This week, the Fourth Week of Lent, we reach the mid-point of the Lenten Season. The Mass vestments this Sunday are rose-colored, rather than the customary Lenten violet. The custom dates back to the middle ages when the Pope (the Bishop of Rome) carried a single rose in his right hand when returning from Mass. At the time, the rose was a symbol of Christ due to its being at once beautiful and yet covered with thorns, a reminder of Christ’s painful crown of thorns. The Pope’s carrying the rose was a visual reminder that the celebration of Christ’s Passion is not far off. Soon, during Holy Week, united with the entire church, we will experience the beauty and the pain of Christ’s love for us. While the Pope’s custom was eventually abandoned, the symbolism continues with the rose-colored vestments.

It isn’t too late to make this Lenten Season a time of personal renewal through prayer, fasting, and works of charity. The word “Lent” comes from the old English word for “springtime.” Looking around, we can now definitely see some subtle signs of spring appearing. The liturgy is inviting us to experience a “springtime” within.

How can you renew yourself from within? How can we as a parish “grow” more perfectly into the image of the Risen Christ? In the midst of the wars and violence that beset the human family, how can we be instruments of peace for one another?