LAETARE SUNDAY - REJOICE

Today the Church celebrates what is typically known as Laetare Sunday - the Latin word for Rejoice.  We are midway through our Lenten journey and today we are given a word of consolation, joy and hope.  We are reminded of the closeness of our God and the constant hope of redemption, grace, and salvation.  This is a message that is even more powerful and needed for the times we are living in.  God has entered the human situation in all things except sin.  He knows our sufferings inside and out. This is the meaning of the Cross.  As believers we know that the Resurrection always comes after Good Friday.  In Jesus Christ and the bloody sacrifice on Calvary, offered for our sins and the redemption of the world, God accomplished the work of salvation.  His love is more powerful than any evil, grace has conquered sin, life triumphs over death.  But we must struggle on due to the effects of orginal sin and the gift of human freedom.  So often we live like the blind man in today's Gospel - unable to see the gift of God's presence and saving grace all around us.  These are times not to despair or lose hope, not to pull away from the God who loves unconditionally and offers us life in and through His beloved Son Jesus Christ and the Church.  These are invitations to deeper spiritual communion, to life in God's Spirit, to true, authentic communion with our brothers and sisters who make up the Body of Christ himself.   Rejoice today in the blessings God pours out on us each day. Rejoice in the knowledge that we are constantly loved and never abandoned by the God who desires only that we will have life with in heaven forever.  Rejoice in the bonds of love that we share with those around us and provide us moments of strength, healing and peace.  Rejoice especially in the gift of Jesus and the redemption won for each of us in that perfect, selfless sacrifice on the Cross. Rejoice in that Easter and the Resurrection will always be on the horizon regardless of what we must suffer or endure in this life.

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