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Ember DaysThree Days of Prayer, Fasting & Prayer for Vocations -
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On the Meaning of the Ember Days
The Ember Days are an ancient rhythm of prayer that the Church has observed, in various forms, since the early centuries of her life. If you have never heard of them, you are certainly not alone. This page is offered as a simple introduction and prayer guide so that this beautiful tradition may once again become familiar to Catholics today.
Four times each year, near the changing of the seasons, the Church traditionally set aside a Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday as Quattuor Tempora — the “Four Seasons.” These became days of thanksgiving for God’s gifts, voluntary penance, and special prayer for the needs of the Church, particularly for those called to priesthood and consecrated life.
This September, following the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on September 14, the autumn Ember Days are:
- Wednesday, September 16
- Friday, September 18
- Saturday, September 19
The Second Vatican Council reminds us that “all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity” (Lumen Gentium, 40). The Ember Days can help us live that universal call to holiness in a very practical way: by giving thanks, practicing penance, praying more intentionally, and asking the Lord to provide shepherds and consecrated witnesses for His Church.
Today, Catholics are not universally bound to fast or abstain on the Ember Days. Following the liturgical reforms after the Second Vatican Council, their observance is determined according to the pastoral needs and customs of particular places. The Church nevertheless continues to encourage appropriate times of prayer and penance throughout the year (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 107).
For that reason, we invite you to observe these three days voluntarily and prayerfully. Consider offering some form of fasting, abstinence, almsgiving, additional prayer, or sacrifice according to your circumstances. These practices are not an end in themselves. They dispose the heart to gratitude, conversion, and greater attentiveness to the voice of God.
Whether you pray alone at home, with your family, before the Blessed Sacrament, or together with others in the parish, remember that you are entering into a tradition shared by generations of Catholics.
Above all, let these days renew in us the prayer Christ Himself commanded:
“Ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”
— Matthew 9:38How to Use These Ember Day Prayers
A separate prayer reflection is provided for each of the three Ember Days. Each follows the same simple pattern and may be prayed individually, as a family, or with a small group:
- Opening Prayer — placing ourselves and the day before God.
- Scripture Reading and Reflection — listening to the Word of God in light of the Church’s teaching.
- Petitions — praying for the Church, for vocations, and for the needs appropriate to the day.
- Closing Prayer — entrusting our intentions to God and asking for the grace to live what we have prayed.
A brief reflection from a saint also accompanies each day.
If possible, pray these reflections before the Blessed Sacrament. If that is not possible, consider setting aside a quiet place at home before a crucifix or sacred image.
May these Ember Days deepen our gratitude for God’s gifts, strengthen us in conversion, and renew our prayer that He will raise up generous men and women who will answer His call with courage and joy.
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Thanksgiving for the Harvest
OPENING PRAYER
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Almighty and everlasting God, from whose hand come the rain and the sun, the seedtime and the harvest, we bow before You this day in gratitude. As the earth yields its fruit in season, teach us also to yield the fruit of good works, that the hours of our lives may be a harvest pleasing to You. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.SCRIPTURE READING
Psalm 65:9–13; Psalm 90:12The psalmist praises God who visits the earth and waters it, crowning the year with His bounty, so that the hills gird themselves with joy and the valleys deck themselves with grain — and prays elsewhere, "So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom."A BRIEF REFLECTION
Our parish keeps this first Ember Day under this month's twin themes: the Stewardship of Time, and the Universal Call to Holiness. Before we ask God for anything, we thank Him for what He has already given — not only the harvest of the fields, but the harvest of hours, days, and years He has entrusted to us. Saint John Paul II reminds the lay faithful that they are "good stewards of God's varied grace" (Christifideles Laici, 45, citing 1 Peter 4:10), and the Second Vatican Council teaches that this stewardship is nothing less than the path to "the fullness of the Christian life and the perfection of charity" to which every baptized person, of whatever state, is called (Lumen Gentium, 40). This evening our parish gathers for a Holy Hour for Vocations, giving back to God, in a single consecrated hour, the very gift of time we give thanks for today — and asking that He raise up from among us laborers for His harvest.PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
For the bread on our tables and the roof over our heads, we thank You, Lord. For the labor of farmers, and the hands that bring the harvest to our homes, we thank You, Lord. For every hour we have wasted and every hour we have given back to You, we thank You, Lord. For the gift of this parish family and the sacraments that nourish us, we thank You, Lord. For the vocation of every soul in this community, known to You alone, we thank You, Lord.“Thanksgiving is a duty which ought to be fulfilled under all circumstances.”— Saint AmbroseCLOSING PRAYER
Lord of the harvest, You have blessed us beyond our deserving with the gift of time itself. Grant that we who give You thanks with our lips may also give You thanks with our hours, in works of charity and self-giving love, and bless this evening's Holy Hour for Vocations, that laborers may be found for Your harvest. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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A Day of Penance
OPENING PRAYER
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. O God, who desire mercy and not sacrifice, look upon Your people gathered in penance this day. As Your Son fasted forty days in the desert and was tempted for our sake, strengthen us now to deny ourselves, that our fasting may open in us a space for Your grace. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.SCRIPTURE READING
Isaiah 58:6–7
The prophet Isaiah declares that the fast the Lord chooses is not an empty gesture but one joined to justice: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to share bread with the hungry, and to clothe the naked — a fast that is inseparable from charity.A BRIEF REFLECTION
Fridays throughout the year already remind us, as the Catechism teaches, of the Lord's Passion, and the faithful are asked to observe some form of penance each Friday of the year in memory of Christ's death (cf. CCC 1438). This Ember Friday intensifies that ordinary rhythm, and it, too, is a lesson in the stewardship of time: to fast is to reclaim an hour otherwise spent at table and give it back to God in prayer. Pope Francis, writing to families in Amoris Laetitia, reminds us that love "bears all things" and that self-denial is not a grim duty but the very shape love takes when it is real and not merely sentimental (Amoris Laetitia, 113–115). Fasting from food, from complaint, or from some comfort we cling to is a small death that makes room for the life of Christ to grow larger in us.ACT OF CONTRITION
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more, and to avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.
“Prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God.”
— Saint Teresa of ÁvilaCLOSING PRAYER
Merciful Father, accept the small sacrifices we have offered You this day, and unite them to the one perfect sacrifice of Your Son upon the Cross. Purify our hearts, that we may love You above all things and our neighbor as ourselves. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Prayer for Vocations
OPENING PRAYER
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. O God, who willed that Your Church be built upon the foundation of the Apostles, with Jesus Christ himself as the chief cornerstone, look with favor upon those You are even now calling to serve at Your altar and in Your vineyard. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.SCRIPTURE READING
Matthew 9:36–38
Seeing the crowds, Jesus had compassion on them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd. He said to His disciples: "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."A BRIEF REFLECTION
On this last of the three Ember Days, the Church has traditionally ordained her priests and deacons, and it remains, even now, a privileged day for prayer for vocations. Saint John Paul II wrote that the Church must "daily take up Jesus' persuasive and demanding invitation to pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest," for this prayer is "the pivot of all pastoral work for vocations" required of every parish and every family, not merely of seminaries (Pastores Dabo Vobis, 38). Vocations are not manufactured by our programs; they are, first and always, a gift of God, sought through what the Council calls the whole People of God's "priestly, prophetic and kingly" life of prayer (cf. Lumen Gentium, 10–11). Nor is the call to the priesthood the only vocation for which we pray this day: we ask also for the increase of vocations to consecrated and religious life, to holy marriage, and to the single life lived for God, each one a gift entrusted to the whole Church.A LITANY FOR VOCATIONS
Lord, have mercy. — Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. — Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. — Lord, have mercy.
℣. God the Father, who sent Your Son to be the Good Shepherd, ℟. hear us.
℣. God the Son, who called the Apostles by name and said, "Follow me," ℟. hear us.
℣. God the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies and strengthens every vocation, ℟. hear us.
℣. For an increase of vocations to the priesthood, ℟. we pray to the Lord.
℣. For an increase of vocations to the diaconate and to consecrated religious life, ℟. we pray to the Lord.
℣. For young men and women now discerning God's call, that they may hear it clearly and answer generously, ℟. we pray to the Lord.
℣. For the priests who serve us, that they may be renewed in holiness and joy, ℟. we pray to the Lord.
℣. For families, that they may be the first seedbed of every vocation, ℟. we pray to the Lord.
℣. For the courage to say, as Mary said, "Let it be done to me according to Your word," ℟. we pray to the Lord.“The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus.”— Saint John Vianney, Curé of Ars, Patron of Parish PriestsPRAYER TO SAINT JOHN VIANNEY
Good Saint John Vianney, who left all else to answer God's call and became a father to souls, intercede for our parish. Ask the Lord of the harvest to raise up from among us worthy priests, deacons, and consecrated men and women, and obtain for every family the grace to welcome whatever vocation God asks of their sons and daughters. Amen.CLOSING PRAYER
Lord Jesus, Good Shepherd of our souls, You have called each of us by name. Grant that those You are calling to serve You as priests, deacons, and religious may have the courage to answer, and grant to all of us in our own state of life the grace to live our vocation with a generous heart, now and until we come to share in Your everlasting harvest. Who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
As the autumn Ember Days close, our parish carries their fruit into the Sunday that follows: on September 20th, our community will welcome new disciples through Communal Baptism and launch a new year of Christian Family Movement, families giving their time to Christ together — a fitting continuation of a week begun in thanksgiving for time, deepened in penance, and offered in prayer for vocations.
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Prayers for Daily Use During These Days
A SHORT DAILY PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS
Lord Jesus, You continue to call men and women to follow You. Send Your Holy Spirit to help those You are calling to religious life, diaconate, and priesthood to hear Your voice, discern Your will, and respond generously. May our community of faith support vocations of sacrifice and love. Amen.
ACT OF SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
ON THE DISCIPLINE OF FASTING AND ABSTINENCE
The Catechism reminds us that the Church requires the faithful "to observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church" as one of her Precepts (CCC 2043), a discipline meant to guarantee to the faithful "the times of ascesis and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts." The Ember Days are no longer of universal obligation, but the Church still commends them to us. Consider on these days a simple fast, a smaller meal, abstinence from meat, or the giving up of some lawful pleasure, offered in union with the whole Church and for an increase of vocations.
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