Message from Fr. Joe

This weekend we are celebrating the Fourth

Fifth Sunday of , also called Laetare Sunday which Fourth Sunday of means to Rejoice in Latin. It is rather a unique Sun- of day, as the purple are set aside, and Lent colored vestments are used, and flowers which are normally forbidden during Lent, may be placed on the . The point of Laetare Sunday, just like the of , is to provide us a time to pause in joyful anticipation of the coming mystery of the penitential season, and for Lent it is the anticipation of the joyful Christ. In our this weekend, Jesus said, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life." We are all familiar with this passage from John as this small but important passage is the essence of our faith. If someone wants to know about our faith, and what we believe and practice, this would be a good passage which would show everything about God and about us and our salvation in Christ. Yes, many reasons may be given to explain this passage, but the simplest explanation is that God’s love for the world gives us hope and strength to renew us in faith especially during these difficult times. My dear friends, as we pause in joyful anticipation on this Laetare Sunday, let us re- member God’s love for us and the promise of eternal life. May Christ’s Resurrection gives us comfort and strength that we too shall, in many ways, rise with him on our last day.

Fr. Joe