Most Catholics today are used to the Mass being celebrated in English, and they hardly ever think about the fact that Latin remains the official language of the Catholic Church. But occasionally, Latin reasserts itself, as it does in the case of Laetare Sunday.

So, what is Laetare Sunday? Answer: Laetare Sunday is the popular name for the Fourth Sunday in Lent. Laetare means "Rejoice" in Latin, and the Introit (entrance antiphon) in both the Traditional Latin Mass and the Novus Ordo (the Mass we celebrate in English) is Isaiah 66:10-11, which begins "Laetare, Jerusalem" ("Rejoice, O Jerusalem").

Because the midpoint of Lent is the Thursday of the third week of Lent, Laetare Sunday has traditionally been viewed as a day of celebration, on which the austerity of Lent is briefly lessened. The passage from Isaiah continues, "rejoice (!) with joy, you that have been in sorrow," and on Laetare Sunday, the purple vestments and altar cloths of Lent are set aside, and rose ones may be used instead. Flowers, which are normally forbidden during Lent, may be placed in the sanctuary. Traditionally, the organ was never played during Lent, except on Laetare Sunday.

Laetare Sunday is also known as Rose Sunday or Refreshment Sunday, and it has a counterpart in Advent: Gaudete Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent, when purple vestments are exchanged for rose ones. The point of both days is to provide us encouragement as we progress toward the end of each respective
penitential season.

We welcome Fr. Melvin Shorter, C.P., by way of the Holy Family Passionist Monastery and who is serving in Paris, France, as our celebrant at our Masses this weekend. Fr. Shorter will also lead us in a Parish Mission on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights (March 16, 17, and 18) this coming week and I invite all of our parishioners to come to the Mission. It has been a number of years since our last Mission and I look forward to hearing Fr. Shorter and encourage you also to attend. The Mission begins at 6:30 p.m. and lasts just one hour.