The fifth Sunday after
Easter – Domenica Rogationum, or Rogation Sunday – begins Rogation Week; the
following three days - Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before Ascension - are
called the Rogation Days, and referred to as the "Minor
Rogation". The name comes from the Latin rogare, which means "to ask" or "to beseech".
On these three days, it was customary for priest and parishioners to
fast and then go in procession, praying first for God's mercy and forgiveness,
next for a blessing on the newly planted seed and flowering plants, and finally
for a bountiful harvest (sparing them from what the insurance companies refer
to as "Acts of God": tornadoes, hurricanes, gales, and floods, along
with the banes of farmers: killing frosts, blight, and similar calamities).
The days were also known as
“Gang” (walking) days, from the processions, and “Cross” days, from the crosses which led them; “Green” days
was another name, from the restriction of foods to salads and green vegetables.
With time, these processions
included "beating the bounds", in which the perambulations covered
the boundaries of the parish. English pastors were instructed that
"In going, [they] shall stop at certain convenient places and admonish the
people to give thanks to God, in the beholding of God's benefits, for the
increase and abundance of His fruits upon the face of the earth, with the
saying Psalm 104, Benedic anima mea...";
occasionally the pastor would add the warning "cursed be he which
translateth the bounds and dales of his neighbor". By walking the
bounds in this way, the boundary markers, which may have been moved for any
reason, could be replaced and their positions again fixed in the minds of the
parishioners.
The prayers always included
the Litany of Saints, and psalms and other prayers as time allowed.
Litany is another word of much the same meaning as rogare, for it comes from the Greek litaneia - to supplicate - and with each "have mercy on
us", "deliver us", and "we beseech Thee, hear us", we
are begging God to avert His wrath from us.
To Naogeorgus, the whole
thing led to licentious behavior and unseemly drinking:
“Now comes the day wherein
they gad abroad, with cross in hand,
To bounds of every field,
and round about their neighbor’s land,
And as they go they sing and
pray to every saint above,
But to our Lady specially,
whom most of all they love.
When as they to the town are
come, the Church they enter in,
And look what saint that
church doth guide, they humbly pray to him,
That he preserve both corn
and fruits from storm and tempest great
And them defend from harm,
and send them store of drinks and meat.
This done, they to the
tavern go, or in the fields they dine,
Where down they sit and feed
apace, and fill themselves with wine,
So much that oftentimes
without the Cross they come away,
And miserably they reel,
still as their stomach up they lay.
These things three days
continually are done, with solemn sport,
With many Crosses often they
unto some church resort,
Whereas they all do chant
aloud, whereby there straight does spring
A bawling noise, while every
man seeks highest for to sing.
The Priests give ear, this
madness them does most of all content,
And wine to them that pass
the rest, is from the Parson sent.”
The Rogation Days were
removed from the new calendar - with an army of appraisers, surveyors, and
property maps, there is not much call for determining the boundaries by walking
them. However, there is much call for prayers asking forgiveness and
blessing.
So, on these three days,
walk the boundaries of your own property, saying the Litany of the Saints (you can find a copy
of it here at EWTN, and remember to add your family's patron saints), or at
least asking a blessing and protection for all contained therein. Do the
same with your neighborhood, as you walk the dog. And don't forget to
pray for a good harvest.
You can read more about the
Rogation Days at Fisheaters, and find prayers
and activities for your family at Catholic Culture.
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Stand fast, root; bear well,
top;
God send us a yowling sop!
Every twig, apple big,
Every bough, apple enow,
Hats full, caps full,
Fill quarter sacks full.
[My only charm is to point to the woodpile and say, "Produce or
else!" It has worked so far.]
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As stated above, one of the
names for the Rogation Days was “Green Days”, from the restrictions of foods to
salads and green vegetables. Does
this suggest that they were not only fast days, but abstinence as well? Or were the first greens of the year
finally available? After a winter
of increasingly desiccated vegetables, I can well imagine that a fresh juicy
salad would be eagerly consumed.
Well, for at least one of
these three days, make a “green” dinner, with as many green items as your
fertile imagination can concoct: Green peas and cream in patty shells, lime
jello, pistachio ice cream, fish poached in Court Bouillon and sprinkled with
parsley, and my favorite: GREEN GODDESS DRESSING for the salad.
Finely mince together 8 – 10
anchovy fillets and 1 green onion.
Mince chives to equal ¼ cup.
Mince parsley to equal ¼
cup.
Mince fresh tarragon to
equal 2 tablespoons (or soak 1 tablespoon of dried tarragon in a little
vinegar. Strain)
Mix all of the above lightly
but thoroughly with 3 cups of mayonnaise and ¼ cup of tarragon vinegar [if no
tarragon vinegar handy, use white wine vinegar, or distilled white
vinegar. And see recipe below for
making your own tarragon vinegar.]
This makes about a quart of dressing – you can cut the recipe in half if
you don’t need quite that much.
Store any unused dressing in the refrigerator.
TARRAGON VINEGAR
Heat 1 pint of white wine
vinegar. Slightly crush 1 pint of
fresh tarragon leaves with your hands.
Put the tarragon in a container (I have a large jar) with 2 cloves, and
1 garlic clove, halved. Pour in
the heated vinegar, cover, and let stand for 24 hours. After that, remove the garlic, then let
the vinegar stand another two weeks.
Strain through a cloth, bottle, and cork tightly (I like to put a sprig
of tarragon in the bottle just for pretty, especially if I’m giving the vinegar
as a gift).
And when you beat your own
bounds, remember poor ol’ Naogeorgus, and dine in the fields (or the park) with
a picnic lunch. Singing loudly and
off-key is allowed.
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Artwork: Haven’t found the attribution
yet. Did you notice that the
people in the background are throwing rocks at the procession?
