Guest column by Fr. Kenneth Borowiak
Kay and Jerry Wessel of Crete recently called and asked me about Rogation Days in the Catholic Church. Many readers know the Wessels for their long-time involvement with Catholic Social Services, especially the annual diaper drive and the CSS donation trailers. They also have long and deep ties to farming.
Many farmers and ranchers are incredible managers and the earth’s best stewards, despite facing challenges all the time. Lately, however, many are stretched, hanging on by a thread.
As the Wessels and I talked, we shared some of the unexpected challenges facing farmers in this 2026 planting season: drought, unpredictable operating expenses such as soaring fertilizer and seed costs, ever-increasing prices for equipment, low-market prices, weather swings, war, tariffs, product shortages, etc. The one constant that guides them through the year is their faith and reliance upon Almighty God.
As the old joke goes, a farmer was once invited to go gambling at a casino. He replied, “I don’t need to go gambling, I farm for a living.”
To understand the significance of Rogation Days in Catholic tradition, consider the following points:
Rogation Days were once regularly observed in the Catholic Church to seek God’s blessing on the crops and the faithful who work the land and care for livestock.
Rogation Days traditionally included special processions, litanies and prayers to ask God’s favor for planting and the harvest. They occurred on the three days leading up to Ascension Thursday. The term “rogation” comes from the Latin word “rogare,” meaning “to ask” or “to pray.” We must and should ask the Lord for everything in our lives.
Rogation Days have somewhat fallen by the wayside as a well-known, regular devotion in our Catholic lives. Even though these days may not be scheduled on the liturgical calendar anymore, individual pastors, families and parishes can celebrate some version of Rogation Days. I would recommend that they be celebrated today.
In parishes where I was pastor, I asked people on a given weekend to bring things like 50-pound bags of seed corn, simple, well-known tools of labor such as spades, rakes, hoes, etc., to illustrate the cooperation between earth and heaven. I would then bless the seed, the instruments and the people gathered there for safety in their work and for a successful farming season.
Rogation Days are an opportunity for individuals, families and parishes to come together in faith and gratitude for God’s creation.
Rogation days can be scheduled within the rhythms of the calendar year – spring and fall. These days are not simply a devotion but rather a necessity in asking God’s blessing upon all the labor performed in the agricultural sector.
Many centuries ago, when much of the work was done manually, families critically relied upon their crops, flocks and herds to make a living or just to survive. For people of faith, it is known and understood that all sustenance and blessings come from the hand of the Lord.
Just because technology and mechanization have made much of the backbreaking labor easier, farming no less relies on the initiative, oversight and help of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
We simply cannot believe that any of the advancements within farming and ranching are due solely to human initiative, progress and success. given in their beginning and their end to men and women by the Lord. We cannot forget that or overlook it.
Just as families rely upon prior generations for their wisdom and insight based upon experience, so too must we reach out in intercession to the saints who lived noteworthy lives in recognition of God’s Providence and His involvement in our very lives.
Noteworthy saints associated with farming are: Saint Isidore the Farmer, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Vincent of Saragossa, Saint Anthony of Padua, Saint George and Saint Apollonia, among others.
Daily prayer and intercession are necessary in our lives as Catholics and is necessary in the life of a farmer. The Register publishes a prayer for rain, and, in addition, Spirit Catholic Radio recorded a prayer for rain and broadcasts it regularly. I even asked the All-Star Polka Show, broadcast from Columbus on Sunday, if they would broadcast the prayer for rain, which they do. Parishes can run a prayer for rain in bulletins and on social media. We must provide the means to assist people and meet them where they are in asking the Lord for His benevolence, protection, and blessing.
Our reliance upon moisture, protection from storms, freedom from breakdowns, stabilizing of markets, balancing of prices, providing of resources and materials is all part of God’s Providence. Let us continue to ask Him for timely, regular, and generous rains for our fields and livestock and for protection from all damaging storms.
Prayer for rain
Good and generous God, Almighty Father, it is with grateful hearts and a humble spirit that we ask for timely and generous rains for our fields, for crops and livestock. We ask that you watch over those who earn their living from the earth—farmers and ranchers—who depend on the rain. Keep them safe in their work. Also, watch over our homes and our families and protect them from any damaging storms (John 14:13). Please know of our sincere gratitude for Your gifts to us. We ask all these things through Your Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
