Together on the Journey: A Weekly Word from Archbishop Hebda
We passed the midpoint of Lent yesterday—Laetare Sunday! The name comes from the Latin entrance antiphon for the Mass, which begins, Laetare Jerusalem (“Rejoice, O Jerusalem”). It’s a little like a Lenten 7th inning stretch (even though we’re really only halfway through this penitential season). You may have seen a flower or two on the altar (normally forbidden during Lent), and your priest might have worn a rose vestment rather than the usual Lenten purple (not unlike Gaudete Sunday).
The Gospel for the day, moreover, reminded us of the good news that Jesus came to bring light to those of us born into darkness, a joyful truth that will be symbolized at the Easter vigil by the entrance of the Easter candle into our otherwise darkened church. In the midst of our Lenten regimen of increased prayer, fasting and almsgiving, Laetare Sunday points us to Easter and serves as a reminder that our Lord has already won the ultimate battle for us.
With that in mind, I’d like to take a brief moment to share an opportunity we will have following Easter this year to enter more deeply into the mystery of Christ’s resurrection.
I know that many of you have been coming for weekly Stations of the Cross (the Via Crucis)—a beautiful prayer in which we are called to accompany Jesus as he carries the cross, walking beside him in his passion. A complementary devotion, called the Via Lucis (the “Way of Light”), gained popularity during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, consisting of 14 stations that begin with Easter and accompany Jesus and his disciples through the biblical accounts of the resurrection appearances all the way up to the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. These Stations of the Resurrection are a great devotion for the 50 joyful days of the Easter season.
I was so inspired by the way in which the devotion has taken root at St. Paul in Ham Lake that I asked some of my staff to help turn this devotion into a video series that could be used by individuals and by small groups at parishes throughout the archdiocese. You’ll be able to watch each installment beginning Easter Monday, April 6, here in my weekly newsletter.
My hope is that the Stations of the Resurrection will remind us that just as we walk the way of the cross with Jesus, we are also called to walk in the way of the resurrection with him. The mysteries are closely related. We can’t really bear Lent without the hope of the resurrection, and we can’t appreciate the resurrection without embracing Jesus’ passion. As Laetare Sunday reminds us, we are an Easter people, even in the midst of Lent.
We, however, like the blind man in yesterday’s Gospel, need to have our eyes opened to find the light of Jesus, especially in the midst of the challenging situations being faced around the world in these days. Not surprisingly, at yesterday’s Angelus address, Pope Leo emphasized that we need to live our faith with “open eyes.” He reminded us, “Faith is not a blind act, a forsaking of reason, or a retreat into some sort of religious certainty that causes us to turn our gaze away from the world. On the contrary, faith helps us to see things ‘as Jesus himself sees them, with his own eyes: it is a participation in his way of seeing’ (Lumen Fidei, 18).” The Holy Father indicated that we can best understand faith as an invitation to “open our eyes,” as the Lord did, “especially towards the suffering of others and the afflictions of the world.”
Let’s be sure to pray for peace, to pray for those suffering and to pray for each other in these final weeks of Lent. By God’s grace, may we head to Easter with eyes opened by faith.
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