A Treasure To Be Shared

In the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, the September Ember Days are the traditional Autumn Ember Days, observed on the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday following the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14). They remain part of the Ordinariate's liturgical patrimony and are specifically encouraged for prayer, fasting, repentance, thanksgiving for the harvest, and prayers for vocations. For 2026, those days (Embertide) fall on: Wednesday, September 16 Friday, September 18 Saturday, September 19 The Ordinariate explains that the September Ember Days are associated with the grape harvest, directing our gratitude toward the wine that becomes the Precious Blood in the Holy Eucharist. They are also traditional times to pray for priests, deacons, and future vocations. Discipline Regarding discipline, the Ordinariate notes that Ember Friday is a day of obligatory abstinence from meat. The faithful are also encouraged to undertake additional fasting, prayer...

Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493 (Wikipedia) The Personal Ordinariates (Walsingham, Chair of St Peter and Southern Cross) continue the ancient practices of the Ember Days. From the Catholic Herald : The origin of the term English term ‘ember’ is unclear; it may derive from the Old English ‘ymbren’, meaning a circuit or revolution. Other European languages use some version of the Latin term, ‘Quatuor tempora’, ‘four times’.  These celebrations may have been brought to England by St Augustine of Canterbury, and seem to have become established here before they spread from Rome to France and elsewhere. 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 W...

- from the Catholic Herald http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2018/09/29/the-revival-of-ember-days/ The Ember Days recall an age when the rhythms of human life were still bound to the changing of the seasons. A corruption of the Latin Quatuor Tempora (“Four Times”), the Ember Days were an attempt by the ancient Church to preserve and sanctify the pagans’ observation of equinoxes and solstices. Our predecessors in the faith marked the cycles of Creation with fasting, prayer and acts of charity – giving thanks to “the Lord of the Harvest”, as Jesus called his Father. The Ember Days are seldom marked by Catholics today, when every fruit and vegetable is available in the supermarket all year round. Harvest festivals can mean little to the New Yorker who buys fresh pineapples in the middle of December to garnish his Christmas ham. - - - We in/of the Personal Ordinariate have retained the Ember Days. An article at this blog may help to bring other Catholics to a deeper apprecia...

ORDO: Personal Ordinariate of The Chair of Saint Peter Ember Days and Rogation Days have the status of Obligatory Memorials (p.5) . - - - How observing the Ember Days can enhance your spiritual life by Joseph Shaw. http://catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2017/12/20/how-observing-the-ember-days-can-enhance-your-spiritual-life/ Since the earliest centuries, the Church in Rome has celebrated special days of fasting spread over the year, the ‘Ember Days’. They are today a feature of the calendar of the Extraordinary Form, although they are not found in the Universal Calendar of the Ordinary Form. They are also found in the Calendar of the Ordinariate(.) The origin of the term English term ‘ ember ’ is unclear; it may derive from the Old English ‘ ymbren ’, meaning a circuit or revolution. Other European languages use some version of the Latin term, ‘ Quatuor tempora ’, ‘four times’. These celebrations may have been brought to England by St Augustine of Cante...