Ember Days for The Notre Dame Community
Each quarter of the year, members of the Sycamore Trust Apostolate enter into the Church’s sacred rhythm of Ember Days — three days of prayer, fasting, and penance — to give thanks for God’s blessings and to implore grace for the restoration of Catholic identity at the University of Notre Dame.
What are Ember Days?
Ember Days (Quatuor Tempora, or “four times”) are ancient liturgical observances tied to the natural seasons and meant to sanctify time through fasting, almsgiving, and prayer. Traditionally occurring on the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday of the appointed weeks, these days align with the cycle of sowing and harvest and were offered in thanksgiving and supplication for God’s blessings on the land, vocations, and the Church.
Pope St. Leo the Great preached frequently on Ember Days, affirming their apostolic origin and divine purpose. Their seasonal observance helped Catholics order their lives to the rhythms of nature and grace. Their prominence was such that missing their observance without serious cause was once considered a grave omission.
A History of Sacred Renewal
Until liturgical changes following the Second Vatican Council, Ember Days were widely observed throughout Christendom. Although they have been generally neglected in recent years, the 2001 Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy issued by the Vatican still commends them as a venerable practice, linking them with the consecration of time, creation, and human labor to God’s glory.
Their original intent — to sanctify the seasons, encourage vocations, and atone for sin — remains urgently relevant. In an era of confusion and moral collapse, the revival of Ember Days has become a beacon for Catholics seeking to re-anchor themselves in the timeless traditions of the Church.
A Devotion Returning to the Light
Today, Ember Days are being rediscovered by laity, priests, and bishops committed to the spiritual and doctrinal renewal of the Church. Their quiet resurgence is especially visible in traditional Catholic communities, homeschooling networks, and faithful apostolates like Sycamore Trust.
For Notre Dame — a university deeply wounded by secularization and compromise — this devotion offers a path of reparation and hope.
At Sycamore Trust, each Embertide is dedicated to a specific group within the Notre Dame community whose faithful witness is essential to an authentic Catholic renewal at the University:
-
join our apostolate to receive ember day devotations
How You Can Join
To join our Apostolate and participate in any of our prayer projects, please complete the form below. Once signed up, you'll receive materials as they become available. Meanwhile, we invite you to include a petition for the authentic Catholic renewal of Notre Dame in your morning prayers. And, if you're able, please join us (in spirit) by praying the Memorare after daily Mass on the last Saturday of each month -- also for the authentic Catholic renewal of Notre Dame.
