Today is the day of Major Rogation.
But what does this mean? Rogation days are traditionally days of prayer, fasting, and penitence with the intention to appease God's anger for the sins of man, for protection from natural disaster, and for a fruitful harvest. The minor rogation days occur on the Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays leading up to the feast of Ascension Thursday. The day of major rogation, however, always fell upon the same day of the year. April 25. This day of Major Rogation is the original of the Rogation Days, having once been an ancient Roman feast for their god Robigus, god of wheat rust, and so invoked to protect against any disease that threatened crops. But it was in the year 590 when Pope St. Gregory the Great regulated the day to be that of a great Christian procession in supplication to God to end a plague that had been ravaging Rome. It was on the 25th of April of that year that St. Gregory led this penitential procession throughout the streets of Rome with an icon of the Blessed Virgin, painted by St. Luke, at it's head. As the people marched along the banks of the Tiber they recited the Greater Litany (i.e. the Litany of the Saints), and as they reached the conclusion of the prayer Gregory beheld a vision atop the tomb of Emperor Hadrian. Thus he saw a choir of angels singing the 'Regina Cœli' to the Blessed Virgin seated upon the clouds and just below her St. Michael the Archangel stood atop the old tomb sheathing his fiery sword, thus putting an end to the plague.
Many other Rogation miracles have been reported throughout the centuries, the blind regaining their sight, the lame being healed, and droughts and natural disasters abruptly ending. But perhaps greater than any other miracle that has occurred during the processions of the Major Rogation is when God has brought an end to a time of pestilence. As was done during the time of St. Gregory the Great, so too a miracle of great healing occurred in Mexico in the year 1631.
Exactly 100 years after the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego, another apparition would take place, this time in Tlaxcala to a young Indigenous man named Diego San Lázaro de San Francisco. During this time the people of Nativitas, Mexico where victims of a devastating strain of smallpox that the Natives referred to as, "cocolixtli". And just as St. Gregory had instituted over a thousand years prior, the people were turning to the Greater Litany to save them from this ravenous disease. So on the day of Major Rogation a procession was held and the Litany was sung, and once more an apparition of the Holy Archangel Michael was beheld, this time by young Diego San Lázaro. St. Michael told him of a natural spring not far from the town, that could wash away this illness and heal those afflicted by it. He told Diego to have faith in this vision and to spread it amongst the people, and warned him if he should disobey. At first Diego was thrilled to have seen the Archangel and to have heard his message, but when it had become evident that he was the only witness to such an event, he doubted the miracle and kept St. Michael's message to himself. After several days the Holy Angel became displeased with Diego's negligence and appeared to him once more, this time in reproach for having doubted the message that Michael had given him. He told him that in punishment for his lack of faith he too was now stricken with the deadly disease and thus departed from the man. It only took a week for Diego to be on the threshold of life and death and it was then that a priest was called to deliver unto him his last rites. But suddenly, as Diego lie in bed surrounded by his family, a blinding light filled the small room. Once again St. Michael had appeared to Diego San Lázaro, this time guiding him in a vision to the place that he had spoke of prior. He brought Diego to the sight of the spring, blocked by a large rock. He told him that he was to bring the people of the town to this location, and call upon his name, and the waters will be free. Then St. Michael, wielding a large golden staff, struck the ground. A beam of light from Heaven shown down upon the spot where the spring was to flow, and all the demons of the land cried out. The spring was now blessed. As Diego awoke from his vision he was miraculously cured. He gathered the townspeople and his family and led them to the sight of the apparition, to the large stone that blocked the spring. As they attempted to move the stone, to no avail, Diego remembered Michael's words to call upon him and the rock would be moved. And so he did. A mysterious man suddenly appeared offering his aid in the blockade's removal, and with a simple touch of his hand the stone rolled away. And thus the water gushed forth from the earth and the people celebrated, and all doubts surrounding Diego were gone. With the waters free, afflicted people from all over had begun to have visions of their own of the Archangel telling them to go and drink the water from the spring. Many came to the miraculous sight, and ailments of all kinds were healed. And soon the plague that had ravaged their land, came to an end.
Throughout the ages people have consecrated this day by appealing to God to heal themselves, their families, and their communities from numerous ailments and natural disasters, as well as to bless their crops, the source of their livelihood and food. So let us not forget about the sanctity of today as we too are in the midst of yet another plague. Call upon the Holy Virgin and the Great Archangel, recite the Litany of the Saints, pray for those who are suffering from this illness and for those who labor day and night to put an end to it; and pray for the strength to face the challenges ahead with grace and charity. After all, what else have we to do?
