ROGATION SUNDAY
The fifth Sunday after Easter being the first day of the week in which
the Rogation days occur, has taken its name from them, and is usually called
Rogation Sunday. The striking appropriateness of the Gospel, which
contains our Lord's words about asking in His Name, seems to indicate that
it was either chosen for this day on account of its position with reference
to the Rogation days, or that the latter were appointed to be observed
on the three days following because the Gospel already distinguished this
as the Sunday concerning Asking. Both the Epistle and Gospel are
found in the Lectionary of St. Jerome; and as the Rogation days are generally
said to have been instituted in the fifth century, the latter seems the
more probable theory. The Collect has an evident connection with
the purpose of the Rogation days; and so, perhaps, has the latter part
of the Epistle. Bishop Cosin wished to insert a new rubric at the
end of the Gospel, "This Collect, Epistle, and Gospel shall be used only
upon this day."
