The Mass in Latin and English
Third Sunday of Advent
Dominica Tertia Adventus
Ember Days in Advent
“Rejoice in
the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.”
Today is “Gaudéte Sunday,”
from the Latin word that begins both the Introit and the Epistle—“Rejoice.”
No doubt you noticed the rose colored vestments when you came into the
church this morning—they are intended to moderate the penitential purple
worn on the other days of the Advent season. The rejoicing comes from the
realization that Christmas is rapidly approaching—the birthday of our Infant
Lord.
The Jews of Christ’s time had been waiting for four
thousand years for their redemption, so you can imagine the joy felt by the
few who had the first notice that the Redeemer was about to be born. It
would be good to spend a few minutes after Mass this morning, considering
the joy that began with the Blessed Virgin Mary, and spread to Elizabeth and
Zachary, and to Saint Joseph. Not only was a baby boy to be born, but that
boy would be the hope of all mankind, the fulfillment of God’s promise to
Adam and Eve after their fall from grace, as He spoke to the serpent: “I
will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she
shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.”
The “seed” of that most blessed woman was soon to be born.
The Ember Days of Advent will fall
on the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday of this coming week. I am
occasionally asked about the origin and meaning of the various Ember Days—so
here are a few observations.
The word “ember” may come from the
Anglo-Saxon word which means “cyclical,” referring to the fact that these
three days repeat every season, and repeat every year. Or the word may be a
corruption of the Latin “quatuor tempora,” the “four times,” or
seasons in which they occur. In some Romance languages this is shortened to
“tempora” which could be mistaken for “ember.”
Almost certainly, the Ember Days
originated in Rome with an attempt to Christianize the three harvest
festivals observed by the pagan Romans—the pagans prayed to their false
“gods” for agricultural success with the harvest, with the wine making, and
with the seed production and planting for the following year. At least as
early as the reign of Pope Calixtus I (217-222), Catholics fasted and prayed
to the true God for these same agricultural favors. By the time of Pope
Saint Leo the Great (440 - 461), the days were assigned to each season of
the year—spring, summer, fall, and winter—and no longer were identified with
a particular agricultural event. They were observed “to thank God for the
gifts of nature, to teach men to make use of them in moderation, and to
assist the needy.”
The three days in each season were
Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, all of which were significant in the early
Church, being associated with fasting and abstinence. All three days must
fall within the same week. In the spring that week follows Ash Wednesday;
in the summer it follows Pentecost; in the fall the Exaltation of the Holy
Cross; and Saint Lucy’s feast day in the winter. The Ember Day observance
spread gradually throughout the Western Church, becoming obligatory only
during the reign of Pope Saint Gregory VII (1073-1085).
Traditionally, the Ember Saturdays
are the days on which ordinations are conferred. The six or seven readings
prescribed on these Saturdays allow for each of the minor and major Holy
Orders to be conferred between readings. It is a holy custom to attend Mass
on the Ember Saturdays and to pray for all those who will be ordained to
Holy Orders throughout the entire Church. It is through them that we will
have Holy Mass and the Sacraments; through them that we will receive the
Bread of Life.
I mentioned that the Ember Days are
observed “to thank God for the gifts of nature, to teach men to make use
of them in moderation, and to assist the needy.” Giving thanks for
God’s bounty should always be part of our prayer—it is the mark of an adult
that his prayers are not limited to asking for things for himself, but also
include adoration of God, prayers for others, and thanksgiving for favors
received.
Fasting and abstinence on the Ember
Days help us to practice moderation in the use of food, drink, and other
physical things. Learning how to refuse the legitimate pleasures of life
will make it a bit easier to resist the illegitimate pleasures with which we
may occasionally be tempted.
And, finally, the fasting and
abstinence should remind us that we can afford to share our many blessings
with the needy. This is not just a matter of generosity. We can read in
Saint Matthew’s Gospel that our Lord understands that caring for the hungry,
the thirsty, the homeless, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned is an
obligation—the same as caring for Him.
Those who care for Him are “the just.’ But failure to do these things is to
fail to do them for Him. “And [those who fail] shall go into everlasting
punishment: but the just, into life everlasting.”
[4]
God has given us His priesthood to
feed us with the Bread of Heaven. He has given us his bounty to meet our
material needs. He has given us the means to learn self-control, and the
means to care for the needy.
So, let us
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.”
