Did you hear–Rogation Days have returned to the Diocese of Peoria?
I was so intrigued to read several weeks back an article in The Catholic Post about Rogation Days, and how the diocese is implementing them again. Fr. Luke Spannagel wrote this helpful and theological article describing the concept of Rogation Days and how they might be celebrated this year. Fr. Spannagel is diocesan episcopal vicar for rural life.
From his article:
The word “rogation” comes from the Latin word rogare, which means “to ask.” As some of our seasoned Catholics may remember from their youth, Rogation Days were days set apart by the Church for prayer and penance, specifically asking God’s blessing on the fields and for a fruitful growing season.
There were various traditional rogation days, many related to agriculture and the harvest (thus why Fr. Spannagel is involved in this project), and currently U.S. bishops are allowed to decide and proclaim the celebration of Rogation days on a diocese-by-diocese basis.
Bishop Jenky has set aside five Rogation Days for 2014, inviting the faithful locally to have a special day of penance and prayer each of these days. Here they are:
January 22: for Life (the anniversary of Roe v. Wade)
March 24: for Planting (the Eve of the Annunciation, March 25, and the beginning of the growing season)
June 23: for Growing (highlighting pollination and the continued growing season)
September 13: for Harvest (highlighting victory, completion-the Eve of the Triumph of the Holy Cross)
December 7: for Family (for Eve of the Immaculate Conception, highlighting the goodness of family)
Please read Fr. Spannagel’s entire article about Rogation Days to get a sense of what these are all about, as well as some specific suggestions for parishes, families, and individuals to do on each of those days.
We are going to try to observe these days as much as possible in our family, so they are added to our calendar.
Since tomorrow is the first one, we will continue our tradition of watching the March for Life (live, on EWTN), trying to attend Mass that day, and giving up meat and special treats all day (no chocolate for me). I’ll be updating my five ideas list that I did last year for tomorrow.
Did you know about Rogation Days before now? Do you plan to celebrate them, and if so, how? I’d love to hear some other creative ideas.