Easter: May 27th
Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter; Opt. Mem. of St. Augustine of Canterbury, Bishop; Minor Rogation Day
MASS READINGS
May 27, 2025 (Readings on USCCB website)
PROPERS [Show]
COLLECT PRAYER
Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter: Grant, almighty and merciful God, that we may in truth receive a share in the Resurrection of Christ your Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
St. Augustine of Canterbury: O God, who by the preaching of the Bishop Saint Augustine of Canterbury led the English peoples to the Gospel, grant, we pray, that the fruits of his labors may remain ever abundant in your Church. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
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The Church offers the Optional Memorial of St. Augustine of Canterbury (d. 605), who was born in Rome and died in Canterbury, England, in 604. When Pope Gregory I heard that the pagans of Britain were disposed to accept the Catholic Faith, he sent the prior of St. Andrew, Augustine, and forty of his Benedictine brethren to England. Despite the great difficulties involved in the task assigned to him, Augustine and his monks obeyed. The success of their preaching was immediate. King Ethelbert was baptized on Pentecost Sunday, 596, and the greater part of the nobles and people soon followed his example. St. Augustine died as the first Archbishop of Canterbury.
Today continues the traditional observance of the Minor Rogation Days, which fall Monday through Wednesday preceding Ascension Thursday. Each of these days has a traditional Station Church. Tuesday is San Giovanni in Laterano (St. John Lateran).
Minor Rogation Days
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before the Ascension we commemorate the traditional dates for the Minor Rogation Days. These are days of prayer and formerly fasting, which take place every year on April 25th and the three days preceding the feast of the Ascension, the former being known as the Major Rogation and the latter as the Minor Rogations. The word “rogation” has its origins in the Latin word rogare, which means to supplicate or ask, and the purpose of Rogation Days is to beg God for His mercy, to turn away His anger, and to ask Him to bless the produce of field and garden while protecting us from natural disasters. The Rogation Days no longer appear on the General Roman Calendar, but are celebrated according to the local conference of bishops.
In the ancient Church Rogation days were quite common; some recurred annually, others were introduced at times of particular need, e.g., averting war or pestilence. The practice of three Rogation days before the feast of Christ's Ascension originated in Gaul (modern France). The saintly bishop Mamertus of Vienne introduced these days of prayer and penance when catastrophe threatened the city and its neighborhood about the year 450 A.D. Quickly the custom spread, and eventually it was incorporated into the liturgy of the Western Church.
The celebration of Rogation Days consists in a procession followed by the Rogation Mass. In this procession we may sense the last remnant of the obsolete station processions observed by ancient Christians almost daily during Lent and during the first week after Easter. They would gather in a church known as the ecclesia collecta (hence the word "Collect") and from there walk in procession with the bishop and clergy to another church singing the Litany of the Saints and the Kyrie. The place of destination was known as the statio or station church, and holy Mass was celebrated there.
The four Rogation days have preserved the main elements of this venerable rite, an observance that we should respect and foster. For we should pray both perseveringly and in common, since special efficacy and power is attached to such prayer. Our prayer should not only be sincere and personal, we should also pray as units of a community, for to this type of prayer a special efficacy is attached. In the Rogation procession the Litany of the Saints is recited; it gives us an opportunity to call upon the entire Church triumphant to intercede in our behalf. The prayers concluding the Litany are usually beautiful and edifying.
What petitions will surely be answered?
Those which, according to Christ's words, are made in "the right spirit," and which are offered in the Name of Jesus, i.e., tend to further the kingdom of God. In the "Our Father" Christ has given us a summary of such petitions. Therefore, if our wishes are similar to those in the Lord's Prayer, we can assume that they will be heard. These petitions fall under three headings: God's kingdom, daily bread, sin. God will certainly grant petitions of this kind.
—Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
Highlights and Things to Do:
- Rogation Days: Cross Days (Activity)
- Rogation Day Prayers (Prayer)
- Read more about the Rogation Days at Catholic Saints Info.
- For more see Rogation Days.
The Second Rogation Day is the Station at St. John Lateran.
If at all possible, we will take part in the in the Rogation procession and Mass today and tomorrow. In spirit we will observe the venerable liturgy at St. John Lateran, the church where baptisms were administered in ancient times. It may aid our piety to group our petitions on these three days. The first day we will devote to our personal needs; the second, to family and community; the third, to the needs of the universal Church. Not only at the morning liturgy but throughout the day we will continue to pour forth our pleading to God.
Reflections on the Nature of True Prayer.
In the Rogation liturgy we are reminded of what a great privilege it is to place our needs before God in prayer. The liturgical texts provide 1) instruction on the value and significance of prayer; 2) incentives and aids on how to pray fervently and perseveringly. We need but look at the beautiful Gospel triptych with Christ's words: "Ask and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives...," in the center panel flanked by the importunate friend and the pleading child. Petition is the key to the riches of God's fatherly heart, the key that opens up the treasures of divine mercy.
Yet if we are honest, we will be very ready to admit having had doubts concerning Christ's words just quoted. How often we asked in vain for some favor! What then are the qualities that our petition lacked? How must we pray in order to have our prayers heard? The answer may lie in the object for which we pray, in defects in our disposition, or in the spirit that animates us.
a) The object of prayer. The words of Christ are indeed general in character, they set no limit to the object of one's petition. Nevertheless, our Savior clearly stated that only such pleas will be answered which harmonize with the aims of the kingdom of God. He said: "If you, evil as you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!"
God will not give his children harmful gifts. The phrase "good things" is mystical and can perhaps be best explained as covering items that will serve our eternal goal. Certainly we may pray for material favorites, but on the condition that they will be "good things" for us. Sometimes God answers a prayer by granting the opposite to that which is asked; instead of a stone, a serpent, or scorpion, He blesses us with bread, eggs, or fish.
b) The second reason why our prayers may not be heard lies in our personal disposition, our lack of faith and love and humility. (1) Whenever Christ performed a miracle, He demanded faith as a prerequisite. On one occasion the apostles could not heal a possessed boy; to their queries Jesus said, "Because of your little faith; for amen I say to you, if you have faith like a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain: Remove from here, and it will remove. And nothing will be impossible to you" (Mt 17:19). We need the faith that moves mountains. (2) A second obstacle is our lack of love. If we ourselves neither give nor forgive, we can expect no favors from God. In his epistle St. Peter makes a pertinent observation: "Husband, in like manner dwell with your wives considerately, paying honor to the woman as to the weaker vessel...that your prayers be not hindered" (1 Pt 3:7). Our prayers are "hindered" through lack of love for our neighbor. (3) Lack of humility likewise closes God's dispensing hand. We need only recall the story of the publican and the pharisee. The same parable also teaching us that past sin does not prevent prayers from being heard. God listens to the prayer of a humble sinner rather than to the effusions of a just but proud man.
c) Finally, the spirit with which one prays is important. Do you pray perseveringly, in union with others, submissive to God's will? (1) The two Gospel parables speak clearly of persevering, even importunate petition. God wants to hear our prayers. He does not, however, want us to dictate the time when He should respond. There is high pedagogical wisdom in that God does not reply at once to our prayers. Perseverance in pleading is good training spiritually, and it purifies our longing. One who is expecting further gifts will more easily be grateful for benefits already received. Old age had already come upon Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, before his petition was granted. (2) A special efficacy is attached to prayer made in common. "If two of you shall agree on earth about anything at all for which they ask, it shall be done for them by My Father in heaven" (Mt 18:19). (3) Lastly, our prayer must be rooted deeply in God's holy will. Of this there is no example more moving and convincing than that of Christ Himself during His agony on Mt. Olivet. His Father did not hear Him, did not remove the chalice from Him. And yet our Savior's prayer was answered. He was given strength to drink the chalice to its dregs.
Prayer does not imply the gratification of one's own will, rather that we submerge our wills in that of God. In prayer, in every act, we must leave behind our own pagan, egotistical selves and selflessly seek the good of God's kingdom. As long as prayer serves nothing more than one's own selfish interests, it will never be heard. However, once our hearts and minds are oriented to welfare of God's kingdom, then prayer will become the bond uniting us most intimately to God. Then we will realize what tremendous power it has.
—Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter, Tuesday of the Lesser Rogation Days,
Station with San Giovanni in Laterano (St. John Lateran)
The Station today is at St. John Lateran which is the seat of the Roman Pontiff, and the cathedral church for the Diocese of Rome. The official name of the basilica in Italian is Santissimo Salvatore e Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano. The Lateran is comprised of the Basilica, the Pontifical Palace and the Baptistry. The church is dedicated to the Christ the Savior. In the fifth century the titles of St. John Baptist and St. John the Evangelist were added. The Papal altar contains the wooden altar on which St. Peter is said to have celebrated Mass. This basilica is the mother of all churches and is the only church which has the title of Archbasilica.
The first Rogation Day we kept with our Mother. The second we celebrate with our Brother. In spirit we enter the Lateran Basilica dedicated to our Most Holy Savior, "The First-born among many brethren." In union with our eldest Brother we praise today "His Father and our Father, His God and our God. Especially this second rogation day should fill our souls with renewed awe and respect for the "Our Father" prayer so filled with love for the Father, so divine in origin, so embracing in content; a prayer sanctified by millions of Christ-branches, in particular by the holy martyrs who had it upon their lips while making the supreme sacrifice of their life for Him that taught.
For more on San Giovanni in Laterano, see:
- Churches of Rome
- Rome Art Lover
- Roman Churches
- Aleteia
- Click here for a 360 degree virtual tour.
- The Catholic Traveler
For further information on the Station Churches, see The Stational Church.
St. Augustine of Canterbury
St. Augustine was the agent of a greater man than himself, Pope St. Gregory the Great. In Gregory's time, except for the Irish monks, missionary activity was unknown in the western Church, and it is Gregory's glory to have revived it. He decided to begin with a mission to the pagan English, for they had cut off the Christian Celts from the rest of Christendom. The time was favorable for a mission since the ruler of the whole of southern England, Ethelbert/ of Kent, had married a Christian wife and had received a Gaulish bishop at his court. Gregory himself wished to come to Britain, but his election as pope put an end to any such idea, and in 596 he decided to send an Italian monk following the comparatively new Rule of St Benedict. Augustine set out with some companions, but when they reached southern Gaul a crisis occurred and Augustine was sent back to the pope for help. In reply the pope made Augustine their abbot and subjected the rest of the party to him in all things, and with this authority Augustine successfully reached England in 597, landing in Kent on the Isle of Thanet. Ethelbert and the men of Kent refused to accept Christianity at first, although an ancient British church dedicated to St Martin was restored for Augustine's use; but very shortly afterwards Ethelbert was baptized and, the pope having been consulted, a plan was prepared for the removal of the chief see from Canterbury to London and the establishment of another province at York. Events prevented either of these projects from being fulfilled, but the progress of the mission was continuous until Augustine's death, somewhere between 604 and 609.
The only defeat Augustine met with after he came to England was in his attempt to reconcile the Welsh Christians, to persuade them to adopt the Roman custom of reckoning the date of Easter, to correct certain minor irregularities of rite and to submit to his authority. Augustine met the leaders of the Welsh church in conference but he unfavorably impressed them by remaining seated when they came into his presence — it is likely that in this he unfavorably impressed St Bede too. Augustine was neither the most heroic of missionaries, nor the most tactful, but he did a great work, and he was one of the very few men in Gaul or Italy who, at that time, was prepared to give up everything to preach the gospel in a far country.
—Excerpted from The Saints edited by John Coulson
Patronage: England; Canterbury, England; diocese of Salford, England; archdiocese of Southwark, England; Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross
Symbols and Representation: Banner of the crucifixion; King Ethelbert rising out of a font (Bishop baptizing a king); fountain; cross fitchée pastoral staff and book; cope, mitre and pallium
Highlights and Things to Do:
- Pope Gregory brought the faith to different countries by sending groups of missionaries. Consider how you can help the missions, either monetarily or spiritually.
- St. Augustine has been called "Apostle of England" because of his missionary efforts. Pray to him today that England will return to the one true Faith.
- Read more about St. Augustine of Canterbury:
- Watch this video on the life of St. Augustine of Canterbury.
- St Augustine of Canterbury’s shrine was destroyed and his relics were lost during the English Reformation. Wikipedia has some further details.
