The Ember Days are sets of three days (Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday) near the start of each of the natural seasons (winter, spring, summer, and fall). They were traditionally set aside by the Church as days of penance. This practice is to thank God for the blessings given in the past season and to ask His blessings for the upcoming one.
Additionally, as the historical Roman practice was to have ordinations on the Ember Saturdays (which is still reflected in the Masses for the Ember Saturdays and the Ordination Rites), the Ember Days were also set aside to ask God’s blessing on those to be ordained. In keeping with the traditional spirit of the Church, please consider doing something extra on the Ember Days this week, especially for those discerning a priestly vocation.
In 1962, Ember Wednesdays and Saturdays were days of partial abstinence and fasting. Ember Fridays were days of complete abstinence, like all Fridays, and of fasting.
