March 13, 2009
Following year of bad weather, all invited to Rogation Day service
By PAUL R. LEINGANG (Message editor)
“I invite you to come and revisit the Rogation Tradition,” said Father John Boeglin. The diocesan Rogation Day will be hosted this year by St. Bernard Church in Rockport, on March 19, the feast of St. Joseph, starting at 7 p.m.
Rogation Days used to be observed just before the Feast of the Ascension, but the revived tradition has good reason for an earlier observance. Farmers and gardeners are eager to get to work.
“Modern farming demands that we offer this Mass and prayer service in early spring and in the evening rather than during the old traditional time of May,” said Father Boeglin. “If you are a farmer or a gardener, I invite you to bring a bag of soil and some planting seeds to be blessed during the service.”
The current observance of Rogation Day began in 1988. Father Boeglin was then the newly appointed Rural Life Director for the Diocese of Evansville in 1988 – a year when “farmers were calling me [asking] whether I could do something about some prayer service concerning the unusual drought that we were experiencing.”
Bishop Francis R. Shea agreed to preside at a Rogation Day Service. The Sisters of St. Benedict and the pastor of St. Ferdinand Church together agreed to host the service.
“I will never forget the day of July 11, 1988,” said Father Boeglin. “It was the feast day of St. Benedict and Sisters were kind enough to share their worship space that evening and lead the litany of Saints as we processed to St. Ferdinand Church. There was a huge gathering of folk from all over the Diocese. I estimated some 400 to 500 participants. Believe it or not on the next day some thunder showers began after six weeks of no rain. Everyone was grateful that we had revisited the old tradition of Rogation Days. There is power in prayer.”
In 1989, Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger came to the diocese with strong support for the prayer service, which has now continued for 20 years. Participation over the years, however, has lessened. But Father Boeglin says there are many reasons this year for people to return to the tradition.
“In this past year we have suffered much in Southwestern Indiana from inclement weather,” Father Boeglin noted. “In June south central Indiana suffered considerable flood damage to crops, rural communities and roads which affected the northern boundary of the Diocese. On the second Sunday of September severe straight line winds from Hurricane Ike closed down the Ireland Parish Picnic. Many areas of the diocese suffered considerable damage. This past January we experienced the worst ice and wind damage of the century. What about our neighbors south of us who suffered so much without power for weeks? To me these are specific reasons to come to the Rogation Tradition. We cannot control the weather but we can pray that God protects us from storm, drought and pestilence.”
Everyone is invited to the service, March 19.
“Although Rogation Days are agricultural celebrations, they are not solely for rural congregations,” Father Boeglin said. “These days underscore the dependence of all people, urban and rural, on the fruitfulness of the earth, on those who work the farms, on those who provide the resources and the technologies for plentiful food supply. Most of all, these Rogation Days remind us that we are completely dependent upon God for favorable weather — abundant sunshine and adequate rain — and protection from terrible storms and pestilences which can literally destroy a crop. God is true source of our blessings and God challenges us to be best stewards of this earth and its resources.”
Bishop Gettelfinger will preside at the Mass, at St. Bernard Church. Seeds and soil samples will be blessed.
“Please come even if you don’t have soil or seeds to bring,” Father Boeglin said. “We can all pray for a safe and abundant food supply. We can all pray for safety on our roads as the farmers drive their large implements to the fields.”