Like Ember Days, the Rogation Days were taken out of the Catholic Church calendar after the Second Vatican Council. In a sad way, both of these omissions reflect our separation or alienation from nature. I've heard a commercial for a radio station's severe weather coverage that asks, "Don't you think the weather has just gotten out of control?" Out of whose control? We certainly do not have control of the weather--and even listening to that station's severe weather coverage does nothing to control it! As this site reminds us, and these Rogation Days before the Solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord would remind us, we are definitely not in control:
"Rogation" comes from
the Latin "rogare," which means "to ask," and "Rogation Days" are days during
which we seek to ask God's mercy, appease His anger, avert His chastisements
manifest through natural disasters, and ask for His blessings, particularly with
regard to farming, gardening, and other agricultural pursuits. They are set
aside to remind us how radically dependent we are on Mother Earth, and how
prayer can help protect us from nature's often cruel ways.
It is quite
easy, especially for modern city folk, to sentimentalize nature and to forget
how powerful, even savage, she can be. Time is spent focusing only on her
lovelier aspects -- the beauty of snow, the smell of cedar, the glories of
flowers -- as during Embertides -- but in an
instant, the veneer of civilization we've built to keep nature under control so
we can enjoy her without suffering at her hand can be swept away. Ash and fire
raining down from great volcanoes, waters bursting through levees, mountainous
tidal waves destroying miles of coastland and entire villages, meteors hurling
to earth, tornadoes and hurricanes sweeping away all in their paths, droughts,
floods, fires that rampage through forests and towns, avalanches of rocks or
snow, killer plagues, the very earth shaking off human life and opening up
beneath our feet, cataclysmic events forming mountains and islands, animals that
prey on humans, lightning strikes -- these, too, are a part of the natural
world. And though nature seems random and fickle, all that happens is either by
God's active or passive Will, and all throughout Scripture He uses the elements
to warn, punish, humble, and instruct us: earth swallowing up the
rebellious, power-mad sons of Eliab; wind destroying Job's house;
fire raining down on Sodom and Gomorrha; water destroying everyone
but Noe and his family (Numbers 16, Job 1, Genesis 19, Genesis 6). We need to be
humble before and respectful of nature, and be aware not to take her for granted
or overstep our limits. But we need to be most especially humble before her
Creator, Who wills her existence and doings at each instant, whether actively or
passively.
As this website notes, as individuals, we can keep these minor Rogation Days, the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before Ascension Thursday (except that we instead celebrate Ascension Sunday), by praying the Litany of Saints, exploring the boundaries of our parishes, blessing our own gardens, and praying for good weather, good harvests, and good stewardship of our natural resources--all the while remembering Who is really in control! As Gerard Manley Hopkins reminds us:
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