rogation

Rogation is a term deriving from the Latin rogatio, meaning "a asking" or "a prayerful request." In Christian usage it denotes days of prayer and supplication, especially for protection, relief from calamities, and the blessing of crops.

In Western Christianity, Rogationtide comprises liturgical observances characterized by processions, prayers, and sometimes fasting. The Lesser Rogations are the three days of prayer and fasting leading up to Ascension Day, traditionally marked by outdoor processions and petitions for mercy and blessing. The Greater Rogations, a later development in the medieval church, involved longer processions around towns and fields, with prayers for the well-being of the community and its work.

In the Roman Catholic Church, Rogations are ordinarily celebrated with outdoor processions, the singing of specific prayers or litanies such as the Litany of the Saints, and blessings of crops, fields, and water in rural areas. In many places the practice is now localized to parish communities, and the exact customs vary. The Anglican Communion and some Protestant churches also observe Rogationtide, retaining processions, prayers for harvest and for national peace, and in some cases the blessing of fields.

Outside of liturgical seasons, the term rogation can refer more generally to any formal petition or supplication to God.