This Sunday is known as Laetare Sunday.
The entrance antiphon for this Sunday in Latin is “Laetare Jerusalem” or “Rejoice, Jerusalem”. We are halfway through Lent now, and the Church gives us this Sunday to add in a little ‘rejoicing’. The presiders have the option of wearing rose-colored vestments, which just like during Advent, is seen as a mixture of the regular Lenten purple and the upcoming white of Easter. We can add in some greenery or flowers to the sanctuary. We aren’t in the Easter season yet, so we aren’t going to go crazy and sing the Gloria or Alleluia or pull out the Easter lilies! We are still in the Lenten season and it is time to renew our resolutions of this Lent and make sure we’re still on the right path. If you haven’t been good lately on whatever it was you were ‘giving up’ during Lent (chocolate, candy, pop, etc…), it’s time to get back into it; if you were going to do something extra like pray more, it’s time to rejuvenate that prayer! We’re almost to Easter! Stay strong!
Our Gospel today very directly gives us the point – “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Our music reminds us, once again, that we are still in this Lenten season as we reflect on this Gospel passage. “You are Mine” by D. Haas at Communion also directs us to these thoughts: “Do not be afraid, I am with you. I have called you each by name. Come and follow me, I will bring you home; I love you and you are mine.” Our closing song speaks of God’s mercy, something to remember as we are returning to our God, trying to follow Him. He will have mercy on us all. “There’s a wideness in God’s mercy like the wideness of the sea; There’s a kindness in his justice which is more than liberty…for the love of God is broader than the measures of our mind, and the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind.” Let’s get out there and finish strong! Keep praying, fasting and giving alms!