The Ember Days of September are upon us!
“For the third time this year, Holy Church comes claiming from her children the tribute of Penance, which, from the earliest ages of Christianity, was looked upon as a solemn consecration of the Seasons.” #domprospergueranger #domgueranger
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Ember days (corruption from Latin Quatuor Tempora, four times) are the days at the beginning of the seasons ordered by the Church as days of fast and abstinence.
They were definitely arranged and prescribed for the entire Church by Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085) for the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after 13 December (S. Lucia), after Ash Wednesday, after Whitsunday, and after 14 September (Exaltation of the Cross).
The purpose of their introduction, besides the general one intended by all prayer and fasting, was to:
• thank God for the gifts of nature
• teach men to make use of them in moderation
• assist the needy
– 1917 Catholic Encyclopedia
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