8/15/2023 0 Comments Fall ember days 20147Each “set” is a successive Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. There are four “sets” of Ember Days during the year. Christians adapted this tradition into what was referred to in Latin as “Quatuor Tempora,” or “four times.” Somewhere through the centuries the Latin “tempora” became “ember” in colloquial speech, and thus the name “Ember Days.” The Book of Zechariah describes an ancient Jewish practice of fasting four times a year (8:19). The roots of the Ember Days go back to the Old Testament. On the Ember Days, we give thanks for blessings we’ve received, but also remind ourselves of our need for penance and grace. They correspond to the four seasons, and they focus our attention especially on the blessings of nature. And that sacramentality is repeated throughout the Gospels and manifested throughout the Liturgical Year, and brought home especially in our Domestic Churches.The Ember Days are special days for prayer and fasting during the liturgical year. This isn’t to say this healing was a sacrament or a sacramental, but that the combination of using the senses, familiar human needs and expressions and physical means to convey both a physical and spiritual action is imitation of the sacraments. ![]() Oftentimes the word “sacramentality” is used to describe such actions. There is a great physicality in this Gospel passage. Jesus uses the sense of touch, taste and hearing to heal the man’s physical ailments, putting his fingers in the man’s ears, spitting on his fingers before touching the man’s tongue, and groaning the word Ephphatha. This past Sunday’s Gospel of the healing of the deaf-mute man is only found in Mark (7:31-37). Throughout the Gospels and the Liturgy we see further how Christ acknowledges and meets our human needs. It seems that Christ also found the water and waves restful. How often did Jesus return to the seashore? He did not only go there for work, but withdrew and rested. Our family tries to go to the beach once a year because we recognize how it fills so many of our needs to renew, refresh, reconnect and relax. Jesus is both God and man, and so many of His actions throughout his life on earth acknowledged and filled human physical needs. It was an unparalleled week of perfect weather, especially considering it was the end of August and beginning of September. As I sat on the shoreline recharging my “batteries”, contemplating the waves, water and sand, I realized that in a small way I was imitating Christ and His life on earth. Last Saturday our family returned from a week-long beach vacation in the Outer Banks. ![]() My post at Catholic Culture from September 10, 2015 Januarius is a perfect example of this dynamic in action…. This is particularly true as my sons grow older and are at the age where they recognize how the saints are part of the Mystical Body and true living heroes to imitate and invoke. Every morning while checking the calendar, we discuss family birthdays, anniversaries, events and the saints of the day - and the memories come back, requiring only a little refreshing from a short biography or image that focuses on the highlights of the saints, adding on little tidbits of information as the years progress. The saints are part of our family’s life. Repeating this routine has woven the saints into the family’s daily fabric. The following years these saints will only be included with a short mention, but what we discussed or did before is easily recalled. And then are saints that we highlight occasionally we bring them out to examine them closely. ![]() In our family, there are certain feasts and saints that we highlight annually, whether it is because they are our favorite saints, our patrons, or high feasts of the Church. My post at from September 19, 2015:Īfter just a few years of practice, following the Liturgical calendar within your Domestic Church can become second nature to the family it can become an inseparable part of the family’s organic routine.
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