“Ember Days” occur four times throughout the Church year and are a short period of penitence and fasting. The Autumn Ember Days occur in the week following the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross – this year on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday September 21, 23, and 24. On those days, it is traditional to choose some type of penitential sacrifice: abstaining from meat or alcohol; additional prayers each day like the Rosary, Chaplet of Divine Mercy, or St. Michael Chaplet; attending a Holy Hour with Eucharistic Adoration; or going to Confession.
The Autumn Ember Days have long been associated with both the harvest and nearness to “Michaelmas,” the feast day of our patron St. Michael and Archangels on September 29th. Ember Days are always Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, but not Thursday. Why? Thursday is the day Our Lord instituted the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper. But Wednesday was the day He was betrayed by Judas Iscariot; Friday the day of Crucifixion; and Saturday the day he “descended into hell” to bring forth the souls of the dead for all ages. On those three days we reflect prayerfully on Jesus’ sacrifice, and make our own offerings in union with him.
