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Ember DaysThree Days of Prayer, Fasting & Prayer for Vocations -
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Autumn Ember Days 2026
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Receiving, Reordering, and Offering Our Time
The autumn Ember Days are three traditional days of thanksgiving, voluntary penance, and prayer for vocations. Observed on the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday following the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, they fall this year on September 16, 18, and 19, 2026.
Their return offers St. Lawrence Martyr Parish a fitting way to deepen September’s reflections on the Stewardship of Time and the Universal Call to Holiness.
The Psalmist prays, “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart” (Psalm 90:12). Time is among the first gifts God places in human hands. It is not owned absolutely, but received from Him and returned through prayer, family life, work, rest, and loving service. The Second Vatican Council reminds the faithful that all are called to “the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity” (Lumen Gentium, 40). Every ordinary hour can become part of that response.
The Ember Days do not ask parishioners to add another program to an already crowded calendar. Instead, they invite the faithful to consecrate the life they already have:
- On Ember Wednesday, time is received gratefully and God is thanked for His gifts.
- On Ember Friday, prayer and penance help reorder time and desires.
- On Ember Saturday, life is offered to God and prayers are raised for vocations throughout the Church.
The Ember Days are not days of fasting or abstinence required by the Church’s present universal discipline. They may be observed freely as a personal or family devotion. Parishioners might choose a prudent, concrete offering: eating a simpler meal, spending less time with a screen, visiting someone who is lonely, praying before the Blessed Sacrament, or making another sacrifice joined to prayer and charity. Those whose health or responsibilities make fasting unwise may choose another offering with peaceful hearts.
You may use the prayers and reflections individually, as a family, or with a small group. These three days offer one simple spiritual movement: receive time from God, allow Him to reorder it, and offer it back in love.
Every Christian vocation begins with the call received in Baptism and unfolds through the daily response to the Lord. May these Ember Days help the parish grow in holiness within every state of life and pray more faithfully that the Lord of the harvest will send laborers into His harvest.
HOW TO PRAY THE EMBER DAYS
Each of the three Ember Days below follows the same simple shape, so that it may be prayed easily by an individual, a family, or a small group:
- An Opening Prayer to set the day before God.
- A Scripture Reading with a short reflection grounded in the Church's teaching.
- A time of Petition — a litany or intercessions proper to the day.
- A Closing Prayer, or Collect, to seal what has been prayed.
A brief word from one of the saints accompanies each day. Where possible, pray these before the Blessed Sacrament or, if that is not possible, before a crucifix or holy image in your home.
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Thanksgiving for the Harvest of Time
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
Stewardship begins with receiving before it proceeds to managing or giving. Today we thank God not only for the fruit of the earth, but also for the hours, days, relationships, and opportunities entrusted to us. Pope Francis writes that vocation places our whole life in relation to the God who loves us, so that everything can become a way of responding to the Lord (cf. Christus Vivit, 248). The wise steward does not merely fill every opening in the calendar. The wise steward gives God the first place, attends faithfully to the duties of one's state in life, becomes truly present to family and neighbor, and accepts needed rest with gratitude. This is how ordinary time becomes holy time. Ask the Lord to show you one part of your day that needs to be received anew and offered with greater love.PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
For the days and years already entrusted to us, we thank You, Lord. For the rhythms of prayer, work, family life, service, and rest, we thank You, Lord. For the patience of those who have given us their time, we thank You, Lord. For Your mercy when we have squandered time or withheld our attention, we thank You, Lord. For this parish family and the sacraments that nourish us, we thank You, Lord. For the call You have placed within every baptized life, we thank You, Lord.“Thanksgiving is a duty which ought to be fulfilled under all circumstances.”— Saint AmbroseCLOSING PRAYER
Lord of the harvest, teach us to number our days with wisdom. May our prayer, work, rest, relationships, and service become a path to holiness. Make us attentive to Your call and faithful in praying for laborers for Your harvest. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Reordering Our Time Through 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 58:6–7The 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
Friday is the Church's weekly remembrance of the Passion, and the Catechism identifies Fridays and Lent as especially appropriate times for penitential practice (cf. CCC 1438). Penance is not a rejection of God's gifts. It is a way of loosening the hold of habits that keep us from loving God and neighbor freely. A simpler meal, a fast from entertainment or complaint, or a deliberate silence can return time and attention to their proper purpose. Isaiah insists that true fasting opens our hands to the hungry and oppressed. Therefore let whatever we surrender become prayer, mercy, or service. The bishops of the United States remind us that the call to holiness requires effort and commitment to live the Beatitudes (Called and Gifted for the Third Millennium). We do penance not to prove our strength, but to let the grace of Christ reorder our hearts and make our time more available for love.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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Offering Our Life in
Response to God's Call
OPENING PRAYER
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. O God, source of every vocation, in Baptism You call each of us to holiness and mission. Open our ears to Your voice and make our hearts generous. Raise up holy marriages and families, faithful witnesses in the single life, consecrated women and men, deacons, and priests after the Heart of Christ. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.SCRIPTURE READING
Matthew 9:36–38Seeing 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
The final Ember Day has long been associated with ordinations and remains a fitting day to pray for the Lord to provide shepherds for His people. Saint John Paul II teaches that prayer to the Lord of the harvest is the heart of all pastoral work for vocations (cf. Pastores Dabo Vobis, 38). Yet this prayer rests within the wider vocation shared by all the baptized. The forms and duties of life are many, but holiness is one (cf. Lumen Gentium, 41). Some are called to Holy Orders or consecrated life; others serve Christ through marriage and family life; others witness to their baptismal calling in faithful single life (cf. Christus Vivit, 267). God does not ask everyone for the same service, but He asks every disciple for a generous heart. Today we place before Him both the particular needs of the Church and our own willingness to answer: "Here I am, Lord; I come to do Your will."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 call all Your children to holiness — ℟. hear us.
℣. God the Son, who called the Apostles by name and said, "Follow me" — ℟. hear us.
℣. God the Holy Spirit, who bestow gifts for the building up of the Church — ℟. hear us.
℣. For all the baptized, that our daily lives may become a faithful offering — ℟. we pray to the Lord.
℣. For priests and deacons, and for those now discerning Holy Orders — ℟. we pray to the Lord.
℣. For women and men called to consecrated and religious life — ℟. we pray to the Lord.
℣. For married couples and families, that their homes may be schools of holiness and vocation — ℟. we pray to the Lord.
℣. For single and widowed persons, that their gifts and witness may strengthen the Church — ℟. we pray to the Lord.
℣. For our parish, that we may encourage every person to listen and respond as Mary did — ℟. 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 answered 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 holy priests and deacons, and obtain for our families the grace to welcome and encourage every vocation God may awaken in their sons and daughters. Amen.CLOSING PRAYER
Lord Jesus, Good Shepherd, You call each of us by name. Give every baptized person the grace to seek holiness in the duties and relationships of daily life. Strengthen married couples and families; sustain those who serve You in faithful single life; renew priests and deacons; and give courage to those You call to consecrated life or Holy Orders. May we use our time and gifts as good stewards of Your grace until we share in Your everlasting harvest. Who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.As these Ember Days close, carry their movement into the weeks ahead: receive each day with gratitude, surrender whatever keeps you from love, and offer your time in answer to God's call. Holiness ordinarily grows through such small, faithful responses.
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Prayers for Daily Use During These Days
A SHORT DAILY PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS
Lord Jesus, in Baptism You call each of us to holiness and mission. Teach us to use our time and gifts in loving service. Strengthen marriages and families, sustain those who witness to You in faithful single life, bless consecrated women and men, renew Your priests and deacons, and give courage to all who are discerning. May our parish help every person hear Your voice and respond generously. 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 includes observing the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church among her precepts, so that the faithful may have regular times of penance and spiritual discipline (cf. CCC 2043). The Ember Days are not part of the Church's present universal obligation, but Catholics may observe them voluntarily. Consider a simpler meal, abstinence from meat, less screen time, or the surrender of another lawful comfort. Join the offering to prayer and charity, adapt it prudently to health and duties, and offer it for holiness in our parish and for an increase of vocations.
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