Rogation Days

These three days before Ascension Thursday are traditionally known as Rogation Days. Incidentally, April 25 is also a Rogation day.

Rogationtide is the time appointed by the Church to remember and reflect upon the wrath of Almighty God. These are days of particular prayer, and, formerly, of fasting. Christians would ask for God's protection in calamities, and also for a bountiful harvest. Some rural communities still piously observe Rogation Days.

A few practical things we can do for the Rogation Days:

• Pray the Litany of the Saints
• Spend time reflecting on the power of Nature
• Review accounts of natural disasters, e.g., the stories of Pompeii and the Black Death

In times past, during Rogationtide there would have been processions with the chanting of the Litany of the Saints.