Ember Friday in Lent

Today is Ember Friday.  I have posted on Ember Friday previously.  Ember days are no longer enforced in the post-conciliar Church, but there is nothing wrong in observing them.  I don't know the reasoning for dropping these days, at last not officially.  Before Vatican II, the Church required much more of the laity, which would seem to be a good thing for their souls.  Fasting was done all 40 days of Lent - meaning one meal a day, with 2 snacks (not enforced on Sundays, which are "of" Lent and not "in" Lent).  We were required to fast at least 3 hours before receiving Communion, and not too long ago, Catholics were required to fast from midnight on.  Holy days were never abandoned, as they often are now if they fall on a Saturday or Monday.  For some reason, the Church felt that if they made the requirements "easier" people would be holier and more devoted to the Church.  Well, surprise, surprise, just the opposite has happened. 

Ember Days are fast days - Wednesday, Friday and Saturday - observed 4 times a year, coinciding with the change in the seasons.  One of those times is this week in Lent.  But whether you observe Ember Friday or not, you are absolutely obligated, even here in the United States, to abstain from meat and meat products on Fridays in Lent. 

Enjoy that fish sandwich today!

Friday - Ember Friday and Day of Penance

Today is Friday, and as every Friday in the Catholic church is, it is a day of penance.  It is the day Our Lord and Saviour was crucified so that we may live, and the Catholic Church has always marked this day as such.  This is what the current Cannon law says:

Can. 1250: The penitential days and times in the universal Church are every Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.

 Can. 1251: Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. 

Can. 1252: The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year. The law of fasting binds those who have attained their majority, until the beginning of their sixtieth year. Pastors of souls and parents are to ensure that even those who by reason of their age are not bound by the law of fasting and abstinence, are taught the true meaning of penance.

For the United States, the Bishops have ruled as follows:

• Every person 14 years of age or older must abstain from meat (and items made with meat) on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all the Fridays of Lent. 

• Every person between the age of 18 and 60 must fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. 

• Every person 14 years of age or older must abstain from meat (and items made with meat) on all other Fridays of the year, unless he or she substitutes some other form of penance for abstinence.

Ember Days - It's Good For Your Soul

Today is Ember Wednesday.  What's an Ember Wednesday, you say?  You've never heard of such a thing?  Well, that's because this is another Church tradition that was dumped in 1969.  Why did the Church dispense with these days?  You tell me.  These days involve fasting and abstinence.  In that sense, they are just not fun!  So why do we need them?

Below is one of the best descriptions of Ember Days that I have found:

Ember Days by Rev. Bernard Strasser, O.S.B.

This illustration shows, to a certain extent, how the ember days resemble our own lives. In the springtime we receive supernatural life through Baptism (represented by the baptismal candle); throughout the summer and autumn of our lives our souls are nourished by the Body (the host has been made from the kernels of wheat) and the Blood (the chalice) of our Lord. In the winter we reap the harvest of our good works as we begin our journey into eternity, fortified by Holy Viaticum and the sacrament of Extreme Unction (oil).

Ember Days

While man’s prayer is often entirely a petition, liturgical prayer is primarily praise, thanksgiving, and adoration. A typical example of this is the Gloria of the Mass in which we note the gradual rise of praise of God until it reaches a wonderful climax: “Laudamus te. Benedicimus te. Adoramus te. Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam.” (We praise Thee. We bless Thee. We adore Thee. We give Thee thanks for Thy great glory.) In her official liturgical prayers the Church constantly exhorts us to praise, adore, glorify, and thank God. Moreover, she has set aside special seasons to offer prayers of gratitude for the gifts of God. This happens four times a year on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday of the ember weeks which fall at the beginning of the four seasons of the year.