A Laetare Sunday Thought About Our Lady of Hope

Laetare Sunday and Our Lady of Hope fit so well together. Laetare Sunday brings us some respite from our Lenten discipline, a day which lifts our minds and hearts beyond the coming Passion and Death of Our Lord to His Resurrection and our salvation. The rose-colored vestments recommended for today's Mass - once common on Laetare Sunday, but which so few priests wear anymore - emphasize those first words of the Introit "Laetare Jerusalem," Rejoice, O Jerusalem. The penitential purple gives way to the relaxed and joyful rose. In this spirit we lighten our normal Lenten rigor.

Here is a prayer I came across to Our Lady of Hope that not only fits this Laetare Sunday, but every day of our lives as we earnestly seek our eternal salvation in the midst of our struggle against sin.  

“O Mary, my Mother, I kneel before thee with a heavy heart. The burden of my sins oppresses me. The knowledge of my weakness discourages me. I am beset by fears and temptations of every sort. Yet I am so attached to the things of this world that instead of longing for heaven I am filled with dread at the thought of death. O Mother of Mercy, have pity on me in my distress! Thou art all-powerful with thy Divine Son, He can refuse no request of thy Immaculate Heart. Show thyself a true Mother to me by being my advocate before His throne. O Refuge of Sinners and Hope of the Hopeless, to whom shall I turn if not to thee? Obtain for me, then, O Mother of Hope, the grace of true sorrow for my sins, the gift of perfect resignation to God’s holy will, and the courage to take up my cross and follow Jesus. Beg of His Sacred Heart the special favor that I ask in this prayer. But above all, I pray, O dearest Mother, that through thy most powerful intercession my heart may be filled with holy hope, so that in life’s darkest hour I may never fail to trust in God my Savior; but by walking in the way of His commandments I may merit to be united with Him, and with thee, in the eternal joys of heaven. Amen. Mary, our hope, have pity on us! Hope of the hopeless, pray for us!”

Happy Laetare Sunday!