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CrossofChrist
Guest
I went to Mass at a different parish last weekend and the priest mentioned something about a fast this friday…is that a thing? If it is, it would be optional, right?
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twf
Guest
Every Friday throughout the year is a day of penance. Abstaining from meat is a form of fasting technically and that of course is the universal discipline for Fridays (which In some countries may be substituted for another form of penance). There may be a traditional ember day Friday this Friday which would have been a day of fasting though no longer binding- anyone know? In Eastern Catholic parishes certainly every Friday is a day of fast (from meat, fish, dairy, oil, and wine).
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Mintaka
Guest
Ember Days are no longer binding, but it is still a good thing to keep the Ember Days. Praying and fasting on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays was fairly common from early Christian times on, and doing that formally on the Ember Days was seen as an important way of consecrating the seasons and the secular year. (Among other things.)
(It’s possible that some religious communities living a traditional way of life could oblige their members to keep Ember Days out of obedience, but I haven’t heard of that being a thing.)
There was a fair amount of cuisine directed toward Ember Days.
Vegetable tempura, for example, was an imitation of the food that Portuguese traders ate during the “Quatuor Tempora,” the “Four Times” during the year when there were Ember Days.
A “Tart on an Ember Day” is super-yummy, if you like onions. (It’s a savory pie, like chicken pot pie or shepherd’s pie.) I recommend throwing in a close approximation to the recipe and not worrying too much about exact ingredients. The saffron, etc. were for dressing it up for high-class cooking, but making a onion pie with cheese or bread to hold it together? That was something even peasants would do.
My favorite medieval version of this dish is made with lots of mushrooms as well as onions. Mmmmmm.
Adding the sugar and “powder douce” (sweet powder - sugar, cinnamon, ginger, etc.) is very tasty and I love it; but not everybody is ready for eating sweet cheese with their savory mushrooms. So again, make the recipe your own.
(Ignore the bit on the one webpage where the transcriber calls it “Amber Day.” I linked to it for the recipe.)
Picture of the manuscript for the onion version of the recipe.
Arundel MS version of the recipe, with another modern redaction.
(It’s possible that some religious communities living a traditional way of life could oblige their members to keep Ember Days out of obedience, but I haven’t heard of that being a thing.)
There was a fair amount of cuisine directed toward Ember Days.
Vegetable tempura, for example, was an imitation of the food that Portuguese traders ate during the “Quatuor Tempora,” the “Four Times” during the year when there were Ember Days.
A “Tart on an Ember Day” is super-yummy, if you like onions. (It’s a savory pie, like chicken pot pie or shepherd’s pie.) I recommend throwing in a close approximation to the recipe and not worrying too much about exact ingredients. The saffron, etc. were for dressing it up for high-class cooking, but making a onion pie with cheese or bread to hold it together? That was something even peasants would do.
My favorite medieval version of this dish is made with lots of mushrooms as well as onions. Mmmmmm.
Adding the sugar and “powder douce” (sweet powder - sugar, cinnamon, ginger, etc.) is very tasty and I love it; but not everybody is ready for eating sweet cheese with their savory mushrooms. So again, make the recipe your own.
(Ignore the bit on the one webpage where the transcriber calls it “Amber Day.” I linked to it for the recipe.)
Picture of the manuscript for the onion version of the recipe.
Arundel MS version of the recipe, with another modern redaction.
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peter26
Guest
Don’t know if its the same everywhere, but in England you can fulfill Friday penance in a number of ways, one of which is to go to Mass.
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Mintaka
Guest
The Embertide of December/Advent falls traditionally on the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after St. Lucy’s Day, so it wouldn’t be coming up this week.
The purpose of Ember Days: "besides the general one intended by all prayer and fasting, [the purpose was] was to thank God for the gifts of nature, to teach men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy.”
Pope Paul VI made Ember Days not obligatory for fasting and abstinence in 1966, after they’d been in existence for more than 1600 years.
In 1969, the new liturgical regulations said that we really should have Rogation Days (days of prayer for agriculture and nature, and against natural disasters and bad weather) and Ember Days, but that it was totally up to individual bishops to designate them for their dioceses. So of course nobody did. Check it out:
"On Rogation and Ember days the practice of the Church is to offer prayers to the Lord for the needs of all people, especially for the productivity of the earth and for human labour, and to make public thanksgiving. In order to adapt the Rogation and Ember days to various regions and the different needs of the faithful, the conferences of bishops should arrange the time and plan of their celebration. Consequently, the competent authority should lay down norms, in view of local conditions, on extending such celebrations over one or several days and on repeating them during the year. On each day of these celebrations the Mass should be one of the votive Masses for various needs and occasions that is best suited to the intentions of the petitioners.”
The purpose of Ember Days: "besides the general one intended by all prayer and fasting, [the purpose was] was to thank God for the gifts of nature, to teach men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy.”
Pope Paul VI made Ember Days not obligatory for fasting and abstinence in 1966, after they’d been in existence for more than 1600 years.
In 1969, the new liturgical regulations said that we really should have Rogation Days (days of prayer for agriculture and nature, and against natural disasters and bad weather) and Ember Days, but that it was totally up to individual bishops to designate them for their dioceses. So of course nobody did. Check it out:
"On Rogation and Ember days the practice of the Church is to offer prayers to the Lord for the needs of all people, especially for the productivity of the earth and for human labour, and to make public thanksgiving. In order to adapt the Rogation and Ember days to various regions and the different needs of the faithful, the conferences of bishops should arrange the time and plan of their celebration. Consequently, the competent authority should lay down norms, in view of local conditions, on extending such celebrations over one or several days and on repeating them during the year. On each day of these celebrations the Mass should be one of the votive Masses for various needs and occasions that is best suited to the intentions of the petitioners.”
-General Norms for the Liturgical Year Calendar, Apostolic Letter of Pope Paul VI
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CrossofChrist
Guest
So it’s not a thing? Mistake by the priest?
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CrossofChrist
Guest
Bummp
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CrossofChrist
Guest
Yeah don’t think it’s a thing…can’t find anything online about it, and he said he encouraged us to do it (not mandatory anyway…certainly would’ve heard more about THAT if true), seemed a little confused about it (giving further credence to it not being a thing).
Interesting stuff about Ember Days though
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Phemie
Guest
The only day of abstinence I remember during Advent (other than Fridays) was Christmas Eve. Then one year we were allowed to pick either Christmas Eve or the day before Christmas Eve. Then the next year the obligation was gone.
The year they made it our choice my family opted for the day before Christmas Eve while I, because I was out and about with my aunt that day, opted for Christmas Eve. It was probably the most penitential day I ever experienced as a teen: watching my family eat a regular meat-filled meal while I had bread and peanut butter.
The year they made it our choice my family opted for the day before Christmas Eve while I, because I was out and about with my aunt that day, opted for Christmas Eve. It was probably the most penitential day I ever experienced as a teen: watching my family eat a regular meat-filled meal while I had bread and peanut butter.
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