Wednesday 19 December 2012

EMBER WEDNESDAY CATHOLIC LATIN RITE EMBER DAYS

IN THE TRADITIONAL LATIN RITE
IT IS
EMBER WEDNESDAY


Ember days 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, to teach men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy. 
 

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