Laetare Sunday
Dear Ones,
Hard to believe but we are already approaching the 4th Sunday in Lent. And little do many of us know, it’s a special day that doesn’t often get a ton of press, but is a lovely small observance in our tradition.
From An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church:
Laetare Sunday is usually observed on the 4th Sunday of Lent. The term is derived from the opening words of the Latin Mass, “Rejoice (Laetare) Jerusalem” (Is 66:10).The church is called to joyful anticipation of the victory to be won. This joyful theme provides a lightening from the penitential emphasis of Lent. Since the thirteenth century the celebrant of the eucharist has been permitted to wear rose-colored vestments which express the change of tone in the Lenten observance. Laetare Sunday therefore may be called “Rose Sunday.” This custom is not required in the Episcopal Church, but it is observed by some parishes with a traditional Anglo-catholic piety.
While we don’t have rose-colored vestments to observe the day (nor are we particularly Anglo-catholic!), we can still take to heart the idea of this joyful anticipation. Indeed, Sundays in general during Lent, are designed to be Feast Days. If you’ve counted the days in the season, it is actually 46 days long and so the observing of the 40 days of Lent means we are meant to break our fasts to some degree on Sundays to acknowledge the victory that has already been won. While we use a more subdued tone in our liturgies during Sunday, we still celebrate the Eucharist – the primary feast – every week. We do not abstain, because we live in the ‘both/and’… the ‘already/not yet’ …of knowing the story but choosing to walk through it with intention to remember, observe, and grow from it.
I look forward to seeing you in the pews this Sunday for our weekly rejoicing together! Laetare!
Faithfully,
Mother Erika
The Rev. Erika von Haaren
Interim Rector
Christ Church of the Ascension
