This Sunday, called, from the first word of the Introit, Laetare Sunday, is one of the most solemn of the year. The Church interrupts her Lenten mournfulness. The chants of the Mass speak of nothing but joy and consolation. The organ which has been silent during the preceding three Sundays now gives forth its melodious voice. The deacon resumes his dalmatic, and the subdeacon his dunic, and instead of purple, rose-coloured vestments are allowed to be used. These same rites were practised in Advent, on the third Sunday, called Gaudete. The Church’s motive for introducing this expression of joy in today’s Liturgy is to encourage her children to persevere fervently to the end of this holy Season. The real Mid-Lent was last Thursday, as we have already observed, but the Church, fearing lest the joy might lead to some infringement on the spirit of penance, has deferred her own notice of it to this Sunday, when she not only permits, but even bids, her children to rejoice!
The Station at Rome is in the Basilica of Holy Cross in Jerusalem, one of the seven principal Churches of the Holy City. It was built in the fourth century by the Emperor Constantine in one of his villas, called Sessorius, on which account it goes also under the name of the Sessorian Basilica. The Emperor’s mother, Saint Helena, enriched it with most precious relics, and wished to make it the Jerusalem of Rome. It was with this intention that she ordered a great quantity of earth taken from Mount Calvary to be put on the site. Among the other relics of the Instruments of the Passion which she gave to this Church was the Inscription which was fastened to the Cross. It is still kept there and is called the Title of the Cross. The name of Jerusalem — which has been given to this Basilica, and which recalls to our minds the heavenly Jerusalem, towards which we are tending —suggested the choosing it as today’s Station. Up to the fourteenth century (when Avignon became, for a time, the City of the Popes), the ceremony of the Golden Rose took place in this Church. At present it is blessed in the Palace where the Sovereign Pontiff happens to be residing at this Season.
The blessing of the Golden Rose is one of the ceremonies peculiar to the Fourth Sunday of Lent, which is called on this account Rose Sunday. The thoughts suggested by this flower harmonise with the sentiments with which the Church would now inspire her children. The joyous time of Easter is soon to give them a spiritual Spring, of which that of nature is but a feeble image. Hence, we cannot be surprised that the institution of this ceremony is of a very ancient date. We find it observed under the Pontificate of Saint Leo the Ninth (eleventh century), and we have a Sermon on the Golden Rose preached by the glorious Pope Innocent the Third on this Sunday and in the Basilica of Holy Cross in Jerusalem.
In the Middle Ages, when the Pope resided in the Lateran Palace, having first blessed the Rose, he went on horseback to the Church of the Station. He wore the mitre, was accompanied by all the Cardinals, and held the blessed flower in his hand. Having reached the Basilica, he made a discourse on the mysteries symbolised by the beauty, the colour and the fragrance of the rose. Mass was then celebrated. After the Mass the Pope returned to the Lateran Palace. Surrounded by the sacred College, he rode across the immense plain which separates the two Basilicas, with the mystic flower still in his hand. We may imagine the joy of the people as they gazed on the holy symbol. When the procession had got to the Palace gates, if there were a Prince present, it was his privilege to hold the stirrup and assist the Pontiff to dismount, for which filial courtesy he received the rose which had received so much honour and caused such joy.
At present, the ceremony is not quite so solemn. Still the principal rites are observed. The Pope blesses the Golden Rose in the vestiary. He anoints it with Holy Chrism, over which he sprinkles a scented powder, as formerly, and when the hour for Mass is come, he goes to the Palace Chapel, holding the flower in his hand. During the Holy Sacrifice it is fastened to a golden rose-branch prepared for it on the Altar. After the Mass, it is brought to the Pontiff, who holds it in his hand as he returns from the Chapel to the vestiary. It is usual for the Pope to send the rose to some prince or princess, as a mark of honour. Sometimes, it is a city or a church that receives the flower. We subjoin a free translation of the beautiful prayer used by the Sovereign Pontiff when blessing the Golden Rose. It will give our readers a clearer appreciation of this ceremony, which adds so much solemnity to the Fourth Sunday of Lent.
“O GOD, by whose word and power all things were created, and by whose will they are all governed! You that are the joy and gladness of all your faithful people, we beseech your Divine Majesty, that you vouchsafe to bless and sanctify this rose, so lovely in its beauty and fragrance. We are to bear it, this day, in our hands, as a symbol of spiritual joy, that thus, the people that is devoted to your service, being set free from the captivity of Babylon, by the grace of your only-Begotten Son, who is the glory and the joy of Israel, may show forth, with a sincere heart, the joys of that Jerusalem, which is above, and is our Mother. And whereas your Church seeing this symbol, exults with joy, for the glory of your Name — do, Lord, give her true and perfect happiness. Accept her devotion, forgive us our sins, increase our faith. Heal us by your word, protect us by your mercy. Remove all obstacles. Grant us all blessings that thus, this same your Church may offer to you the fruit of good works, and walking in the odour of the fragrance of that flower which sprang from the Root of Jesse and is called the Flower of the Field, and the Lily of the Valley, may she deserve to enjoy an endless joy in the bosom of heavenly glory, in the society of all the Saints, together with that Divine Flower, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.”
We now come to the explanation of another name given to the Fourth Sunday of Lent, which was suggested by the Gospel of the day. We find this Sunday called in several ancient documents, the Sunday of the Five Loaves. The miracle alluded to in this title not only forms an essential portion of the Church’s instructions during Lent, but it is also an additional element of today’s joy. We forget for an instant the coming Passion of the Son of God to give our attention to the greatest of the benefits He has bestowed on us, for under the figure of these loaves multiplied by the power of Jesus, our faith sees that Bread which came down from heaven, and gives life to the world (John vi. 33). The Pasch, says our Evangelist, was near at hand, and in a few days our Lord will say to us: With desire I have desired to eat this Pasch with you (Luke xxii. 15). Before leaving this world to go to His Father, Jesus desires to feed the multitude that follows Him, and in order to this He displays His omnipotence. Well may we admire that creative power which feeds five thousand men with five loaves and two fishes, and in such wise, that even after all have partaken of the feast as much as they would, there remain fragments enough to fill twelve baskets. Such a miracle is, indeed, an evident proof of Jesus’ mission, but He intends it as a preparation for something far more wonderful: He intends it as a figure and a pledge of what He is soon to do, not merely once or twice, but every day, even to the end of time. Not only for five thousand men, but for the countless multitudes of believers. Think of the millions, who, this very year, are to partake of the banquet of the Pasch, and yet, He whom we have seen born in Bethlehem (the House of Bread), He is to be the nourishment of all these guests. Neither will the Divine Bread fail. We are to feast as did our fathers before us and the generations that are to follow us will be invited as we now are, to come and taste how sweet is the Lord (Psalm xxxiii. 9). But observe, it is in a desert place, (as we learn from Saint Matthew (xiv. 13)) that Jesus feeds these men, who represent us Christians. They have quitted the bustle and noise of cities in order to follow Him. So anxious are they to hear his words, that they fear neither hunger nor fatigue, and their courage is rewarded.
A like recompense will crown our labours — our fasting and abstinence — which are now more than half over. Let us, then, rejoice, and spend this day with the light-heartedness of pilgrims who are near the end of their journey. The happy moment is advancing, when our soul, united and filled with her God, will look back with pleasure on the fatigues of the body, which, together with our heart’s compunction, have merited for her a place at the Divine Banquet. The primitive Church proposed this miracle of the multiplication of the loaves as a symbol of the Eucharist, the Bread that never fails. We find it frequently represented in the paintings of the Catacombs and on the bas-reliefs of the ancient Christian tombs. The fishes, too, that were given together with the loaves, are represented on these venerable monuments of our faith for the early Christians considered the fish to be the symbol of Christ, because the word fish in Greek, is made up of five letters, each of which is the initial of these words: Jesus Christ, Son (of) God, Saviour.
The Greek Church, too, keeps this Sunday with much solemnity. According to her manner of counting the days of Lent, this is the great day of the week called, as we have already noticed, Mesonestios. The solemn adoration of the Cross takes place today and breaking through her rule of never admitting a saint’s feast during Lent, this mid-Lent Sunday is kept in honour of the celebrated Abbot of the Monastery of Mount Sinai, Saint John Climacus, who lived in the sixth century.Epistle – Galatians iv. 22‒31
Brethren, it is written that Abraham had two sons. One by a bondwoman and the other by a free-woman. But he who was of the bond-woman was born according to the flesh. He of the free-woman was by promise. Which things are said by an allegory. For these are the two testaments. The one from Mount Sinai, engendering to bondage, which is Agar, for Sinai is a mountain in Arabia which has affinity to that Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But that Jerusalem which is above is free, which is our mother. For it is written, “Rejoice, you barren that bear not. Break forth and cry, you that travail not, for many are the children of the desolate, more than of her that has a husband.” Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born according to the flesh persecuted him that was after the spirit, so also it is now. But what said the Scripture? “Cast out the bond-woman and her son, for the son of the bond-woman will not be heir with the son of the free-woman.” So, then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free, by the freedom with which Christ has made us free.Thanks be to God.
Dom Prosper Guéranger:
Let us, then, rejoice! — we are children, not of Sina, but of Jerusalem. Our mother, the holy Church is not a bond-woman, but free and it is to freedom that she has brought us up. Israel served God in fear. His heart was ever tending to idolatry, and could only be kept to duty by the heavy yoke of chastisement. More happy than he, we serve God through love. Our yoke is sweet and our burden is light (Matthew xi. 30). We are not citizens of the earth: we are but pilgrims passing through it to our true country, the Jerusalem which is above. We also have too long been grovelling in the goods of this world: we have been slaves to sin, and the more the chains of our bondage weighed on us, the more we talked of our being free. Now is the favourable time. Now are the days of salvation: we have obeyed the Church’s call and have entered into the practice and spirit of Lent. Sin seems to us now to be the heaviest of yokes: the flesh, a dangerous burden, the world, a merciless tyrant. We begin to breathe the fresh air of holy liberty, and the hope of our speedy deliverance fills us with transports of joy. Let us, with all possible affection, thank our Divine Liberator who delivers us from the bondage of Agar, emancipates us from the law of fear, and making us his new people, opens to us the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem, at the price of His Blood.Gospel – John vi. 1‒15
At that time Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is that of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed Him because they saw the miracles which He did on them that were diseased. Jesus therefore went up into a mountain and there He sat with his disciples. Now the Pasch, the festival day of the Jews, was near at hand. When Jesus therefore had lifted up His eyes and seen that a very great multitude came to Him, He said to Philip: “Where shall we buy bread that these may eat?” And this He said to try him, for He Himself knew what he would do. Philip answered, “Two hundred penny worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that everyone may take a little.” One of His disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to Him, “There is a boy here that has five barley loaves and two fishes, but what are these among so many?” Then Jesus said, “Make the men sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. The men therefore sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves and when He had given thanks, He distributed to them that were set down. In like manner, also of the fishes, as much as they would. And when they were filled He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, lest they be lost.” They gathered up, therefore, and filled up twelve baskets with fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above to them that had eaten. Now those men, when they had seen what a miracle Jesus had done said, “This is of a truth the prophet that is to come into the world.” Jesus therefore, when He knew that they would come to take Him by force and make Him king, fled again into the mountains Himself alone.Praise be to you, O Christ.
Dom Prosper Guéranger:
These men whom Jesus has been feeding by a miracle of love and power are resolved to make Him their King. They have no hesitation in proclaiming Him worthy to reign over them, for where can they find one worthier? What, then, shall we Christians do, who know the goodness and the power of Jesus incomparably better than these poor Jews? We must beseech Him to reign over us, from this day forward. We have just been reading in the Epistle that it is He who has made us free by delivering us from our enemies. O glorious liberty! But the only way to maintain it is to live under His Law. Jesus is not a tyrant, as are the world and the flesh. His rule is sweet and peaceful, and we are His children rather than His servants. In the court of such a King “to serve is to reign.” What, then, have we to do with our old slavery? If some of its chains be still on us, let us lose no time — let us break them, for the Pasch is near at hand: the great feast day begins to dawn. Onwards, then, courageously to the end of our journey! Jesus will refresh us. He will make us sit down as He did the men of the Gospel, and the bread He has in store for us will make us forget all our past fatigues.
