It is a sheer delight to see many young Catholics discovering the lost tradition of Rogation Days. This time-honored liturgical custom, celebrated in the late spring, is when the faithful petition God for blessings on agriculture and industry.
Prayers are offered with penance and supplication, asking God for mercy and protection against disasters, while petitioning for Him to bless the earth. For the Mass and procession, the priest wears violet, due to it being a penitential observance.
Unfortunately, like many beautiful traditions tied to Catholic piety, this ancient practice fell out of favor in the late 1960s, due in large part to misplaced enthusiasm to prioritize modernity and all things new.
Nevertheless, an all-encompassing part of society is also agrarian and we recognize the need to make supplication to heaven for a successful planting, a satisfactory crop, and a bountiful harvest. Decent farmers through the ages have always made this their fervent prayer.
Needless to say, it is not just rural families that depend on agriculture and farming. All of society rests on the benefits that come from the land. For this reason the Church has always been eager to prioritize land ownership and farming interests.
Although Ascension Thursday is today downplayed in many countries, with the celebration transferred to the following Sunday (by order of the local bishops' conference), the entire week has immense liturgical import with three of the Rogation Days leading up to it in the same week.
In the week of Ascensiontide, Catholics contemplate Christ rising in glory while the apostles and Our Lady watch in awe. Though He returns to the Father, Christ remains ever-present in the Eucharist and in His Mystical Body, the Church. This gives hope for our prayers.
What Are Rogation Days?
Rogation Days are designated days on the liturgical calendar that have a role for intercession.
Although they have been dropped from the General Roman Calendar, they remain in their original place of prominence in the liturgical calendar of the Traditional Latin Mass, where they have been retained and never lost their luster.
Rogation Days are four days a year when Catholics historically pray for their farms and crops and for protection for their livestock, etc. In fact, the Latin word rogare means "to ask, request, or beg."
Rogation Days are divided into a day of "Major Litanies" and three days of "Minor Litanies." The litanies are called "major" to illustrate that they are to be celebrated with greater solemnity and "minor" to indicate that they are to be celebrated with less solemnity.
The Major Litanies are celebrated on April 25th, the feast of St. Mark (also called the "Greater Rogations"). Sometimes this date changes on the calendar, such as when Easter Sunday falls on April 25 (the Rogation Day would then be transferred to April 27 or the following Tuesday).
The Minor Litanies are celebrated on the week of Ascension Thursday when the Rogation Days are on the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday preceding the Ascension of Our Lord (called the "Lessser Rogations").
Three days are thus set aside, for example, before Ascension Thursday (a feast day 40 days after Easter). These days were part of the evolution of what has become the modern Rogation Days, as a time for public prayers and processions.
Rogation Days remain as days of special prayer for the coming harvest. Fields and gardens are blessed. Litanies are chanted. Supplication is made to heaven. Glory is given to God and His order of creation. Participants look toward God's bountiful goodness and celebrate the graces He has bestowed upon all.
On these days during the procession the Litany of Saints is commonly prayed, always appropriate with similar prayers.
Generally through history, the Mass and procession are held together, with the priest leading a procession from the church into the town or countryside where he would bless farms, livestock, seeds, crops, and gardens. In addition, farm implements and machinery are also blessed.
The Long History of Rogation Days
The long history of Rogation Days traces itself back many centuries.
In the fifth century, there was a saintly prelate named St. Mamertus, who was the Bishop of Vienne, a historic town in southeastern France near Lyon. For the avoidance of calamities, he appointed for his diocese three days of public prayer and supplication that included a procession.
Under the bishop's direction, the people prayed against certain unfortunate threats such as fire, earthquake, and other scourges which were devastating the country.
During this time of prayer and processions, litanies were prayed and prayers recited to appease God and beg for heavenly protection. The tradition spread and later became universal.
Even many years before St. Mamertus, it was already customary in Rome to have a procession of this kind of the annual feast day of St. Mark. This was celebrated every spring on April 25th. The procession became known as the "Greater Litanies." Today this custom remains, known as the "Greater Rogations."
In monasteries Rogation Days were perhaps most perfectly celebrated, with the monks processing out of the abbey church to bless nearby the monastic grape groves where the altar wine was made, the apiary where the honey was made, the aviary where meat birds were harvested, the barn were the milk cows would tarry, the grassy fields where the cattle would graze, etc.
What is the Rogation Mass?
The Rogation Mass is the Mass Exaudivit, (named after the first word of the Introit), seen in the Roman Missal before the Vigil of the Ascension. The color of vestments are violet and the rite is simple (recited without the Gloria and Credo, and with the Paschal Preface).
This beautiful Mass cannot be celebrated apart from the Rogation procession, a very important element, except generally on Rogation Monday. There are various rubrics surrounding this celebration, clearly laid out in the Roman Missal.
Also for the procession, the priest wears a violet stole and optional cope. And if deacons are involved in the procession, they, too, wear violet. The color of the vestments must always be violet, even if during the Easter octave. This is due to the penitential aspect of the observance.
An Example of Prayers for the Faithful
Ant. Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you; for every one that asketh receiveth and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.℣. He heard my voice from His holy temple.℟. And my cry before Him came into His ears.Let us Pray.Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that we, who in our affliction confide in Thy loving kindness, may be ever defended by Thy protection against all adversity. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.Source: Blessed Be God, p. 228.
