Lenten Meditations: Sunday 11 March

Mar 11, 2018 by Jill

FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT – Mothering Sunday

LITURGICAL THEME FOR THE DAY: Mothering Sunday is today the fourth Sunday of Lent. Most Sundays in the year churchgoers in England worship at their nearest parish or ‘daughter church’. Centuries ago it was considered important for people to return to their home or ‘mother’ church once a year. So each year in the middle of Lent, everyone would visit their ‘mother’ church – the main church or cathedral of the area.
Inevitably the return to the ‘mother’ church became an occasion for family reunions when children who were working away returned home. (It was quite common in those days for children to leave home for work once they were ten years old.)

And most historians think that it was the return to the ‘Mother’ church which led to the tradition of children, particularly those working as domestic servants, or as apprentices, being given the day off to visit their mother and family. As they walked along the country lanes, children would pick wild flowers or violets to take to church or give to their mother as a small gift.

The fourth Sunday of Lent is rather unique; like the third Sunday of Advent (“Gaudete Sunday”), the fourth Sunday of Lent is a break in an otherwise penitential season. The vestments for this day will be rose, as they are on Gaudete Sunday in Advent, and flowers may adorn the Altar. This day is called “Laetare Sunday” (also “Rose Sunday”), and takes its name from the opening words of the Mass, the Introit’s “Laetare, Jerusalem”

MEDITATION OF THE DAY: Mark describes how Jesus helps Legion to get rid of the demons within him. Jesus is again showing us the wonder of his power. How blessed for Legion that he was able to be freed from his demons by the love of Jesus. We all have our demons and need to know how to deal with them. Do we wait until they are overpowering to reach for Jesus? Let us not! Let us be encouraged that in the presence of Jesus the power of evil disintegrates itself and breaks into fragments. The power of the evil one  which at the beginning seemed to be very strong, melts and is broken. It is fragmented before Jesus. The man falls on his knees, asks not to be expelled from that district .  Before Jesus the power of evil has no autonomy nor consistency. The one who believes in Jesus has already overcome the power of evil and should not be afraid, should have no fear!

PRAYER OF THE DAY : Almighty God, you know that we have no power in
ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities s which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

LENTEN DISCIPLINE –   Use this day to speak out against evil. Gp to the following link https://www.crs.org/resource-center/human-trafficking. Follow the different ways to end human trafficking. Sign the petition, circulate flyers, pray. See the many steps that are available

ANCIENT WORDS/PRESENT GRACE: “Merely to resist evil with evil by hating those who hate us and seeking to destroy them, is actually no resistance at all. It is active and purposeful collaboration in evil that brings the Christian into direct and intimate contact with the same source of evil and hatred which inspires the acts of his enemy. It leads in practice to a denial of Christ and to the service of hatred rather than love.”

— Thomas Merton

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