Ember Days are three days (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday) set apart in each of the four seasons for fasting, abstinence and prayer. Tied to the seasonal cycles of farming and harvesting, the purpose of Ember Days is to render thanks to God for the gifts of Creation and to ask His help in using them well.

Ember Days have been removed from the calendar in the 1960s.

If you would like to attend a traditional Mass for the feast, find a Traditional Latin Mass near you (click here to explore).

God called us to be stewards of the natural world.

That relationship is clear in the presence of natural products such as bread and wine in our ceremonies, but it is also clear in the simple fact that He wants us to care for what we have that he has provided to us.

Traditional observation of Ember Days would have included prayers for an abundant harvest of the crops used in the liturgy: flowers for the altar in Spring, wheat for the sacred Host in Summer, grapes for sacramental wine in Autumn, and olives for our sacred oils in Winter.

The ever-helpful Fisheaters.com advises:

“Be mindful of your effects on our dear earth and don't allow people to ‘politicize’ the issue of our stewardship of God's creation! But to be mindful of nature, it helps to actually see her first. Go outside and look! And praise God for all you see, hear, smell, feel, and taste as you allow His glorious works to touch your senses!”

From the beginning, Ember Days have been connected to the cycles, fruits, and beauty of nature. Today, through the renewal of Ember Days, we Catholics have an opportunity to continue to sanctify our human relationship with nature in the light of God’s amazing gifts.

St. Bonaventure said,

“If there is anyone who is not enlightened by this sublime magnificence of created things, he is blind. … If there is anyone who, seeing all these works of God, does not praise Him, he is dumb; if there is anyone who, from so many signs, cannot perceive God, that man is foolish.”

We cannot allow the secular world to hold a monopoly on “environmentalism”. Lacking the wisdom of Catholic tradition and a proper understanding of man’s role in nature, the environment becomes both a weapon in the culture wars and an object of abuse and degradation.

During Ember Days:

• If you have kids, take them fishing or hunting.

• If you’re dating or married, take your wife or girlfriend out for a walk in the park.

• Want to grow your own food or flowers? Plant—or plan—a garden.

• Interested in birds? Buy a pair of binoculars and a copy of Sibley’s Birding Basics and learn to use them.

• Read St. Robert Bellarmine's book, "The Mind's Ascent to God by the Ladder of Created Things”

It is not an accident that our Saintmaker Catholic Life Planner is based on a seasonal cycle that begins with a personal reflection on the past season. Personally, I like to save my Saintmaker seasonal reflection for Embertide and carefully set aside time on each of the three days to review my season, examine my progress in virtue, assess my goals, and make plans for the upcoming season.

If you don’t have a Saintmaker yet, you could accomplish the same by pulling out your journal or a piece of paper and answering the following questions over the course of the three days of Embertide:

• What happened this past season? What general spiritual lessons did you learn?

• What blessings has God has provided you over the past season? Does this give you any general insight into what he is calling you to?

• Where have you have fallen short (including patterns of sin)? How are you cutting yourself off from God’s grace and His holy will for you?

• How can you respond to his call in the upcoming season? What habits could you develop, what goals could you set and meet, what could you change or do differently to align yourself more fully with his intentions for you?

if you are not already in a habit of fasting throughout the year, you can try fasting during Ember Days. The minimal guidelines, as of the 1962 norms, is:

• One day of fasting with partial abstinence on Wednesday

• One day of fasting with complete abstinence on Friday

• A third day of fasting with partial abstinence on Ember Saturday

(N.B., Any devotion to historical liturgical norms is strictly voluntary. As one priest said to me—I’m paraphrasing—“There is no ‘have-to’ when it comes to the more demanding traditional practices. But we go above and beyond for the people we love all the time out of love and devotion, and we can do the same for our Lord.”)

Here’s an simple fasting program that lines up with the current fasting requirements of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and that can be used year-round, whether it’s optional fasting on Ember Days or required fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday in Lent:

• Breakfast: [option 1] one egg and a piece of toast; [option 2] a small bowl of oatmeal or cereal

• Lunch: [option 1] a small cup of vegetable soup and some crackers and cheese; [option 2] 1/2 of a sandwich; [option 3] a small salad with handful of nuts

• Dinner: a slightly smaller-than-usual dinner (with meat on Ember Wednesday and Saturday and without meat on Ember Friday)

One final rule (and we’re guessing this is where most of us end up “fasting” with quotes, rather than fasting without quotes): NO SNACKS.

If you’re feeling ambitious, the above may not seem like much—and, in the context of Church history, it’s really not (medieval Lent required strict fasting until 3 pm, followed by a single meal of fish, bread, vegetables, and salt)—but if you do this religiously for the three days of Ember Days, you will notice it. And it will bear spiritual fruit.

Fasting has cumulative effects over multiple days—and you can always “take it up a level” by adding additional days throughout the year or cutting out additional ingredients.

Be merciful with yourself. Trust the Church’s wisdom. Get started.

According to Father Devillers of the FSSP:

“In 494, Pope Gelasius I prescribed that the sacrament of Holy Orders be conferred on Ember Saturdays. Thus the prayer and fasting of Ember week acquired added importance, for apostolic tradition demanded that ordinations be preceded by fast and prayer (Acts 13:3). Not only did the candidates themselves fast and pray for a few days in preparation for Holy Orders, but the whole clergy and people joined them to obtain God’s grace and blessing upon their calling. Thus Embertides became like spiritual exercises for all, similar in thought and purpose to our modern retreats and missions. Ember Days have been used at times as special prayers by the faithful for vocations to the priesthood and for the sanctification of priests.”

In the evenings or mornings during Embertide, consider adding this Prayer for Priestly Vocations, which comes from the “Prayer” (or “Collect”) of the traditional votive Mass for Propagation of the Faith:

O God, Who desirest that all men should be saved, and come to the knowledge of Thy truth: send, we beseech Thee, laborers into Thy harvest, and grant them grace to speak Thy word with all trust: that Thy words may run and be glorified: and that all nations may know Thee the one true God, and Him whom Thou hast sent, Jesus Christ Thy Son our Lord; Who with Thee liveth.

Whether your diocese is still ordaining priests on Ember Saturdays or not, the Church needs your prayers for priestly ordinations, and those individual priests who are awaiting ordination will be eternally grateful.

And don’t forget current priests. Our priests can always use this powerful prayer:

O Jesus, Eternal Priest, keep Thy priests within the shelter of Thy Sacred Heart, where none may touch them. Keep unstained their anointed hands, which daily touch Thy Sacred Body, keep unsullied their lips, daily purpled with Thy Precious Blood. Keep pure and unearthly their hearts, sealed with the sublime mark of the priesthood. Let Thy Holy Love surround them and shield them from the world’s contagion. Bless their labors with abundant fruit, and may the souls to whom they minister be their joy and consolation here and in heaven their beautiful and everlasting crown.

Amen.