Ember Days
December 16, 2015
Census at Bethlehem, Brueghel
FOUR times a year, the Church sets aside three days — a Wednesday, Friday and Saturday — for fasting, abstinence and prayer. The Advent Ember Days begin today.
These observances have their roots in pagan times, and are intended to consecrate to God the different seasons of nature, and prepare men for ordination. The Ember Days in December once ended in great solemnity and ritual with ordinations at St. Peter’s in Rome. Like so much else in the way of worship and the supernatural life, the Vatican II Counterfeit dumped these observances, leaving so many stranded on the shores of Bed, Bath and Beyond and Dick’s Sporting Goods, for a season of uninterrupted shopping.
Michael P. Foley writes at Rorate Caeli, that the Ember Days (“Ember” is a corruption of the Latin Quatuor Tempora, or four times) were dropped at the worst of all times. They offer an antidote to the “neo-pagan framework” and pantheism of the environmental movement.
Modern man is such a mess that when he finally recovers a love of nature, he does so in a most unnatural manner. Both the early modern antipathy to nature and the late modern idolatry of it stand in dire need of correction, a correction that the Church is well poised to provide. As Chesterton quipped, Christians can truly love nature because they will not worship her. The Church proclaims nature’s goodness because it was created by a good and loving God and because it sacramentally reflects the grandeur of God’s goodness and love.
The Advent Ember Days prepare for the Nativity, but also express gratitude for winter, a season too often under-appreciated that has its own part to play in the supernatural drama of mankind. In conclusion to this brief reflection on Ember Days, here is Fish Eaters on winter beauty:
Winter is a time of reflection, when human activity is stilled and snow blankets the world with silence. For the Christian, Winter symbolizes Hope: though the world now appears lifeless and makes us think of our own mortality, we hope in our resurrection because of the Resurrection of the One Whose Nativity we await now. How providential that the Christ Child will be born at the beginning of this icy season, bringing with Him all the hope of Spring! Also among our Winter feasts are the Epiphany and Candlemas, two of the loveliest days of the year, the first evoked by water, incense, and gold; the latter by fire…
Yes, despite the typical, unimaginative view of Winter as a long bout with misery, the season is among the most beautiful and filled with charms. The ephemeral beauty of a single snowflake… the pale blue tint of sky reflected in snow that glitters, and gives way with a satisfying crunch under foot… skeletal trees entombed in crystal, white as bones, cold as death, creaking under the weight of their icy shrouds… the wonderful feeling of being inside, next to a fire, while the winds whirl outside… the smell of burning wood mingled with evergreen… warm hands embracing your wind-bitten ones… the brilliant colors of certain winter birds, so shocking against the ocean of white… the wonderfully long nights which lend themselves to a sense of intimacy and quiet! Go outside and look at the clear Winter skies ruled by Taurus, with the Pleiades on its shoulder and Orion nearby… Such beauty!
Even if you are not a “winter person,” consider that Shakespeare had the right idea when he wrote in “Love’s Labours Lost”:
Why should proud summer boast
Before the birds have any cause to sing?
Why should I joy in an abortive birth?
At Christmas I no more desire a rose
Than wish a snow in May’s new-fangled mirth;
But like of each thing that in season grows.
— Comments —
Tim writes:
Amidst the angst of our troubled Church and false society, the presence of this gentle reminder of the beauty and peace of the Ancient Church is perfectly placed. A moment of solitude, depth and hope. Nicely done.
I am also relieved to know too that “Our Lady never committed any sins against the environment and left this world without leaving any carbon footprint.”
It is interesting to note that the Empire State Building light show occurred on August 1, the first day of one of the months in the year dedicated to Our Lady, and of course, on the high Feast Day of Her Immaculate Conception. This first light show, as one commentator noted, was the warm up act for the December 8 event.
Christ willingly accepts the insults and attacks against Himself, but he does not take kindly to those who attack His Mother.
