The Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after Pentecost mark the summer Ember Days. On these days, we pray for the harvest of wheat to come that will become for us the Body of Christ (and fill our pantries with delicious bread).

Ember Days are a quarterly observation throughout the year, where we pray for and thank God for the natural things which bring us the sacramental things. They remind us that the “work of human hands” (as the Eucharistic prayer says) are necessary for our salvation, not because we make something amazing happen, but because God has ordained it to be so. He has asked for our participation, and that is what makes it necessary. It is through our participation that God makes miraculous things happen.

In winter, we pray for the olives that become the oils used in anointing. In spring we pray for the flowers, because through them we get the wax that becomes candles in our worship. In summer, we pray for the wheat that become bread, which become the Body of Christ, and in the autumn, we pray for the grapes that becomes wine which becomes the Blood of Christ. The ember days are not just a way of acknowledging our participation, but of Nature’s participation as well. These things are the “fruit of the earth.” God ordained the seasons, and each has its own work to do.

There is another facet that I have written about before, and that is that these are times when we pray for priestly vocations, those who are already priests, those who are in the process, and those who have yet to discern their vocation. The Ember Days were once a time when priestly ordinations would typically occur. This year, my diocese will be ordaining a young man to the priesthood on the Saturday of the Ember Days, and I am thrilled! Our family has been praying for him for the last several years, so it’s especially exciting.

The Church has always acknowledged Wednesday as the day of Judas’ betrayal, Friday as the day of Christ’s Passion, and Saturday as the time He spent in the tomb. Throughout these days, we observe the penances of prayer, fasting, and abstinence.

The Church has several times throughout the year when we pray for the harvest of wheat, notably, throughout the Rogation Days, and in the past on “Lammas Day” or Loaf Mass Day (August 1st), or on the Feast of the Transfiguration (August 6th). The Rogation Days, we are more specifically praying for the protection of the crop of wheat and a good harvest, and for the other two, we give thanks for the harvest and ask God’s blessing on it all.

Prayer:

Antiphon: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never forget all He hath done for thee.
V. Lord, Thou has been our refuge.
R. From generation to generation.

Let us Pray: Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that as year by year we devoutly keep these holy observances, we may be pleasing to Thee both in body and soul. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

In Honor of Christ’s Betrayal and Passion

O God, Who for the world’s Redemption was pleased to be born, circumcised, rejected by the Jews, betrayed by the kiss of traitor Judas, bound with chains, led like an innocent lamb to sacrifice, and shamefully presented before Annas, Caiphas, Pilate, and Herod, accused by false witnesses, beaten with whips, buffeted, insulted, spat upon, crowned with thorns, smitten with a reed, blindfolded, stripped of Thy garments, fastened with nails to the cross and lifted up on high, reputed among thieves, made to drink gall and vinegar and wounded by a lance; oh, by these most sacred sufferings, which, unworthy as I am, I thus commemorate, and by Thy holy cross and death, deliver me, Lord, from the pains of hell, and deign to lead me where Thou didst lead me where Thou didst lead the penitent thief, who was crucified by Thy side. Who, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, livest and reignest, forever and ever. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father, etc. five times.

Prayer for God’s Blessing on our Labors

O Lord, graciously look down upon Thy servants and upon the work of their hands, and do Thou, Who givest food to every creature, bless and preserve the fruits of the earth, that the needy may be filled with good things and that all may praise the glory of Thy bounty. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

For Vocations to the Priesthood
Antiphon. Why stand ye all the day idle, go ye into my vineyard.
V. Ask the Lord of the harvest.
R. That He send laborers into His vineyard.

Let us Pray God, who willest not the death of the sinner, but rather that he be converted and live; grant, by the intercession of blessed Mary ever Virgin and of all saints, laborers for Thy Church, fellow laborers with Christ, to spend and consume themselves for souls. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.

Prayer Source: Blessed Be God: A Complete Catholic Prayer Book by Charles J. Callan, OP, S.T.M, P. J. Kenedy & Sons, 1961

To learn more about the other Ember Days, follow these links: Winter, Spring.

Wheat is a crop typically planted in late autumn or early spring, depending on the variety. It is possible to grow on a small scale, but it can be quite a challenge to learn to do it well!

In Christ,
Danielle