FROM LOWLINESS TO LAETARE
4 th Sunday in Lent – B March 15, 2015 FROM LOWLINESS TO LAETARE Today is Laetare Sunday. Midway through Lent, the Church tells us to “rejoice” (Laetare) which is a significant word in the Entrance Antiphon. Today, the processional hymn ideally ought to reflect this call to rejoice, as some kind of a break in the discipline of Lent. The readings, as is proper of the season, are all very rich. The first reading, while referring to God’s people and their marked tendency to “mock the messengers” sent from above, also highlights the overflowing mercy of God, who raised up Cyrus, King of Persia, who liberated the Israelites from their exile in Babylon. Now, that event was a watershed moment in the history of salvation – ours, as much as that of the Israelites. The second reading precisely develops the theme of God who is “rich in mercy.” We were all “saved by grace” and “raised up with Christ” being the “handiwork” of God. ...