The most ancient observance of the Ember Days, or Quatuor Tempora, dates back to the first centuries of the Church in Rome, constituting a profound Christian sacralization of the transition of the seasons of the year, where the faithful people consecrate time and the fruits of the earth to the Creator through fasting, abstinence, and continuous prayer. The Lenten Ember Days, inserted in the first week of the penitential season, take on a particular ascetical gravity, as they unite the spirit of quadragesimal conversion to the apostolic tradition of ordaining new sacred ministers. Since the pontificate of Pope Gelasius I, in the 5th century, Ember Saturday became the classic and exclusive day for the conferral of holy orders. The prolonged night vigil that characterized this day, composed of multiple biblical readings and intense supplications, was not merely a preparatory rite, but an act of ecclesial solidarity, where the entire community gathered, traditionally at St. Peter's Basilica, to intercede for those who would be elevated to the subdiaconate, diaconate, and presbyterate. This historic day of fasting perennially reminds the Church that spiritual vitality, the preservation of doctrine, and the administration of the sacraments depend on the holiness of her priests, demanding from the faithful a spiritual immolation united to the sacrifice of the altar, so that the flock of Christ may always be guided by worthy pastors, purified by penance and illuminated by divine grace.
🙏 Introit (Ps 87, 3 | ib., 2)
Intret orátio mea in conspéctu tuo... Let my prayer come into Your presence; incline Your ear, O Lord, to my cry. Ps. O Lord, God of my salvation, day and night I have cried before You.
📖 I reading (Deut 26, 12-19)
Book of Deuteronomy. In those days, Moses spoke to the people, saying: When you have finished paying the tithe of all your fruits, you shall say in the presence of the Lord, your God: I have brought out of my house what is consecrated to You, and gave it to the Levite, the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow as You commanded me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, nor have I forgotten Your precept. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, my God, and have done everything as You commanded me. Look down from Your sanctuary, from the lofty dwelling of the heavens, and bless Israel, Your people, and the land that You gave us, as You swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey. The Lord, your God, commands you today to observe these commandments and laws; keep them and fulfill them with all your heart and with all your soul. You have chosen the Lord today to be your God, to walk in His ways, to observe His ceremonies, His ordinances, and laws, and to obey His command. The Lord has chosen you today to be His people as He declared to you, and to keep all His precepts; and He will make you illustrious among all the nations He created, for His praise, honor, and glory, so that you may be the holy people of the Lord, your God, as He has said.
📖 II reading (Deut 11, 22-25)
Book of Deuteronomy. In those days, Moses said to the children of Israel: If you observe and put into practice the commandments I prescribe to you, loving the Lord, your God, walking in all His ways, and holding fast to Him, the Lord will destroy, before your eyes, all these nations, and you shall possess them, although they are greater and mightier than you. Every place where you set your foot shall be yours. Your borders shall be from the desert and from Lebanon, from the great river Euphrates, to the Western Sea. No one shall be able to stand against you. The Lord, your God, will spread the terror and the fear of your name over all the land that you are to tread upon, as the Lord, your God, has told you.
📖 III reading (II Maccabees 1, 23-26 and 27)
Book of Maccabees. In those days, all the priests were making a prayer; and until the sacrifice was consumed, Jonathan sang and the others responded. The prayer that Nehemiah made was in these terms: O Lord God, Creator of all things, dreadful and strong, just and merciful, who are the only King full of goodness, the only excellent and just, the Almighty and eternal, You delivered Israel from all evil, chose our fathers and sanctified them. Accept this sacrifice on behalf of all Your people of Israel, and guard Your inheritance, sanctifying it, so that the nations may know that You are our God.
📖 IV reading (Sir 36, 1-10)
Book of Wisdom. Have pity on us, O God of all things; turn Your eyes upon us and show us the light of Your mercies. Spread Your fear over the nations that do not seek You, so that they may recognize that there is no other God but You, and thus proclaim Your wonders. Lift up Your hand against the foreign nations, so that they may recognize Your power. For just as before their eyes You showed Your holiness in us by punishing us, so also, in our sight, show Your greatness in them, so that they may recognize, as we also recognize, that besides You, Lord, there is no other God. Renew Your prodigies, work new wonders. Glorify Your hand and Your right arm. Rouse Your fury, and pour out Your wrath. Destroy the adversary and afflict the enemy. Hasten the time of redemption, remember the end, so that they may proclaim Your wonders, O Lord, our God.
📖 V reading (Dn 3, 47-51)
Reading of the prophet Daniel. In those days, the angel of the Lord went down with Azariah and his companions into the furnace, and driving the flames of the fire out of it, made a moist wind like dew blow through the middle of the furnace. The flames, however, rose above the furnace forty-nine cubits, and leaping out of it, burned those of the Chaldeans who were near the furnace, the servants of the king who were stoking the fire. But the fire did not touch the three Hebrew youths at all, did not harm them, nor cause them the slightest distress. Then these three youths, in unison, praised, glorified, and blessed God, in the furnace, saying:
🎶 Canticle (Dn 3, 52-56)
Blessed are You, O Lord, God of our fathers. And worthy of praise and glory for all ages. Blessed is Your glorious name which is holy. And worthy of praise and glory for all ages. Blessed are You in the holy temple of Your glory. And worthy of praise and glory for all ages. Blessed are You upon the holy throne of Your kingdom. And worthy of praise and glory for all ages. Blessed are You for the scepter of Your divinity. And worthy of praise and glory for all ages. Blessed are You, who sit above the cherubim, and penetrate the depths of the abysses. And worthy of praise and glory for all ages. Blessed are You who walk upon the wings of the winds, and upon the waves of the sea. And worthy of praise and glory for all ages. Let all Your angels and saints bless You, O Lord, and praise and exalt You forever. Let the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them bless You, O Lord. And let them praise and exalt You forever. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. To Him who is worthy of praise and glory for all ages. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. To Him who is worthy of praise and glory for all ages. Blessed are You, O Lord, God of our fathers. And worthy of praise and glory for all ages.
✉️ Epistle (I Thess 5, 14-23)
Saint Paul the apostle to the Thessalonians. Brethren: We ask you to correct the restless, console the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient with everyone. See that no one repays evil for evil to another, but seek to do good among yourselves and towards all. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all things, give thanks to God, for this is the will of God in Jesus Christ regarding all of you. Do not extinguish the Holy Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test everything; hold fast to what is good. Keep yourselves from every appearance of evil. May He Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you entirely, and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
✝️ Gospel (Mt 17, 1-9)
At that time, Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John, his brother, and led them apart up a very high mountain. And He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as snow. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, speaking with Him. Then Peter, speaking up, said to Jesus: Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, we will make three tabernacles here, one for You, another for Moses, and a third for Elijah. While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and from the cloud a voice sounded that said: This is My beloved Son. In Him I am well pleased; listen to Him. Hearing this, the disciples fell with their faces to the ground and were greatly terrified. Jesus, however, approached and, touching them, said to them: Arise and do not be afraid. And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus alone. And as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying: Tell no one what you have seen, until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.
✨ The elevation of the soul to divine glory
The incessant cry expressed in the introit, where the soul pleads for its prayer to penetrate the presence of God, finds its most sublime response at the top of mount Tabor. In order for prayer to reach the heavenly dwellings, a spiritual ascent is necessary, a detachment from worldly plains, which prepares the spirit to contemplate divine things. The transfiguration reveals, still on earth, the future glory of the kingdom, an anticipated light of the beatific vision where the humanity of Christ, shining like the sun, demonstrates that the redeemed body will actively participate in celestial brightness. The presence of Moses and Elijah underlines that Jesus is the definitive fulfillment of all the law and the prophets, He being the only mediator between the Creator and the creatures. The luminous cloud, a symbol of the Holy Spirit, envelops the hearts frightened by the ineffable majesty, while the voice of the Father demands scrupulous obedience to the Son. However, the glory revealed on Tabor does not annul the path of Calvary; the comforting touch of the Master, raising the prostrate disciples, and the order to keep silence until the resurrection, teach us that the divinity unites itself to humanity precisely to overcome fear, and that true exaltation and the understanding of high mysteries are only possible through the acceptance of the redemptive sacrifice (Saint Leo the Great, Sermon 51; Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, III, q. 45, a. 1-4).
This same prayer that ascends to the presence of the Lord gains concrete contours in the exhortation of the apostle, who teaches us how a community whose supplication has been heard should live. Praying without ceasing is not a mere intellectual exercise, but a vital attitude that is reflected in active charity: to correct, console, support, and be patient. In order for diurnal prayer to find shelter in heaven, the Christian must preserve within himself the grace of the Holy Spirit, not extinguishing its light with sin or with the retribution of evil. The total sanctification of the spirit, soul, and body, desired by the will of God, resembles the purity of the white garments of the transfiguration, preparing the faithful for the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Demanding the continuous exercise of the theological virtues, the apostolic living purifies the understanding and distances man from every appearance of evil, ensuring that divine peace dwells immaculately in those who cry out to God day and night.
The path of the Christian, therefore, deeply intertwines the ascetic discipline of fraternal charity with the high vocation to the contemplation of glory. The constant supplication, which begs to be heard, translates both into patiently bearing the weaknesses of the neighbor and into the reverent awe before the light that emanates from the face of the Savior. Embracing the cross in ordinary difficulties and keeping the soul irreproachable through the continuous action of the Holy Spirit, we prepare our whole being to ascend the holy mountain. Thus, the vigilant effort of this life is nothing but the prelude to the eternal transfiguration, where the weeping of our present prayer will dissipate before the luminous triumph of the resurrection.