rogation days

the three days before the feast of the ascension have been called since the sixth century rogation days, which many of us have probably forgotten if we had ever heard of them. yet they are days which seem to have considerable spiritual significance beyond what appears, perhaps,on the surface.

their background is fascinating in itself, since both their time and the usual content of their prayers--rogation means praying, or supplicating--originally had very different associations.

in 470 there were devastating earthquakes following a volcanic eruption, and mamertus, bishop of vienne, called for three days of "litanies" for relief. the prayers were considered successful.

the christian tradition of litanies seems to have originated around 375, when they are spoken of by st. basil the great as innovative penitential services. their wider content as more than penitential prayers seems to have been originated by st. john chrysostom as an orthodox response to arian responsive, sung, processional prayers.

as prayers on the three days before the ascension, however, they quickly lost their connection to volcanoes and earthquakes, and their popularity spread through gaul to england, where they were adopted by the council of cloveshoo in 741.

the most usual prayer for the days in the english world is thomas cramner's english litany of 1544, as it has been adapted through the years and throughout the english speaking church.

we have come to associate that litany--"the great litany" in the english prayer book tradition--with days of penitance, and it is now most often sung on the first sundays of advent and lent. but it originally was used as a sort of general intercession in the vernacular as part of regular sunday worship, a position it still holds, in theory, in the church of england. cramner was aware of the role of litanies in the eastern church, in which the deacon and congregation sing responsive prayers. his liturgy, however, combined intercessions from eastern sources with roman and lutheran prayers, as well as those of his own composing.

in the reign of elizabeth 1, the praying of that litany, in procession around the parish boundaries, was required on the rogation days of each parish. in the gallic countries, the litany most often included requests for the prayers of many saints which were dropped from the english litany by the reformers. these days we are much more likely to pray the litany along a much smaller route, with such changes as our current theological squeemishness seems to require.

and, the rogation days have come to be more and more concerned with the prospering of our crops, with the fruit of the earth, not about avoiding earthquakes, although one could i suppose argue that those are two sides of the same coin. one can seen this in one of the 1928 american prayer book collects for the days:

"almighty god, who hast blessed the earth that it should be fruitful and bring forth whatsoever is needful for the life of man, and hast commanded us to work with quietness, and eat our own bread; bless the labours of the husbandman, and grant such seasonable weather that we may gather in the fruits of the earth, and ever rejoice in thy goodness, to the praise of thy holy name; through jesus christ our lord. amen."

but there is i think an appropriateness to praying for the earth on these days which recognizes part of the vastness of salvation. just as the incarnation was not only for us sinful men, neither was the ascension just for us redeemed men. all creation takes part in this great salvation, and our prayers on these days recognizes that wonder.