Lenten Ember Days observed with a focus on the Eucharist
Ember Days 2023
By Dc. Tom Cuskey, editor
This may sound like a question from a Catholic middle school class quiz: “Define Ember Days and when they take place.” Wondering aloud, how many good Catholics would know the answer to this query?
Fear not! The Diocesan Office of Liturgy and Catholic News Agency (CNA) have the answers.
CNA reports that “Ember days are tied to the four seasons of the year. The reason ‘ember’ is associated with these days seems to be that the word is a corruption of the Latin phrase ‘quatuor tempora,’ meaning four seasons.”
Doing the math, then, each of the annual four seasons contains three ember days, so there are 12 total throughout the year:
- The Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after Ash Wednesday (March 1, 3 & 4 this year)
- The Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after Pentecost (May 13, Jun 2 & 3 this year)
- The Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on Sept. 14 (Sept. 20, 22 & 23 this year)
- The Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the feast of St. Lucy on Dec. 13 (Dec. 20, 22 & 23 this year)
Our diocesan Office of Liturgy, directed by Father Christopher Seibt, has communicated a reminder to parishes and the faithful that “Ember Days are days of prayer and fasting that mark the changing of times and seasons in order to bring about deeper spiritual renewal. On these days, the Church ‘entreats the Lord for the various needs of humanity’ and gives thanks to God for various blessings received” (Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, 45).
Since the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has undertaken the three-year Eucharistic Revival, Ember Days observances this liturgical year will directly relate to themes focusing prayer and fasting on the Eucharist. The coming Ember Days, March 1, 3 and 4, will be offered for Eucharistic Reparation:
MARCH 1st: PRAY the Divine Mercy Chaplet; FAST from unnecessary verbal communication.
MARCH 3rd: PRAY for an increase in love and respect for the Blessed Sacrament; FAST in addition to abstaining from meat by eating only one full meal (and two smaller meals that together do not equal a full meal).
MARCH 4th: PRAY the Litany of Reparation to the Sacred Heart; FAST from beverages other than water.
Themes and prayers to observe Ember Days this liturgical year can be found on our website:
https://thecatholicsun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Ember-Days-2022-2023-1.pdf
