The minor Rogation Days are the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before we commemorate our Lord’s Ascension to the Father in Heaven on Ascension Day. “Rogation” comes from the Latin “rogare”, meaning “to beseech.” Although the term “beseech” could be taken as a call for penitence, this is not the intention of the Easter season. Rather it is one of asking for God’s blessing on the works of our hands—industry and agriculture—the means of our livelihoods. A singularly Anglican holiday, it’s no longer observed in the Church of Rome, but, since the reign of Elizabeth I, it has been a decided observance of the English church.
While we no longer “beat the bounds of the parish,” there are ways to adapt this tradition to meet today's need for thankfulness. Rogation Days are an ideal time to remember—and rededicate our jobs, investments, and other economic activities to our Lord, in Whom we live and move and have our being, while invoking His Presence in all we do, committing our ways to Him, so that He, as promised in Scripture, guides our paths.
While we no longer “beat the bounds of the parish,” there are ways to adapt this tradition to meet today's need for thankfulness. Rogation Days are an ideal time to remember—and rededicate our jobs, investments, and other economic activities to our Lord, in Whom we live and move and have our being, while invoking His Presence in all we do, committing our ways to Him, so that He, as promised in Scripture, guides our paths.
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