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By the time we reach the Fourth Sunday of Lent—Laetare Sunday—we can feel Lent’s weight. We’ve been fasting, praying, and giving alms for weeks now, and Easter still seems far away. If you’ve been struggling, you’re not alone. The Church, in her wisdom, knows that we need a little encouragement at this point, and that’s exactly what Laetare Sunday offers. This Sunday is different from the others in Lent. The penitential purple gives way to joyful rose vestments, the music may feel a little lighter, and the word “Rejoice!” (which is what Laetare means) is proclaimed in the entrance antiphon. But why? And how can we truly live out this joy in our homes and hearts? Let’s dive into the meaning of Laetare Sunday, its history, and some practical ways to celebrate it with your family. What Is Laetare Sunday? Laetare Sunday is the halfway point of Lent, a moment of joyful anticipation amid our penitential journey. The name comes from the opening words of the Introit (entrance antiphon) of the Mass: "Laetare, Jerusalem! Rejoice, O Jerusalem! Be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her." (Isaiah 66:10-11) This isn’t just a nice thought—it’s a profound theological reality. The Church is telling us to lift our heads, to recognize that our sacrifices and sufferings are leading somewhere. Easter is near. The Resurrection is coming. We are not meant to dwell in sorrow forever , and even in the midst of penance, joy is possible. Liturgically, this Sunday mirrors Gaudete Sunday in Advent. Just as Gaudete Sunday gives us a taste of the joy of Christmas, Laetare Sunday reminds us that Lent is not meant to be endless gloom but a path leading us to the victory of Christ. A Little History: The “Golden Rose” Tradition Laetare Sunday has been marked by a special papal tradition dating back to at least the 11th century—the blessing of the Golden Rose. Popes would bless a golden rose and send it as a gift to Catholic rulers or significant churches, symbolizing the joy and hope of the season. This custom, though not as commonly practiced today, reinforces the idea that joy is a gift meant to be shared. The rose vestments that priests wear on this day connect to this same theme. The somber purple of penance is lightened, pointing us toward the glory ahead. The color reminds us that suffering and joy are intertwined —Jesus’ Passion leads to the Resurrection. Living Out Laetare Sunday in Your Home The liturgical life of the Church isn’t just meant to take place in the church itself—it’s meant to shape how we live in our homes, too. Laetare Sunday is an opportunity to pause, reflect, and bring a little foretaste of Easter’s joy into our everyday lives. Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Lighten the Atmosphere at Home Since Laetare Sunday is about lifting our spirits, let your home reflect that! Open the curtains, let in fresh air, set fresh flowers on the table, and maybe even bring out a pink candle or tablecloth as a nod to the rose vestments. 2. Enjoy a Slightly Festive Meal While we are still in Lent, the Church allows for a small reprieve on Laetare Sunday. If you’ve been abstaining from treats, consider making a special dessert—something light and joyful, like a fruit tart or a cake with pink frosting. A rosé wine or sparkling cider could also be a nice addition. 3. Pray the Laetare Introit as a Family Before or after dinner, read aloud the entrance antiphon: "Rejoice, O Jerusalem! Be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her." Talk about what this means for your Lenten journey. How has Lent been going? Where have you seen God’s grace? Where do you need encouragement? 4. Reflect on the Joy of Salvation Take a moment to read John 3:14-21 or Ephesians 2:4-10 as a family or in personal prayer. These passages highlight the mercy and love of God, reminding us that our sacrifices are not in vain. 5. Acts of Joyful Charity One of the best ways to live out Laetare Sunday is to spread joy. Consider reaching out to someone who could use encouragement—a friend, a family member, or a fellow parishioner who might be struggling this Lent. A simple text, call, or even an old-fashioned letter can brighten someone’s day. 6. Reflect on What It Means to Rejoice in the Lord We often think of joy as an emotion, but in the Christian life, joy is a virtue, an interior disposition . Laetare Sunday invites us to recognize that even amid suffering, we have reason to rejoice—because Jesus has already won the victory. Take a Breath, And Let's Keep Going Laetare Sunday is a breath of fresh air in Lent, a day when the Church reminds us to press on toward Easter with hope. It’s a time to lift our heads, take a deep breath, and remember that the sacrifices we make are leading us to something glorious. So, as you go about your day, let joy find a home in your heart. Smile a little more. Laugh with your family. Pray with gratitude. And above all, remember—you are walking toward the light of Christ, and that is always a reason to rejoice. Laetare, Jerusalem! Would you like to celebrate Laetare Sunday in a special way this year? Let me know in the comments how you plan to bring joy into your home!

As Lent approaches, many of us are seeking to deepen our spiritual practices and draw closer to our faith. Whether you're looking for guidance, inspiration, or reflection during this sacred season, books can be invaluable companions on your Lenten journey. Idea: Household Book Stacks or Baskets Something that I like to do at the start of a new liturgical season is to freshen up our prayer corner with a book stack that fits the themes and topics we are approaching. For Lent, we delve into the usual trifecta of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, but we also give consideration to themes like self-discipline, communion with God, and transformative suffering. These seasonal stacks can be done for anyone in your household, whether it be for yourself, your spouse, or children. It's beneficial for everyone to sit and spend time with a good book. When I was teaching littles I would put together book baskets for the children with carefully chosen reading materials that would help them grow at an age appropriate level. They loved taking their little baskets to a cozy corner with pillows and stuffed animals to enjoy quiet reading time. Tip: Reading Routine and Timers Especially for children it might be helpful for you to set a regular reading time and I have found in my years as a teacher that having a reading timer is also useful to create positive expectations for how long quiet reading time will be. This will also give you the relatively uninterrupted quiet reading time that you need too. Here are some book recommendations to help enrich your Lenten experience. If there is a book that you'd like to share with us please put that in the comments. Apart from the cross there is no other ladder by which we may go to Heaven. -St. Rose of Lima Lenten Book Recommendations for Spiritual Growth Trusting in Jesus: This beautiful journal will help cultivate intentional prayer by providing daily Scripture and prayer prompts for the forty days (as well as the six Sundays) leading up to Easter, fostering joy and gratitude for what Jesus has done through His death and resurrection. Festive Faith: Festive Faith is a treasury of more than seventy festive traditions celebrated in various cultural groups during specific seasons or on particular days of our liturgical year. For each one, Aquila shares a brief history, a description of what the custom involves, and practical adaptations for celebrating it today. She tells you the why and the how of these traditions and shares tips on how to make them accessible, attainable, and authentic for everyone in your household, neighborhood, and parish communities. Divine Intimacy : This Book of Meditations is a classic and is seeped in Carmelite spirituality. For every day it offers two meditations, in liturgical arrangement, that enable the soul to enter the conscious presence of God and to reflect on the theme of the day. The Bible Lent and Easter Wisdom from St. Pope John Paul II : Each daily reflection--from Ash Wednesday through the Second Sunday of Easter--begins with thoughts from Pope John Paul II on some appropriate theme, supported by Scripture, a prayer, and a suggested activity for spiritual growth. Mary, Teach Me to Be Your Daughter : Offers inspiration to live out Mary’s virtues with prayerfulness and peace. You will find themselves drawn closer to the Blessed Mother and uncover new depths to their relationship with her and her Son. The Passion of Christ Through the Eyes of Mary : You will find two of the most stirring revelations of Christ’s passion and death ever recorded by Doctors of the Church—Saint Anselm, the Magnificent Doctor, along with writings attributed to Saint Bernard, the Mellifluous Doctor. These private revelations given by Our Lady will enhance one’s prayer life while drawing one deeper into the passion narratives of the Gospels. The Little Way of Lent : While reading the autobiography of St. Thérèse, Fr. Caster had an 'ah ha' moment that transformed his experience of Lent from one of narrow concern over what to give up to one of joyful freedom to enter into the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. "What struck me," he says, "was her insistence on the way we do things for God and not the things we do for him. It wasn't about what I was offering; it was about why." In Sinu Jesu : In Sinu Jesu recounts the graces experienced in the life of one priest through the healing and strengthening power of Eucharistic adoration. At the same time, it issues an urgent call to all priests—and, indeed, to all Christians—to be renewed in holiness through adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament and consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces. Introduction to the Devout Life : A book to be read with pencil in hand again and again. It is a book to make your guide for the rest of your life. It goes to the heart of becoming good. Its aim is to help you be rid of sin and even the inclinations to sin. The Tears of Christ : "Jesus wept, not merely from the deep thoughts of his understanding but from spontaneous tenderness, from the goodness and mercy, the encompassing loving-kindness and exuberant a ffect ion of the Son of God for his own work, the race of man.'' This precious insight takes us to the heart of the interior life of St. John Henry Newman (1801-1890), from the treasures of which these meditations are offered as a devotional aid for the season of Lent. Life of Christ by Fulton Sheen : Hailed as the most eloquent of Fulton J. Sheen's many books. The fruit of many years of reflection, prayer, and research, it is a dramatic and moving recounting of the birth, life, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Christ, and a passionate portrait of the God-Man, the teacher, the healer, and, most of all, the Savior, whose promise has sustained humanity for two millenia. Confessions by St. Augustine : The autobiography of his early life in a time of gratuitous indulgence and sin. Having rigorously engaged in such a life, before converting and being baptised into Christianity, Augustine is perhaps one of the most relatable saints of all time. The Screwtape Letters : C.S. Lewis gives us the correspondence of the wordly-wise devil to his nephew Wormwood, a novice demon in charge of securing the damnation of an ordinary young man. The Screwtape Letters is the most engaging account of temptation—and triumph over it—ever written.  “Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts...Your affectionate uncle, Screwtape.” Tell me in the comments which of these books you've read and if any of them are your favorite. If you found this post helpful I invite you to subscribe for more or share this post. Every day I put out practical tips and tricks for engaging in the liturgical year with lots of theology to help you understand the "why." Welcome! 🙏

by Father William Saunders Shrove Tuesday is the last day of what traditionally was called "Shrovetide," the week preceding the beginning of Lent. The word itself, Shrovetide, is the English equivalent for "Carnival," which is derived from the Latin words carnem levare, meaning "to take away the flesh." (Note that in Germany, this period is called "Fasching," and in parts of the United States, particularly Louisiana, "Mardi Gras.") While this was seen as the last chance for merriment, and, unfortunately in some places, has resulted in excessive pleasure, Shrovetide was the time to cast off things of the flesh and to prepare spiritually for Lent. Actually, the English term provides the best meaning for this period. "To shrive" meant to hear confessions. In the Anglo-Saxon "Ecclesiastical Institutes," recorded by Theodulphus and translated by Abbot Aelfric about AD 1000, Shrovetide was described as follows: "In the week immediately before Lent everyone shall go to his confessor and confess his deeds and the confessor shall so shrive him as he then may hear by his deeds what he is to do in the way of penance." To highlight the point and motivate the people, special plays or masques were performed which portrayed the passion of our Lord or final judgment. Clearly, this Shrovetide preparation for Lent included the confessing of sin and the reception of absolution; as such, Lent then would become a time for penance and renewal of faith. While this week of Shrovetide condoned the partaking of pleasures from which a person would abstain during Lent, Shrove Tuesday had a special significance in England. Pancakes were prepared and enjoyed, because in so doing a family depleted their eggs, milk, butter, and fat which were part of the Lenten fast. At this time, some areas of the Church abstained from all forms of meat and animal products, while others made exceptions for food like fish. For example, Pope St. Gregory (d. 604), writing to St. Augustine of Canterbury, issued the following rule: "We abstain from flesh, meat, and from all things that come from flesh, as milk, cheese, and eggs." These were the fasting rules governing the Church in England; hence, the eating of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. Keep in mind, for this same reason, Easter was celebrated with decorated eggs and fresh breads. Another interesting note surrounding the Easter egg, just as an aside, is that it symbolized the resurrection: just as a little chick pecks its way out from the egg shell to emerge to new life, so Christ emerged from the tomb to new and everlasting life. One last point: When the "carnival" or "mardi gras" became for some people a debauched party, the Church tried to restore the penitential nature of this time. In 1748, Pope Benedict XIV instituted the "Forty Hours of Carnival," whereby prayers were offered and the Blessed Sacrament was exposed in churches during the three days preceding Ash Wednesday. In a letter entitled, "Super Bacchanalibus," he granted a plenary indulgence to anyone who adored the exposed Blessed Sacrament by offering prayers and making atonement for sins. As we prepare to begin Lent, perhaps after a hearty dinner of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, may we take time for extra prayer, particularly the Stations of the Cross, and various penances to overcome our weaknesses and to atone for our sins. Fr. Saunder is pastor of Our Lady of Hope Church in Potomac Falls. Copyright ©2004 Arlington Catholic Herald. All rights reserved.

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