Laetare Sunday: Meditation on the Entrance Antiphon

“Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exult and be satisfied at her consoling breast.”

- Entrance Antiphon for the Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday)

An interesting word to penetrate the middle of Lent – “Rejoice!” We who have been so caught up in meditating on the sorrowful sufferings of our Lord, who have been fasting and praying with weeping over our sins; we are called today to celebrate.

The liturgy for this Sunday, called Laetare Sunday, from the first word of the Entrance Antiphon in Latin, does away with almost all the vestiges of penance. The only two that remain in the Mass are the suspension of the Gloria and the Alleluia, and in the Liturgy of the Hours the Te Deum also is not recited. The full glory of Easter is not yet present, nonetheless, if we have been faithful to our Lenten resolutions and have been truly striving to purify our souls, Holy Mother Church, the ever prudent and solicitous mother, bids us rejoice, for we should be quickly advancing in the way of salvation!

Although Lent is a time focusing upon the sufferings of Christ, nevertheless, the Church would not have Her children forget the Resurrection. Each Sunday of Lent is not counted amongst the 40 days for this very reason, Sunday is always to be given to the Resurrection of Christ. Beginning next Sunday, we shall begin an ever more assiduous meditation upon the Passion and Death of the Lord, but before doing so we must focus on the Resurrection and glory of Jesus, just as Peter, James, and John did in the Transfiguration. Thus, we shall keep the final goal in mind.

We must remember that when Jerusalem is referred to in Old Testament Scriptures, we must often read it as symbolizing the Church, or often particularly the Church Triumphant, in light of the New Testament revelation in Christ. While Isaiah, the book the Entrance Antiphon for today is taken from was likely referring in his mind to the earthly city of Jerusalem, because there is also a Divine Author, through Whom all Scripture is united, we may read both Testaments as enlightening and revealing each other.

Therefore, when these first words resound in our ears, the command to “Rejoice, Jerusalem!” we must hear it as a call for the entire Church to rejoice. But let us quickly turn our attention to the final words of the antiphon, the words to “be satisfied at her consoling breast.” Those who are satisfied at the breast are the children, and the breast they are satisfied and nourished at is that of their mothers. The words of the antiphon then, are speaking to us as children of the Church, Who is our Mother, as said above.

In the Entrance Antiphon for today, it would seem that the word, "Jerusalem," holds a double significance, both as symbolizing Heaven and as symbolizing the Church. The command to rejoice only really makes sense to be given to those on earth, since the angels and saints in Heaven can only rejoice, for they possess perfect joy. Nevertheless, it commands those who were in mourning to be joyful, and as this earth is but a "vale of tears," we are still in mourning. Additionally, as we are still on earth, it is only in the Church that we can be consoled, for we have as yet to attain the consolations of Heaven. Ergo, we may perhaps call the Jerusalem spoken of in the Entrance Antiphon, a specific aspect of the Church, and that is as the foretaste of Heaven.  

Let us then, consider the Church on earth, the Church Pilgrim and Militant, under the title Foretaste of Heaven. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:

"The Church's first purpose is to be the sacrament of the inner union of men with God. Because men's communion with one another is rooted in that union with God, the Church is also the sacrament of the unity of the human race. In her, this unity is already begun, since she gathers men 'from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues'; at the same time, the Church is the 'sign and instrument' of the full realization of the unity yet to come (775, emphases in original)."

The next paragraph teaches that the Church is also the instrument used by Christ to bring salvation to all. This, then, is the cause for rejoicing - in and through the Church we can already attain not only the original union God had with mankind and mankind had with each other, but the Church, as the Body of Christ, brings those unions to an even higher level!

Through the Sacraments of the Church, we are brought into and nourished in our union with God. However, unlike the original union Adam and Eve enjoyed with God, these Sacraments give divinize us, making us truly one with God. Since Christ is Divine, we who are His Body, must likewise be divinized. As long as we remain in the state of sanctifying grace conferred on us in Baptism, we share in the Divine Life of God. While this does not make us God, it confers a Divine likeness upon us, since Christ abides in us, and we abide in Him, as He promised in John 6:56.

For what, reason, then should we not rejoice? Although we suffer in this life, it is a joyful suffering, for it purifies us of imperfections and reminds us that the only sure and lasting thing is God Himself. St. Peter declares, "Rejoice in so far as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed (1 Peter 4:13)." Our sufferings are a sharing in the Passion of the Lord, which by now, within this season of Lent, we hopefully have an ever new and deeper love for! Consequently, as our love for the Passion of our Lord grows, so does our capacity for love of God and love of others, and as these two things grow, the grace in our souls will multiply. Through the multiplication of grace our union with God will become ever more perfect, and we shall, "find rest for our souls (Matthew 11:29)." 

On account of this the Entrance Antiphon tells not only Jerusalem to rejoice, but all who love her. And who are those who love her, but all those who desire pure and lasting happiness, rest from their labors, joy in place of sorrow? Consequently, all mankind has reason to rejoice. Jesus Christ did not come for the salvation of a few, but in order to save all mankind! In the Gospel for today (when the readings for Year A are used), Jesus tells the man born blind, "For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind (John 9:39)." Through the teaching and the preaching of the Apostles, the Gospel has gone out to the entire world in order to fulfill this mission of Jesus. All the ends of the earth are to hear of the salvation of Christ brought about through the Church, the only true and perfect remedy for the sorrow we experience here below.

Once a person understands exactly what the Church is and what She teaches, that person will be unable to resist loving Her. As Venerable Fulton J. Sheen said, "There are not 100 people in America who hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they believe to be the Catholic Church." As the Church is the foretaste of Heaven, She is the vision of God upon this earth, and the Beatific Vision, once seen, gives the will perfect rest, so that it cannot resist choosing God nor can it cease to rest in It. On account of this, then, all love the Church, whether or not they do so implicitly or explicitly.

For those who have been born to new life through Baptism, there is a great cause for joy; we have gained more than the man born blind who regained his sight, we have regained our very lives! Our flesh must surely perish, but our souls, created immortal by God will never cease. Without the grace conferred through Baptism, we would be doomed to eternal misery. But God the Son became man and instituted the means whereby we may be born anew to life eternal! In the Gospel of St. John, Jesus says to Nicodemus, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:5-6)." 

All men, through Adam and Eve, have inherited the life of flesh. We are nourished first within the womb of our mothers, and then at her breast after birth. It is likewise with the Church. All men are able to inherit the life of the spirit through Her, for as the Spirit lives in Jesus, so He will live in the members of Jesus' Body. To inherit this life, we must be born into it however, and God has ordained this to be done through Baptism. The Church nourishes all mankind, which are potentially children to be born into Her, through proclaiming the word, defending the truth and protecting the dignity of all peoples, ministering to the poor, etc. When Christians evangelize the culture, they become the nourishment of the children of the world who may be referred to as, "children in the womb." These children are especially nourished when they make the decision to be baptized, as we have been seeing throughout this Lenten season with the special prayers and focus on the Elect.

Then, when a person is baptized, they are born into this new life in Jesus and become adopted children of God the Father! This is indeed cause for rejoicing, for no longer are we subject to the despairs the suffering on this earth brings, for our suffering is raised to the dignity of redemptive suffering! For this reason, our mourning is turned to joy. Our sorrows will not cease as long as we remain on this earth, but our despair is done away with! We exult in the Resurrection of Christ and are constantly nourished at the breast of our Mother, the Church, through Her Sacraments, Her proclamation of the Word of God, Her teachings, and the communion of all mankind She brings us into.  

As we delve into this second half of this Lent, then, let us meditate more deeply upon the Passion of the Lord, so that our hearts may be opened ever more fully to the joy it will bring to our sufferings. Let us rededicate ourselves to be, "the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16)," but let us do so with a joyful spirit. For only if we rejoice in our new life will men and women of this world be attracted to leave their lives of darkness and sorrow behind and come to the light, joy, and salvation which Holy Mother Church offers to all people!