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Laetare Sunday, the Golden Rose, Simnel Cakes, Lenten Marriage, and Mothering Sunday
Canterbury Tales ^
| 3/26/2006
| Father Peregrinator.
Posted on 03/26/2006 3:44:39 PM PST by sionnsar
Today is Laetare Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Lent. In the UK it is till called "Mothering Sunday" because of the fact that in the 16th century, the faithful returned to their "mother church" or Cathedral for a service to be held on the 4th Sunday of Lent. Anyone who took this "mini-pilgrimage" was said to have gone 'a-mothering.'
Since people each returned to a central location, families that had been seperated (remember there were no cars or trains) were reunited. This custom existed into the 19th century in a more secular form: servants were allowed on this weekend to go home and visit their family.
Also associated with this Sunday are the traditional Simnel Cakes baked to celebrate the reunification of families and a refreshing break from Lent.
In some places, this Sunday is the only time during Lent in which Christian marriage may be solemnized. And let's not forget the rose vestments. Rose colored vestments apparently have two different explanations. The first is the that the color of rose comes from the floral gifts given to mothers on account of sons being able to see the mothers once again upon reunification with their families. The other more likely origin comes from the tradition of the Golden Rose. On this fourth Sunday of Lent, the Pope would bless the "Golden Rose" to be sent to Catholic kings and queens. This Sunday became known as "Dominca de Rosa," and eventually rose colored vestments were introduced to complement the theme.
All that being said, have a happy, refreshing, and holy Laetare, Mothering, Refreshment, Rose Sunday.
TOPICS: Mainline Protestant
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[We don't have rose-colored vestments, but our Ordo Kalendar did indicate Rose Sunday. --sionnsar]
1
posted on
03/26/2006 3:44:41 PM PST
by
sionnsar
To: ahadams2; axegrinder; AnalogReigns; Uriah_lost; Condor 63; Fractal Trader; Zero Sum; ...
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder
Arlin Adams.
FReepmail sionnsar if you want on or off this moderately high-volume ping list (typically 3-9 pings/day).
This list is pinged by
sionnsar,
Huber and
newheart.
Resource for Traditional Anglicans:
http://trad-anglican.faithweb.com More articles
here.
Humor:
The Anglican Blue (by Huber)
Speak the truth in love. Eph 4:15
2
posted on
03/26/2006 3:45:15 PM PST
by
sionnsar
(†trad-anglican.faithweb.com† | Libs: Celebrate MY diversity! | Iran Azadi 2006)
To: sionnsar
Catholic Brethren ping. V's wife.
3
posted on
03/26/2006 4:00:08 PM PST
by
ventana
To: sionnsar
All in the title mentioned here! (Well, maybe not the Lenten Marriage -- as far as I know, marriages are held over until after Easter -- none are performed during Lent.
Catholic Culture
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Collect: Father of peace, we are joyful in your Word, your Son Jesus Christ, who reconciles us to you. Let us hasten to our Easter with the eagerness of faith and love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. |
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![](http://www.catholicculture.org/images/clear.gif) |
March 26, 2006 ![](http://www.catholicculture.org/images/clear.gif) ![Season](http://www.catholicculture.org/images/cal/seasonal.gif) Fourth Sunday of Lent
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God (John 3:14-18). This Sunday was formerly called "Laetare Sunday" since its mood and theme was one of hope and rejoicing that Easter was near. In the reformed calendar this Sunday is not different from the other Sundays of Lent even though the entrance antiphon for the day still begins with the Latin word "laetare" and the vestments worn by the celebrant are rose-colored, not violet. The day is important because it is the day of the second scrutiny in preparation for the baptism of adults at the Easter Vigil.
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. The emperor's mother, St. Helen, enriched it with most precious relics, and wished to make it the Jerusalem of Rome. |
![](http://www.catholicculture.org/Lit/Overviews/Seasons/Lent/images/station_croce_jerusalem_26.jpg) |
Sunday Readings The first reading is taken from the Book of Chronicles 2 Chron:36:14-16, 19-23. It refers to the edict of Cyrus, the king of Persia, permitting the exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple, which had been burned by the Chaldeans as a punishment from God for the infidelities of the Chosen People. The second reading is from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians 2:4-10. In today's extract St. Paul is emphasizing the gratuitousness of the gift of faith which the Ephesian converts have received. This gift which God gave them, even when they were sinners, had united them to Christ, and has given them the right to share in His glorious resurrection and inherit heaven with Him and through Him. The Gospel is from St. John 3:14-21. This man Nicodemus had a half-open mind as regards Jesus. He was moved by his teaching and miracles. He defended him when his companions were out to have Jesus arrested. He helped to have him properly buried when his enemies had him put to death, but that was as far as he went, apparently. There is no mention of him in the first Christian community of Jerusalem. What held him back, what kept him from giving himself fully to Jesus who spoke so kindly and told him so clearly that he himself was indeed a teacher who had come from God, that he had been offered by God as the sacrificial victim who would save the world? All Nicodemus had to do was to accept his word, "believe in him" and be baptized and he too would have eternal life.
Why did he not do this? The answer is given in the beginning of his story "He came to Jesus by night." He was one of the leading Pharisees and evidently was afraid of what they would think of him had they seen him associating with Jesus. How much more so did he dread what their reactions would be had he become a follower of him whom they called "this impostor." Nicodemus had only half of his mind open to the truth, the other half was closed and barred by his fear of what his own classthe leaders of the Jewswould think of him. He risked his own future happiness in order not to lose the present respect of his sinful associates. What a foolish man we would all say! Yet, are not many of us often like Nicodemus, when it comes to living up to our following of Christ? There are Catholic men who would like to, and should, go much more often to Holy Communion but are afraid of what their fellow-parishioners, who receive but rarely, would think of them. There are many, far too many, Christians who will not defend or stand up for their religion when it is insulted and attacked in their place of work or in a saloon. There are Christians who stand idly by, and give at least tacit approval, when grave injustices are being carried out by individuals or by local or national groups. These and many more like them are Christian types of Nicodemus, who through fear of losing the approval, the worthless esteem, of their sinful associates, are prepared to forfeit the esteem of God and their own eternal welfare. Nicodemus probably thought he had made reparation for his lack of openness to Jesus when he assisted at his burial. What value, however, had that work of mercy for one of his frame of mind? There are amongst us today, humanists, most of them ex-Christians, men and women who make assisting their neighbor, while excluding Christ and God, the essence of religion. While the assistance the neighbor receives will benefit him materially, what spiritual or religious value can it have for the humanist who excluded God and our Savior Jesus Christ? Humanism or concentrating on our neighbor to the exclusion of God, is an imitation of religion and a very false imitation at that. Helping our neighbor because he is a son of God is part of our true religion, and the second of the two great commandments of love; but helping a neighbor from whom we have effaced the image of God has not and cannot have any religious value or significance whatever. It is as meaningless as lighting a candle before the photograph of a wife one has deliberately deserted. Thank God, we have accepted Christ with our whole heart and our whole mind. It is through him that we have been made sons of God. It is through him that we have learned to love God and learned of God's infinite love for us. Because all men are God's sons also, and our brothers in Christ, we will gladly help them whenever and wherever we can because God has commanded us to do so. This is true humanism which sees in the neighbor the workmanship of the almighty Creator, and what is more important still, the elevating effects of the divine Savior, as well. Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.
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4
posted on
03/26/2006 4:07:01 PM PST
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: sionnsar
We don't have rose-colored vestments... We do, thanks to Memorial gifts received for an elderly couple who entered into Life within 48 hours of each other at Gaudete. When parishioners tease me that I "look good in pink" I always reply..."Rose..it is Rose!"
5
posted on
03/26/2006 4:07:59 PM PST
by
lightman
(The Office of the Keys should be exercised as some ministry needs to be exorcised.)
To: lightman
When parishioners tease me that I "look good in pink" I always reply..."Rose..it is Rose!" LOL. You'll no doubt enjoy this posting by a brand-new Anglican the first time he encountered Gaudete Sunday.
6
posted on
03/26/2006 5:23:30 PM PST
by
sionnsar
(†trad-anglican.faithweb.com† | Libs: Celebrate MY diversity! | Iran Azadi 2006)
To: sionnsar
Our pastor wore his rose vestments last week, and again this week. Having a "Senior Moment," he said. (He's nearly 70, and starting to drift a little.) The previous week's violet vestments were unmistakably fuscia, so it's possible he has color-perception issues, too.
I told him he looked cute in pink!
7
posted on
03/26/2006 5:40:30 PM PST
by
Tax-chick
(May I suggest a restorative adult beverage? Perhaps something Australian?)
To: Salvation
The author notes:
In some places, this Sunday is the only time during Lent in which Christian marriage may be solemnized. "Chocolate Pecan Pie"? Ugh! Nothing but the "real" stuff for me (and I swore off it a long time ago -- too fattening).
8
posted on
03/26/2006 5:53:27 PM PST
by
sionnsar
(†trad-anglican.faithweb.com† | Libs: Celebrate MY diversity! | Iran Azadi 2006)
To: sionnsar
I wondered what "Mothering Sunday" was, when I saw it on a calendar. In the South and Midwest, churches have "Homecoming," usually in the fall. Members who've moved away come back to attend their "old" church with family members, and they have a potluck dinner and a choir concert. Pretty neat, but I hadn't thought of a nationwide date for that kind of thing.
9
posted on
03/26/2006 5:57:18 PM PST
by
Tax-chick
(May I suggest a restorative adult beverage? Perhaps something Australian?)
To: Tax-chick
so it's possible he has color-perception issues, too. Being close to someone who is red-green color-blind, I'm a bit sensitive to those issues. I suspect men get by with it more than women -- she calls me in as a color consultant from time to time.
10
posted on
03/26/2006 5:58:00 PM PST
by
sionnsar
(†trad-anglican.faithweb.com† | Libs: Celebrate MY diversity! | Iran Azadi 2006)
To: sionnsar
Interesting! I've known people with red-green color blindness, as well, usually men.
11
posted on
03/26/2006 5:59:21 PM PST
by
Tax-chick
(May I suggest a restorative adult beverage? Perhaps something Australian?)
To: Tax-chick
In the South and Midwest, churches have "Homecoming," usually in the fall. Interesting. I grew up in the Midwest and the Episcopal churches had nothing like that. It would have been difficult for me in any case, with all the various Episcopal churches I attended from birth until departure from ECUSA.
The one I remember most fondly (from almost 40 years ago), is sadly the one I most dread seeing after having visited their website. The least of what they've done is to change the altar from facing East to facing West.
But maybe they have finally fixed the roof over the kitchen. (This was a Frank LLoyd Wright design -- I am told his roofs were a weakness.)
12
posted on
03/26/2006 6:11:48 PM PST
by
sionnsar
(†trad-anglican.faithweb.com† | Libs: Celebrate MY diversity! | Iran Azadi 2006)
To: sionnsar
Methodist and Presbyterian churches, I guess!
Frank Lloyd Wright definitely tended to leak.
13
posted on
03/26/2006 6:31:18 PM PST
by
Tax-chick
(May I suggest a restorative adult beverage? Perhaps something Australian?)
To: lightman
Our Parochial Vicar is a young African American who looks as though he ought to be playing defensive line for somebody . . .
He was so funny last year on Laetare Sunday . . . he climbed into the pulpit and said, "I cannot speak for Monsignor, or for Deacon Tom. But THIS brother does NOT look good in PINK!"
. . . it is kinda funny to see a man of his height and girth attired in "Rose."
14
posted on
03/26/2006 7:09:11 PM PST
by
AnAmericanMother
(Ministrix of Ye Chase, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary (recess appointment))
To: sionnsar
Not only did Wright's roofs leak . . . his foundations shifted too.
When his houses are restored, people usually have to make extensive repairs to foundations, which means of course that the walls also have to be repaired due to cracks from shifting foundations. Then there are the leaks . . . not just the roofs but in all sorts of odd places like around windows . . .
Somebody said, "If it's Wright, it can't be wrong." I beg to differ. If it's Wright, it's usually not right. Give me an architect who's an engineer or who has a background in construction . . . please!
15
posted on
03/26/2006 7:11:46 PM PST
by
AnAmericanMother
(Ministrix of Ye Chase, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary (recess appointment))
To: Salvation
There is no absolute canonical prohibition of marriage during Lent . . . in fact, I witnessed one by accident last Thursday in the downtown church in which I attend daily Mass at noon.
But many parishes will not schedule weddings during Lent, and if one is celebrated it is a "bare bones" wedding - no Gloria, no alleluia, and the priest wears purple.
All the couple did at the wedding I saw was walk up to the chancel steps and exchange vows before the priest after Mass. That was it. No attendants (although two parents attended), no music (since it was a weekday Mass), nothing else.
I'm opposed to the Hollywood wedding with a cast of thousands, but I hope my kids have a little more festivity than that . . .
16
posted on
03/26/2006 7:22:43 PM PST
by
AnAmericanMother
(Ministrix of Ye Chase, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary (recess appointment))
To: AnAmericanMother
. . . it is kinda funny to see a man of his height and girth attired in "Rose." Aye, a rose by any other name...but code Pink we ain't.
17
posted on
03/26/2006 7:29:27 PM PST
by
lightman
(The Office of the Keys should be exercised as some ministry needs to be exorcised.)
To: lightman
In his case, there's just such a LOT of rose . . .
I shouldn't make even mild fun of him . . . he's a very fine young man, preaches like an angel and has a beautiful baritone singing voice. (He always hits G natural square on the nose in the preface before the Sanctus. The first time it happened, I thought it was just random, but the third time it happened I was highly impressed!)
18
posted on
03/26/2006 7:35:13 PM PST
by
AnAmericanMother
(Ministrix of Ye Chase, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary (recess appointment))
To: AnAmericanMother
Our Nigerian priest in Oklahoma had perfect pitch. The first time he broke into song during his homily, the sleepy, Midwestern congregation was shocked, but they got into the spirit of things after a few weeks!
19
posted on
03/27/2006 3:45:12 AM PST
by
Tax-chick
(May I suggest a restorative adult beverage? Perhaps something Australian?)
To: Tax-chick
Oh, our P.V. has really waked things up around here, too!
He frequently sings in the pulpit - as in demonstrating the "lukewarm Christian", he sang "Oh, How I Love Jesus," while yawning, stretching, looking at his watch, shaking his watch . . . then sang it beautifully by way of contrast. A few folks in the pews were startled awake by all these goings-on . . .
20
posted on
03/27/2006 6:43:19 AM PST
by
AnAmericanMother
(Ministrix of Ye Chase, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary (recess appointment))
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