How to Find the Midpoint of Lent

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[CondoleezzaProtege]

So when we're determining the midpoint of Lent, we have two options. We can count out 20 days of the Lenten fast from Ash Wednesday forward (skipping the Sundays), or we can take the easier route and just count all the days from Ash Wednesday, stopping at 23 (since 23 is half of 46). Either way, we wind up at the Third Thursday of Lent.

Since most Catholics don't attend daily Mass (and, historically, never have), the Church has long noted the milestone on the Sunday following the Thursday in the Third Week of Lent. The Fourth Sunday of Lent is known as Laetare Sunday; Laetare is Latin for "rejoice," and the entrance antiphon for the Mass for the Fourth Sunday of Lent is Isaiah 66:10-11, which begins "Laetare, Jerusalem" ("Rejoice, O Jerusalem"). Laetare Sunday is also popularly known as Rose Sunday, because, to lighten the austerity of Lent, the Church uses rose vestments instead of the penitential purple normally used during the season. In addition, flowers may be used on the altar, and the organ, which is normally silent during Lent, may be played.

As we begin the second half of Lent, it's time to take stock of our Lenten journey. Have you gone to Confession, in preparation for making your Easter duty? How are you progressing toward your spiritual goals? If you still haven't set any, now is the time to do so.

And remember—if you get distracted and find that you're not making as much progress as you wish this Lent, there's always tomorrow. Begin each day with a Morning Offering, firmly resolving to concentrate on your Lenten discipline, and let God take care of the rest.

[Osage Orange]

It’s in my dryer...

[Verginius Rufus]

In pre-Vatican II days, it was rare to have readings from the Old Testament, except on weekdays in Lent. The day before the fourth Sunday of Lent they read the story of Susannah and the elders from the book of Daniel.

I remember a priest pointing out that the day before Laetare Sunday was Susannah Saturday.

[lurk]

Or, since it’s not in Scripture, you can ignore it.

[MAAG]

Have you gone to Confession, in preparation for making your Easter duty?

In other words, did you kneel to the local mob boss, in preparation for bowing to Ishtar you lowlife scum.

[lightman]

In the Orthodox Church the mid-point of Great Lent is marked with the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross:

"The commemoration and ceremonies of the Third Sunday of Lent are closely parallel to the feasts of the Veneration of the Cross (September 14) and the Procession of the Cross (August 1). Not only does the Sunday of the Holy Cross prepare us for commemoration of the Crucifixion, but it also reminds us that the whole of Lent is a period when we are crucified with Christ.

As we have “crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24), and will have mortified ourselves during these forty days of the Fast, the precious and life-giving Cross is now placed before us to refresh our souls and encourage us who may be filled with a sense of bitterness, resentment, and depression. The Cross reminds us of the Passion of our Lord, and by presenting to us His example, it encourages us to follow Him in struggle and sacrifice, being refreshed, assured, and comforted. In other words, we must experience what the Lord experienced during His Passion - being humiliated in a shameful manner. The Cross teaches us that through pain and suffering we shall see the fulfillment of our hopes: the heavenly inheritance and eternal glory.

As they who walk on a long and hard way and are bowed down by fatigue find great relief and strengthening under the cool shade of a leafy tree, so do we find comfort, refreshment, and rejuvenation under the Life-giving Cross, which our Fathers “planted” on this Sunday. Thus, we are fortified and enabled to continue our Lenten journey with a light step, rested and encouraged.

Or, as before the arrival of the king, his royal standards, trophies, and emblems of victory come in procession and then the king himself appears in a triumphant parade, jubilant and rejoicing in his victory and filling those under him with joy, so does the Feast of the Cross precede the coming of our King, Jesus Christ. It warns us that He is about to proclaim His victory over death and appear to us in the glory of the Resurrection. His Life-Giving Cross is His royal scepter, and by venerating it we are filled with joy, rendering Him glory. Therefore, we become ready to welcome our King, who shall manifestly triumph over the powers of darkness.

The present feast has been placed in the middle of Great Lent for another reason. The Fast can be likened to the spring of Marah whose waters the children of Israel encountered in the wilderness. This water was undrinkable due to its bitterness but became sweet when the Holy Prophet Moses dipped the wood into its depth. Likewise, the wood of the Cross sweetens the days of the Fast, which are bitter and often grievous because of our tears. Yet Christ comforts us during our course through the desert of the Fast, guiding and leading us by His hand to the spiritual Jerusalem on high by the power of His Resurrection.

Moreover, as the Holy Cross is called the Tree of Life, it is placed in the middle of the Fast, as the ancient tree of life was placed in the middle of the garden of Eden. By this, our Holy Fathers wished to remind us of Adam’s gluttony as well as the fact that through this Tree has condemnation been abolished. Therefore, if we bind ourselves to the Holy Cross, we shall never encounter death but shall inherit life eternal"

www.goarch.org/sunday-venerationcross