Readings: 2 Samuel 16:1b, 4, 6-7, 10-13; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41
The community Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 AM, Fr. James presiding and preaching. The Fourth Sunday of Lent is traditionally known as Laetare Sunday from the opening word of the Latin version of the Introit: “rejoice!” That Introit is a reminder that Lent isn’t gloom and doom–though when I was growing up, it was often said that, being the fourth of six Sundays in Lent, we were rejoicing because the Season was more than half over. Lent is a season of preparation, of tightening the belt and turning over the soil of our souls, so to speak, to prepare it for new growth. It is a season of labor to prepare ourselves for the joy of the Resurrection, to remove the cataracts blinding our spiritual sight.
The fourth Sunday of Lent is also the second scrutiny of Catechumens growing firmer and more at home in knowledge of their Faith as they draw closer to Baptism.