Laetare Sunday

Today we celebrate the 4th Sunday of Lent, also known as Laetare Sunday.  This term comes from the first word of the Entrance Antiphon for Holy Mass on this day: “Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her.  Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exalt and be satisfied at her consoling breast.”

This antiphon is based on Isaiah 66:10-11, part of the last chapter of Isaiah.  The people are called to rejoice with Jerusalem, a city that suffered afflictions and troubles and was destroyed, but was now being rebuilt with God’s help, and there will be plenty for everyone.  Jerusalem’s destruction was a cause for mourning, but those who have mourned her demise need mourn no more.

But it wasn’t only the fabric of the city that was to be restored, for that would be meaningless; God’s nation, the people whom he loves, would also be restored.

These words of prophecy speak to us today, as we enter the final days of our Lenten pilgrimage.  They foretell the great Paschal Mystery, the fulfilment of God’s promise of salvation, that we are soon to celebrate: the Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension of Our Lord Jesus, through which our relationship with the Father is restored.

We should allow these words to give us hope and courage to maintain our Lenten observances, or return to them if we have faltered.  Thus may we celebrate with hearts filled with joy come Easter night.

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On Laetare Sunday, we also celebrate Mothering Sunday – or Mother’s Day, as commercial advertising would have us call it.  (We celebrate this on a different date to the rest of the world.)  Its origins lie in the Middle Ages, when children who had left home to work in domestic service were allowed to return to their home – or ‘mother’ – church.  Over time, this developed into a celebration of our mothers who, like the Church, have played an important role in nurturing us.