Laetare Sunday 2009
IV Sunday Lent
Today marks Lent’s mid-point, called Laetare Sunday, and is the reason why in many churches the priest opts for rose vestments rather than violet. The rose is intended to be a lighter violet, rather than what can sometimes be seen as pink. The lighter violet, or rose, is a special sign of joy intended to encourage us on our penitential path through Lent, to Holy Week, and eventually Easter, Resurrection Sunday.
In the readings today, St Paul and St John remind us of our need for faith and good works, which are traditionally two important themes for Lent.
St. John tells us in his Gospel that Jesus tells Nicodemus that to have eternal life we must believe in him. Jesus, and faith in him, are our means to our salvation and to eternal happiness with him in heaven.
When I was 3 years in a protestant middle school, we heard repeatedly during our Wednesday church services that we needed to accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Saviour, or we would go to Hell. We were also taught that once we were saved, we were always saved. I was confused, wondering what the Catholic method of salvation is and was afraid to ask. My siblings and I decided to “accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Saviour,” just in case. We wanted to have our bases covered!
Now I look back and laugh a bit at my naïveté, though I also wonder how I didn’t grasp that we Catholics uphold the same idea of faith in Christ our Saviour as an essential element of our salvation, beginning first at baptism, which Our Lord, Himself, says in the gospel is necessary for salvation. The once saved, always saved idea doesn’t work—even St Paul says in his epistles that he works out his salvation in fear and trembling every day.
St James’ epistle adverts us, though, that our faith without good works is dead. Our Lord tells us in today’s Gospel reading the same thing, essentially. If we profess belief in Christ, then we claim to live in the light, not in darkness. As Christians, 0ur works are good (or should be), they evidence our faith, and we are not ashamed to live so that our works can be seen by all. It is good to remember that we do our works for God, so humility encourages us to work silently, though in the light, not fearing that these works be known by others.
It is important for us to remember that our faith is a gift from God, which we return to him as ours. Likewise, the salvation he offers us is his free gift to us, which we can accept or reject, as we please. St Paul’s epistle today reminds us that we are created good and for good works. By our own free will we can choose evil and can choose to do evil.
At the same time, we can choose to turn from evil and turn toward God. An important aid for us to turn toward God, to strengthen our faith, and to make our good work more fruitful is to take advantage of the sacrament of confession, an important tool for a fruitful Lent and a great moment of freeing ourselves from our burden of sin and starting anew our relationship with God and the Church community.
St. Paul starts this second reading telling us that God is rich in mercy because of his great love for us, even when we are in sin. This assurance should console us and encourage us as we contemplate eternity, place our faith in Jesus as Savior, live our baptismal promises and the sacraments, and fill our life full of good works and virtue.
By being God’s adopted sons and daughters in baptism, we can respond to Cain’s question to God: “Yes, we are our brother’s keeper. We are here to help each other here on Earth to have our needs met as best we can, and especially to help each other reach heaven, or at least purgatory.”
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