Laetare, Ierusalem

Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,

   all you who love her;

rejoice with her in joy,

   all you who mourn over her— 

that you may nurse and be satisfied

   from her consoling breast;

that you may drink deeply with delight

   from her glorious bosom. (Isaiah 66:10-11 NRSV)

Tomorrow, the Fourth Sunday in Lent is Laetare Sunday, Rejoice Sunday, Rose Sunday. It’s a day of refreshment and joy easing the penitential surroundings of the season, and the proper liturgical color is rose pink instead of penitential purple.

If there were a Lenten Wreath, tomorrow's candle would be pink, as it is on Gaudete Sunday, Rejoice Sunday in Advent.

The day has its name from the first word of the Introit, the opening to the Mass, in Latin, “Laetare,” “Rejoice.” Observed in the Roman Church, except for Anglo-Catholic parishes most Episcopal parishes do not observe Rose Sunday because the reason for it has vanished along with the Introit.

Tomorrow is also known as Refreshment Sunday, and in England it’s Mothering Sunday, like our Mothers Day in the U.S. The origin of that should be clear to anyone who reads the Introit.

Laetare, Ierusalem: et conventum facite omnes qui diligitis eam. Rejoice, Jerusalem and gather round, all you who love her; rejoice in gladness, after having been in sorrow, exult and be replenished with the consolation flowing from her motherly bosom.

TW+