The Stations of the Cross are a traditional devotion to our Lord’s passion that is rooted in the Incarnation. Our God was born into history and lived among us at a particular place and time. This makes it possible to travel to the actual places where Jesus lived, suffered, died and rose from the dead.
The Fourth Sunday of Lent is called Laetare Sunday. Laetare means “rejoice.” The name comes from the entrance antiphon for the Mass: “Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exult and be satisfied at her consoling breast” (cf. Is 66:1011).
This Sunday’s gospel tells of Jesus healing a man who has been blind from birth. This miraculous physical healing points toward a deeper spiritual healing that Jesus offers to us. How many of us are spiritually blind, and need the healing touch of the Divine Physician?
With the rapidly developing news of the coronavirus outbreak and the many and changing ways our nation, our Church, and our university have responded to the threat it poses, it can be easy to forget that we are in a special season in the Church year. In the blink of an eye, my social media feed went from “Tips for Fasting during Lent” to “Tips to Surviving Quarantine.” My campus ministry planning went from “how can I help my students grow in their prayer life” to “when will I actually see my students again?”
Depending on where you attend Mass, you may see the statues and images covered in the sanctuary beginning on the 5th Sunday of Lent. If you are not used to seeing this done, it may strike you as odd or even a bit unsettling. It is unsettling to see our beautiful statues and sacred images draped with shrouds like ghosts. The point is to unsettle us, as part of our Lenten preparation for Easter.
