By John Rohlf, The Message assistant editor
Parishioners and faithful from across the Diocese of Evansville gathered at St. Bernard Parish in Snake Run March 24 for the annual Rogation Mass.
The Rogation Mass, hosted by St. Bernard Parish in Snake Run and the Diocesan Office of Catholic Rural Life, celebrates the importance of farming and asks for God’s blessings and mercy during the planting and harvesting seasons.
“I’d like to welcome you to our annual Rogation Day,” Father John Boeglin, senior priest of the diocese and vicar for senior priests, said. “We resurrected this in 1988 and we’ve been going ever since.”
Bishop Siegel celebrated the annual Mass. Father Boeglin and Father Ray Brenner concelebrated the Mass. Deacon Vincent Bernardin and Deacon Lonny Davis assisted.
Prior to processing into the church, during the introductory rites, there was an opening prayer, followed by the Litany of St. Isidore. There was also a Litany of the Saints during the procession and entrance into the church. At the end of Mass, Bishop Siegel blessed the soil and seeds brought by farmers to the Mass.
During his homily, Bishop Siegel said the Rogation Mass is an ancient observance in the life of the church, which originally took place before the Feast of the Ascension. He said this is a liturgy of greeting, of supplication and profound humility. We come together as a diocese, Bishop Siegel said, to ask for God’s blessing upon the fruits of the earth, by the labor of our hands and for protection against calamities. We pray for farmers, laborers and all those who help provide our daily bread, he said.
Bishop Siegel said in our modern world, it is easy to feel self-sufficient, adding we often feel in control. The Rogation Mass reminds us that we cannot create life. We can plant seed and water the soil, Bishop Siegel said, but the mystery of the harvest is ultimately in God’s hands.
Bishop Siegel said at the Rogation Mass, they prayed for favorable weather and protection of our crops and industries, because we can acknowledge our radical dependence on the creator for our sustenance. The Rogation Mass at its first and foremost, Bishop Siegel said, is an act of humility, reminding us of our radical dependence on our creator.
As they processed and prayed, calling upon St. Isidore, our Blessed Mother and all the saints, they were not merely asking for good weather, Bishop Siegel said. They were acknowledging that they are stewards, not owners of the earth. They recognize that every good gift, every good thing, comes from God. As the Lord reminds us in the gospel, Bishop Siegel said, we must look upon him, raised on the cross, to know him as our only Lord and savior, to whom we owe everything and alone can give us healing and life.
Bishop Siegel said he thinks it is providential that the Rogation Mass is usually during Lent, as there is a penitential aspect to it. He said sometimes, like the farmer in the gospel, we know that we sometimes can be so absorbed in worrying about our crops, machinery and our harvest, that we forget to care for those in need around us, sometimes even those in our families and communities. We pray, Bishop Siegel said, that God will provide for our needs.
Bishop Siegel said we also recognize that at times, we have misused or even taken for granted the gifts of creation. Therefore, he said, we ask for mercy and pray that God will turn away punishment for our sins, as well as protect us from any natural disasters and instead bless our fields with fruitfulness. May we always see soil, air and water as gifts to be cherished and protected, not just as resources to be used.
May we take this Rogation Mass and this lesson seriously, Bishop Siegel said. Not just as a quaint tradition, but as a necessary act of faith and trust in God.
Father Boeglin announced at the conclusion of the Rogation Mass that next year’s Rogation Mass will be April 6 at St. Mary Parish in Ireland.