This fourth Sunday of Lent is called Laetare Sunday. Laetare is a Latin word which means “rejoice,” and is the first word in the Entrance Antiphon (Rejoice Jerusalem…). Jerusalem, who suffered destruction in 587 B.C. by the Babylonians and would be destroyed again by the Romans in 70 A.D, would ultimately rejoice in Jesus Christ, for his death and resurrection would bring about a new Jerusalem (the City of God).
On this Sunday, the pope often blesses a “golden rose” which is given as a symbol of papal recognition of some outstanding service to the Church. The flower is the symbol of Christ the King – the gold of His kingship, the red of His passion, and the fragrance of His Resurrection and glory. The pope usually gives a homily on the rose. Its beauty and thorns go together just as do the Resurrection and Passion of Jesus.
- Fr. Carl
“Love is the distinctive mark of
those who belong to God, as the
mark of those who reject him is
hatred.”
- The Cure D’Ars
