Laetare, Rejoice

Please forgive me that this post is not timely. I should have posted it this morning.

I bless the Lord who gives me
counsel;
in the night also my heart
instructs me.
I keep the Lord always before me;
because He is at my right hand, I
shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my
soul rejoices;
my body also rests secure.
For you do not give me up to Sheol,
or let your faithful one see
the Pit.

You show me the path of life.
In Your presence there is fullness
of joy;
in Your right hand are pleasures
forevermore.
(Psalm 16:7-11)

This Sunday, Laetare Sunday, marks approximately the halfway point as we journey through our desert experience of Lent. During Lent, we do well to keep in mind that we are a people in need of redemption. We are people in need of the grace of God since, left only to our own devices, we would likely fall deep into sin. And no matter who we are, without God's grace, we could not reach eternal life. But Laetare Sunday gives us a chance to remember, within our desert experience, that we do have a God who has redeemed us and who always longs to reconcile us to Himself and to draw us closer to Himself. Laetare means "rejoice." On Laetare Sunday, we have a chance to celebrate the gift of our redemption, the works that God is performing within us this Lent, and all that He has given to us.

Rev. Christopher M. Mahar has a wonderful reflection on what this means on his blog:

"This Laetare Sunday we are reminded that even in the midst of our desert experience, even in the middle of Lent, we have great reason to celebrate and rejoice: Jesus Christ has come, He has suffered and died for us, and is risen from the dead. Even now we anticipate that joy of Easter."

and

"Christ comes from heaven to earth, into this icy world, to suffer and die on the cross and to break the curse of sin and death which has touched us all. He has come to reconcile us to God and to each other. He comes to inaugurate what St. Paul, in our second reading today, calls the Ministry of Reconciliation. He says: 'God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the ministry of reconciliation'(2 Corinthians 5:19).... That’s the reason we rejoice this Laetare Sunday: because we have received and been given the Ministry of Reconciliation. That’s the reason we can sing for joy in what God has done and in what He is doing in the world around us."

Lord,
Thank you for the goodness You are producing within us this Lent. Help us to stand afresh this second half of Lent, giving You our sacrifices, trusting You will continue to create good from the sacrifices we give to You. May we allow You to reconcile us to Yourself and give us the opportunity to make use of Your Sacrament often during this season. Let us rest secure, knowing that You have redeemed us and do love us, and knowing that You will teach us to walk by the right paths and will help us on the way.
Amen.