Did you know that the Friday during the octave of Easter is the only Friday in which we are not supposed to abstain from meat? I mention it because typically, the Rogation days are days of abstinence, but when it falls within the Octave of Easter, it is not. I only first heard about this Friday exception as I was planning for our family’s Major Rogation Day observance.

This is our first year observing the Rogation Days. Last year, I wanted to, but I missed it. Something about being 8 months pregnant and having a new baby or some lame excuse… Just kidding. Sort of. It was a real excuse, and it’s only an excuse because we’ve never done this before and we’re learning. Since it’s not a requirement, it wasn’t high enough on my radar amidst new baby.

I have been vaguely aware of the Rogation days for a few years, now. I first heard about them maybe 3 years ago. The timing wasn’t right, and the following year, I forgot. Last year, I was too pregnant to think about that with all of the other things on the schedule.

This year, I was committed to seeing things through, but we almost missed out on the Major Rogation Day. The kids started coming down with a cold on Thursday, and we had a pretty bad asthma attack in the house. Friday was a follow-up appointment out of town on the baby after her surgery, then a follow-up appointment on our son with the asthma attack (with lots of waiting in the doctor’s office), and then straight over to the neighbor’s church for a funeral for his wife. The unexpected postponed our preparations for the Rogation Day, and I was nearly out of steam by the end of it all. It was drizzling, and I debated whether we should follow through or not. But we pushed through.

Our celebration of the day didn’t turn out quite as I had hoped. We didn’t have time to finish our banner or make our cross. I didn’t get a chance to print out all of the prayers and readings, and I was mentally exhausted to the point where we just did the one reading I could find and prayed the litany of the saints. We did do a short procession, just me and a few of the kids. Some were napping, my husband was otherwise occupied after a crazy day, and the oldest was working.

We carried the unfinished banner, took our crucifix from above our home altar, pulled out the shofar my dad bought me a few years ago, lit the thurible, and grabbed the holy water from Easter and one of the branches from our olive tree to say a quick prayer and blessing for the homestead. It was not what I had envisioned, but we showed up, and the kids had fun. Had I had time to my email, I would have seen that Catholic Rural Life sent a prayer guide for Rogation Days to my email that morning. Needless to say, I’m printing it out for future use!

We’re planning to make our own processional cross, finish the banner, and follow the medieval practice of processing with a dragon throughout the Minor Rogation Days!

Though our processions and prayers didn’t go as planned, it was still a good reminder amidst the joys of Holy Week that we can do nothing without God, to remember that when we were deserving of wrath, we were given mercy. A fitting them for penitential practice during a week when we celebrate the mercy of God.

I pray you have a wonderful Divine Mercy Sunday!

In Christ, Danielle