of The Portland Art Museum’s “The Shape of Speed: Streamlined Automobiles and Motorcycles, 1930-1942” resembles prior autos-in-art-museum exhibits curated by renowned automotive journalist Ken Gross, Gross said the Streamlining Theme is brand new. “This is a substantially different show in terms of Cars,” he said. “It’s fun to change ‘em up.”
As David Rand wrote in the exhibition catalogue, Streamlined and Aerodynamic Cars aren’t necessarily one and the same: “While (Streamlined) Cars embraced the appearance of aerodynamics, in most cases there was little reality behind this effort, despite there having been attempts to optimize vehicle aerodynamics going back to the beginning of the Century.” Among those earliest attempts to cheat the wind were racing machines designed to break the land-speed record, Barney Oldfield’s Golden Submarine, Edmund Rumpler’s Tropfenwagen, and Paul Jaray’s patented designs.
Streamlining as a matter of aesthetics, however, came on strong by the early 1930s as industrial designers rose to prominence and as automakers began to pay more attention to the automobile’s form rather than just its function. GM’s recently established Art and Colour design department showcased the Cadillac Aerodynamic Coupe at the 1933 Century of Progress in Chicago, Pierce-Arrow debuted the Silver Arrow at the same time, Chrysler introduced the Airflow a year later, and Ford’s consideration of John Tjaarda’s rear-engine Briggs prototype from the first part of the decade later led to the sleek Lincoln Zephyr. Over in Europe, Hans Ledwinka adopted Jaray’s patents when designing the 1934 Tatra T77.
Against that background, and unbound by traditional notions of automobile construction, three independent designers – Alfred Ney, Rod Hoffman, and William Bushnell Stout – set out to essentially reinvent the automobile.
This Article is taken from, and can be read in full at, HEMMINGS DAILY
It is in the Basilica of Saint Peter's, Rome, Dedicated to one of the chief witnesses of Our Lord's Ascension, that this Mystery, which marks the end of Our Lord's Earthly Life, is "this day" (Collect) kept.
In the forty days, which followed His Resurrection, Our Redeemer laid the foundations of His Church, to which He was going to send The Holy Ghost.
The Introit at The Ascension Day Latin Mass,
at The Institute of Saint Philipp Neri, Berlin, Germany.
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DAS INSTITUT ST. PHILIPP NERI IST DRINGEND
AUF IHRE UNTERSTÜTZUNG ANGEWIESEN.
All The Master's teachings are summed up in the Epistle and Gospel for today. Then, He left this Earth and the Introit, Collect, Epistle, Alleluia, Gospel, Offertory, Secret, Preface and Communion, celebrate His Glorious Ascension into Heaven, where the Souls He had freed from Limbo escort Him (Alleluia), and enter in His train into The Heavenly Kingdom, where they share more fully in His Divinity.
The Ascension sets before us the duty of raising our hearts to God. So, in the Collect, we are led to ask that we may dwell with Christ in Spirit in The Heavenly Realms, where we are called one day to dwell in our Risen Bodies.
During The Octave, the Credo is said: "I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God . . . Who ascended into Heaven . . . He sitteth at The Right-Hand of The Father". The Gloria speaks in the same sense: "O, Lord Jesus Christ, The Only-Begotten Son . . . Who sittest at The Right-Hand of The Father, have mercy upon us."
The Gloria at The Ascension Day Latin Mass,
at The Institute of Saint Philipp Neri, Berlin, Germany.
In the Proper Preface, which is said until Pentecost, we give thanks to God because His Son, The Risen Christ, "after His Resurrection, appeared and showed Himself to all His Disciples; and, while they beheld Him, was lifted up into Heaven".
In the same way, during the whole Octave, a Proper Communicantes of The Feast is said, in which The Church reminds us that she is keeping the day on which The Only-Begotten Son of God set at The Right-Hand of His Glory the substance of our frail human nature, to which He had united Himself in The Mystery of The Incarnation.
The Collect and Epistle at The Ascension Day Latin Mass,
at The Institute of Saint Philipp Neri, Berlin, Germany.
We are reminded daily in The Liturgy, at the Offertory Suscipe Sancta Trinitas, and in the Canon Unde et memores, that, at Our Lord's command, The Holy Sacrifice is being offered in memory of "The Blessed Passion of the same Christ, Thy Son, Our Lord," and also His Resurrection from Hell and His Glorious Ascension into Heaven.
The truth is that man is saved only by The Mysteries of The Passion and Resurrection united with that of The Ascension. "Through Thy Death and Burial, through Thy Holy Resurrection, through Thy Admirable Ascension, deliver us, O Lord" (Litany of The Saints).
The Credo at The Ascension Day Latin Mass,
at The Institute of Saint Philipp Neri, Berlin, Germany.
Let us offer The Divine Sacrifice to God in memory of The Glorious Ascension of His Son (Suscipe, Unde et memores); while we nourish within our Souls an ardent desire for Heaven, that "delivered from present dangers," we may "attain to Eternal Life" (Secret).
Every Parish Priest Celebrates Mass for the people of his Parish.
The Church Celebrates, on 25 April, two Solemnities, which have nothing in common: The Greater Litanies, so called on account of their Roman origin, and The Feast of Saint Mark, which is of later date. The word "Litany" means "Supplication".
In ancient Rome, on 25 April, used to be celebrated the pagan feast of Robigalia. It consisted, principally, of a Procession, which, leaving the City by The Flaminian Gate, went to The Milvian Bridge and ended in a suburban Sanctuary situated on The Claudian Way.
There, a ewe was sacrificed in honour of a god or goddess of the name Robigo (god or goddess of frost). The Greater Litany was the substitution of a Christian, for a pagan, Ceremony. Its itinerary is known to us by a convocation of Saint Gregory the Great. It is, approximately, the same as that of the pagan Procession.
All The Faithful in Rome betook themselves to the Church of Saint Laurence-in-Lucina, the nearest to The Flaminian Gate. Leaving by this Gate, the Procession made a Station at Saint Valentine's, crossed The Milvian Bridge, and branched off to the Left towards The Vatican.
After halting at a Cross, it entered The Basilica of Saint Peter for the Celebration of The Holy Mysteries.
This Litany is recited throughout The Church to keep away calamities, and to draw down The Blessing of God on the harvest. "Vouchsafe to grant us to preserve The Fruits of the Earth, we Pray Thee, hear us," is sung by the Procession through the Countryside.
The whole Mass shows what assiduous Prayer may obtain, when in the midst of our adversities (Collects, Offertory) we have recourse with confidence to Our Father in Heaven (Epistle, Gospel, Communion).
If The Feast of Saint Mark is Transferred, The Litanies are not Transferred, unless they fall on Easter Sunday. In which case, they are Transferred to the following Tuesday.
In consequence of the public calamities that afflicted the Diocese of Vienne, Dauphiny, France, in the 5th-Century A.D., Saint Mamertus instituted a Solemn Penitential Procession on The Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, before Ascension Thursday.
Under an Order of The Council of Orleans, in 511 A.D., the Devotion spread to the rest of France. In 816 A.D., Pope Leo III introduced it in Rome and, soon after, it became a general observance throughout The Church.
The Litany of The Saints, and The Psalms and Collects sung in Procession, on these days, are Supplications; hence, the term "Rogations" applied to them. The object of these Devotions is to appease The Anger of God and avert the scourges of His Justice, and to draw down The Blessings of God on The Fruits of the Earth.
Violet is used as a token of Penance, and The Paschal Candle is left unlighted. The Litany of The Saints, consisting of ejaculations in the form of a dialogue, is an admirable manner of Prayer, which it should be our purpose to cultivate.
The Celebrant wears a Violet Stole and Violet Cope. All in the Choir stand as they sing the first Antiphon Exsurge, Domine.
MASS OF ROGATION.
Stations:
Monday. At Saint Mary Major.
Tuesday. At Saint John Lateran.
Wednesday. At Saint Peter's.
Indulgence of 30 Years and 30 Quarantines each day.
Violet Vestments.
The Mass, throughout, points to the efficacy of The Prayer of The Just Man, when humble, sure, and persistent. Elias, by Prayer, closed and opened the heavens (Epistle), and Our Lord shows us by two Parables that God gives His Holy Spirit to whomever asks Him, because He is good (Gospel, Alleluia). In our afflictions, let us place our trust in God and He will hear our Prayers (Introit, Collect).
The following Mass is said during, or after, the Procession of both The Greater Litanies and The Lesser Litanies.
Mass of Rogation:Exaudivit de templo. The Gloria is not said. Preface: Of Easter.
The Litany Of The Saints is used in connection with:
Holy Mass on The Greater Litanies (25 April);
The Lesser Litanies (Rogation Days);
Holy Saturday;
The Vigil of Pentecost;
Masses of Ordination, before the conferring of Major Orders.
On Saint Mark's Day and Rogation Days, if the Procession is held, the Litany is preceded by the Antiphon, "Exurge, Domine," (Psalm XLIII. 26), and all Invocations are sung by the Cantors and repeated in full by the Choir [i.e., "Doubled"].
If the Procession cannot be held, the Invocations are not repeated.
On The Vigils of Easter and Pentecost, the Invocations marked with an asterisk (*) in The Missal are omitted; all the remaining Invocations are repeated, either there be a Font and a Procession from The Baptistry, or not.
At Masses of Ordination, only The First Five Invocations are repeated.
The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.
Rogation Days are, in The Calendar of The Western Church, observed on 25 April (The Major Rogation) and the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday immediately preceding Ascension Thursday (The Minor Rogations).
The first Rogation, The Greater Litanies, has been compared to the ancient Roman religiousfestival of The Robigalia, a ritual involving prayer and sacrifice for crops held on 25 April. The first Rogation is also observed on 25 April, and a direct connection has sometimes been asserted, with the "Christian substitute" following the same processional route in Rome. If Easter falls on 24 April or on this day (the latest possible date for Easter), The Rogations are transferred to the following Tuesday.
The second set of Rogation Days, The Lesser Litanies, or Rogations, introduced about 470 A.D. by Bishop Mamertus of Vienne, and eventually adopted elsewhere, are the three days (Rogation Monday, Rogation Tuesday and Rogation Wednesday) immediately before Ascension Thursday in The Christian Liturgical Calendar.
The word "Rogation" comes from the Latin verb "rogare", meaning "to ask," and was applied to this time of The Liturgical Year because the Gospel Reading for the previous Sunday included the passage: "Ask, and ye shall receive" (Gospel of John 16:24). The Sunday itself was often called Rogation Sunday, as a result, and marked the start of a three-week period (ending on Trinity Sunday), when Roman Catholic and Anglican Clergy did not Solemnise marriages (two other such periods of marital prohibition also formerly existed, one beginning on The First Sunday in Advent and continuing through The Octave of Epiphany, or 13 January, and the other running from Septuagesima until The Octave of Easter, the Sunday after Easter). In England, Rogation Sunday is called "Chestnut Sunday".
The Faithful typically observed The Rogation Days by Fasting in preparation to Celebrate The Ascension, and farmers often had their crops Blessed by a Priest at this time. Violet Vestments are worn at The Rogation Litany and its associated Mass, regardless of what Colour Vestments were worn at the ordinary Liturgies of The Day.
A common feature of Rogation Days, in former times, was the Ceremony of "Beating The Bounds", in which a Procession of Parishioners, led by The Minister, Churchwarden, and Choirboys, would proceed around the boundary of their Parish and Pray for its protection in the forthcoming year. This was also known as 'Gang-Day'.
The reform of The Liturgical Calendar for Latin Roman Catholics, in 1969, delegated the establishment of Rogation Days, along with Ember Days, to The Episcopal Conferences.Their observance in The Latin Church subsequently declined, but the observance has revived somewhat, since 1988, (when Pope Saint John Paul II issued his Decree Ecclesia Dei Adflicta), and especially since 2007 (when Pope Benedict XVI issued his Motu Proprio, called "Summorum Pontificum"), when the use of older Rites was encouraged. Churches of The Anglican Communion reformed their Liturgical Calendar in 1976, but continue to recognise The Three Days before Ascension Day as an Optional Observance.
4,000 copies of “1 in 5” poster going up nationwide
in first phase of poster campaign
"Save The 8th", the campaign against
the repeal of The 8th Amendment, has begun.
The first in a series of nationwide poster campaigns ahead of the referendum on 25 May 2018.
With the polling order signed on Wednesday night
(4 April 2018), it became legal to erect campaign posters from 5 April 2018.
Save The 8th’s first poster reads:
“In England, 1 in 5 babies are aborted.
Don’t bring this to Ireland. Vote No”.
4,000 of these posters will be erected nationwide,
with further posters to follow.
Commenting, Save The 8th’s Niamh UiBhriain said:
“In 1967, the British Abortion Act promised a restrictive regime of abortion, just like the Irish Government is proposing today. In England, this restrictive regime sees virtually no abortion refused, and one in five pregnancies ending with an abortion.
"In 2010, Leo Varadkar warned that any attempt
to introduce a restrictive abortion law would
end with abortion on demand. Today, he is trying
to take the Country down the very path he warned against very recently.
"Our poster campaign seeks to raise awareness
of what happens when abortion is legalised. It gives politicians a licence to kill. We hope that Irish voters will not copy England’s mistake”.
The Church Celebrates, on 25 April, two Solemnities, which have nothing in common: The Greater Litanies, so called on account of their Roman origin, and The Feast of Saint Mark, which is of later date. The word "Litany" means "Supplication".
In ancient Rome, on 25 April, used to be celebrated the pagan feast of Robigalia. It consisted, principally, of a Procession, which, leaving the City by The Flaminian Gate, went to The Milvian Bridge and ended in a suburban Sanctuary situated on The Claudian Way.
There, a ewe was sacrificed in honour of a god or goddess of the name Robigo (god or goddess of frost). The Greater Litany was the substitution of a Christian, for a pagan, Ceremony. Its itinerary is known to us by a convocation of Saint Gregory the Great. It is, approximately, the same as that of the pagan Procession.
All The Faithful in Rome betook themselves to the Church of Saint Laurence-in-Lucina, the nearest to The Flaminian Gate. Leaving by this Gate, the Procession made a Station at Saint Valentine's, crossed The Milvian Bridge, and branched off to the Left towards The Vatican.
After halting at a Cross, it entered The Basilica of Saint Peter for the Celebration of The Holy Mysteries.
This Litany is recited throughout The Church to keep away calamities, and to draw down The Blessing of God on the harvest. "Vouchsafe to grant us to preserve the fruits of the Earth, we Pray Thee, hear us," is sung by the Procession through the Countryside.
The whole Mass shows what assiduous Prayer may obtain, when in the midst of our adversities (Collects, Offertory) we have recourse with confidence to Our Father in Heaven (Epistle, Gospel, Communion).
If The Feast of Saint Mark is Transferred, The Litanies are not Transferred, unless they fall on Easter Sunday. In which case, they are Transferred to the following Tuesday.
In consequence of the public calamities that afflicted the Diocese of Vienne, Dauphiny, France, in the 5th-Century A.D., Saint Mamertus instituted a Solemn Penitential Procession on The Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, before Ascension Thursday.
Under an Order of The Council of Orleans, in 511 A.D., the Devotion spread to the rest of France. In 816 A.D., Pope Leo III introduced it in Rome and, soon after, it became a general observance throughout The Church.
The Litany of The Saints, and The Psalms and Collects sung in Procession, on these days, are Supplications; hence, the term "Rogations" applied to them. The object of these Devotions is to appease The Anger of God and avert the scourges of His Justice, and to draw down The Blessings of God on the fruits of the Earth.
Violet is used as a token of Penance, and The Paschal Candle is left unlighted. The Litany of The Saints, consisting of ejaculations in the form of a dialogue, is an admirable manner of Prayer, which it should be our purpose to cultivate.
The Celebrant wears a Violet Stole and Violet Cope. All in the Choir stand as they sing the first Antiphon Exsurge, Domine.
MASS OF ROGATION.
Stations:
Monday. At Saint Mary Major.
Tuesday. At Saint John Lateran.
Wednesday. At Saint Peter's.
Indulgence of 30 Years and 30 Quarantines each day.
Violet Vestments.
The Mass, throughout, points to the efficacy of The Prayer of The Just Man, when humble, sure, and persistent. Elias, by Prayer, closed and opened the heavens (Epistle), and Our Lord shows us by two Parables that God gives His Holy Spirit to whomever asks Him, because He is good (Gospel, Alleluia). In our afflictions, let us place our trust in God and He will hear our Prayers (Introit, Collect).
The following Mass is said during, or after, the Procession of both The Greater Litanies and The Lesser Litanies.
Mass of Rogation:Exaudivit de templo. The Gloria is not said. Preface: Of Easter.
The Litany Of The Saints is used in connection with:
Holy Mass on The Greater Litanies (25 April);
The Lesser Litanies (Rogation Days);
Holy Saturday;
The Vigil of Pentecost;
Masses of Ordination, before the conferring of Major Orders.
On Saint Mark's Day and Rogation Days, if the Procession is held, the Litany is preceded by the Antiphon, "Exurge, Domine," (Psalm XLIII. 26), and all Invocations are sung by the Cantors and repeated in full by the Choir [i.e., "Doubled"].
If the Procession cannot be held, the Invocations are not repeated.
On The Vigils of Easter and Pentecost, the Invocations marked with an asterisk (*) in The Missal are omitted; all the remaining Invocations are repeated, either there be a Font and a Procession from The Baptistry, or not.
At Masses of Ordination, only The First Five Invocations are repeated.
The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.
Rogation Days are, in The Calendar of The Western Church, observed on 25 April (The Major Rogation) and the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday immediately preceding Ascension Thursday (The Minor Rogations).
The first Rogation, The Greater Litanies, has been compared to the ancient Roman religiousfestival of The Robigalia, a ritual involving prayer and sacrifice for crops held on 25 April. The first Rogation is also observed on 25 April, and a direct connection has sometimes been asserted, with the "Christian substitute" following the same processional route in Rome. If Easter falls on 24 April or on this day (the latest possible date for Easter), The Rogations are transferred to the following Tuesday.
The second set of Rogation Days, The Lesser Litanies, or Rogations, introduced about 470 A.D. by Bishop Mamertus of Vienne, and eventually adopted elsewhere, are the three days (Rogation Monday, Rogation Tuesday and Rogation Wednesday) immediately before Ascension Thursday in The Christian Liturgical Calendar.
The word "Rogation" comes from the Latin verb "rogare", meaning "to ask," and was applied to this time of The Liturgical Year because the Gospel Reading for the previous Sunday included the passage: "Ask, and ye shall receive" (Gospel of John 16:24). The Sunday itself was often called Rogation Sunday, as a result, and marked the start of a three-week period (ending on Trinity Sunday), when Roman Catholic and Anglican Clergy did not Solemnise marriages (two other such periods of marital prohibition also formerly existed, one beginning on The First Sunday in Advent and continuing through The Octave of Epiphany, or 13 January, and the other running from Septuagesima until The Octave of Easter, the Sunday after Easter). In England, Rogation Sunday is called "Chestnut Sunday".
The Faithful typically observed The Rogation Days by Fasting in preparation to Celebrate The Ascension, and farmers often had their crops Blessed by a Priest at this time. Violet Vestments are worn at The Rogation Litany and its associated Mass, regardless of what Colour Vestments were worn at the ordinary Liturgies of The Day.
A common feature of Rogation Days, in former times, was the Ceremony of "Beating The Bounds", in which a Procession of Parishioners, led by The Minister, Churchwarden, and Choirboys, would proceed around the boundary of their Parish and Pray for its protection in the forthcoming year. This was also known as 'Gang-Day'.
The reform of The Liturgical Calendar for Latin Roman Catholics, in 1969, delegated the establishment of Rogation Days, along with Ember Days, to The Episcopal Conferences.Their observance in The Latin Church subsequently declined, but the observance has revived somewhat, since 1988, (when Pope Saint John Paul II issued his Decree Ecclesia Dei Adflicta), and especially since 2007 (when Pope Benedict XVI issued his Motu Proprio, called "Summorum Pontificum"), when the use of older Rites was encouraged. Churches of The Anglican Communion reformed their Liturgical Calendar in 1976, but continue to recognise The Three Days before Ascension Day as an Optional Observance.
A photograph showing Whitsun traffic returning from the South-East Coast, taken in May 1950 by John Topham for The Daily Herald. The photograph was taken at the Rochester By-Pass in Kent.
This was the first Coupon-Free Petrol Holiday since 1939. Petrol Rationing was introduced in 1939 by The Government, requiring people to exchange Coupons, as well as money, for their fuel.
