A Laetare Sunday Thought to Start the Week Off Right

The Fourth Sunday of Lent - known as Laetare Sunday in the traditional calendar observed for the Extraordinary Form of the Mass - brings us an island of relief in our sea of Lenten disciplinary observances. The rose colored vestments worn today (and on Gaudete Sunday in Advent) lighten up on the usual purple, signaling a pause to refresh ourselves for the duration of these 40 days.

Holy Mother Church brings us this little island of relief to help refresh and sustain us after the first four weeks of Lent. She give us this rose-colored glimmer of glory to remind us, as we prepare for our observation of Passiontide, that Our Lord's suffering and death will be followed by His Resurrection, the source of all our hope.

In that light, here's a prayer to Our Lady of Hope that we posted last year on Laetare Sunday:

“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!”

With our spirits positively bolstered, here's a little shot of secular positive thinking to get our thinking in line with our spirits, a famous tune from the American Songbook as interpreted by the great Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters. Written by Harold Arlen (who wrote the music for The Wizard of Oz among as well as many other popular standards) and Johnny Mercer, a superb lyricist who also sang many of his creations.

Do yourself a Laetare Sunday favor and take a listen.