We are now halfway through Lent, and the Church this Sunday bids us “rejoice.” We call it “Laetare Sunday” because “laetare” is Latin for rejoice. And it’s the first word of today’s Mass: “Rejoice Jerusalem … be joyful all who are in mourning” (Isaiah 66:10-11). The sombre violet vestments are replaced by rose-coloured ones, the organ plays more freely, and we are even allowed a modest display of flowers. This is all to remind us that Easter is now drawing close. But if we’re honest with ourselves, we may at this point be a little discouraged because we haven’t kept all our resolutions.

Many of us started Lent with good intentions: we were going to pray more, try and get to Mass in the week, do some spiritual reading, avoid certain sins, fast from food, alcohol or the internet, and make better use of the Sacrament of Confession, to find at this midway point we haven’t made that much progress at all. And so there is a temptation to think, “I’ve failed and my Lent is ruined.” Wrong! Thoughts like this don’t come from God. It is important to understand we don’t measure the spiritual life by our failures. It is about how quickly we get up again. Think of a child learning to walk. He will stumble and fall over and over again, but his father would never say, “You’ve fallen too many times, so you may as well give up!” On the contrary, a loving father would encourage him to get up again and persevere. Well, the good news is that God, our Heavenly Father is infinitely more patient! And that’s another reason why we have Laetare Sunday. It reminds us Lent is a process of conversion. We are still on the journey.

So if you have failed in your resolutions, the best thing you can do is begin again NOW. Don’t wait until tomorrow or next week. If your resolutions of deeper prayer have failed, start with a simple prayer tonight. If you have fallen back into a sin, confess it as soon as you can. If you have neglected spiritual reading, open the Bible or the life of a saint today. How the devil loves to discourage us, whereas the saints always teach us that perseverance is victory.

St Mary of Egypt (ca. 344-421) is a fascinating saint. In her youth she led a very sinful life and was far from God. One day, she tried to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, but a mysterious force prevented her from crossing the threshold. In that moment she realised the weight of her sins and opened her heart to God’s mercy. She retreated to the desert where she spent years in prayer, penance and in struggling against temptation. Memories of her past sins often tormented her, but she persevered. And it was through that perseverance that grace triumphed in her soul and transformed her. The monk, St Zosimas of Palestine saw her later in life, and he saw a soul radiant with the grace of God. So it is never too late to begin again.

So let us all take courage on this Laetare Sunday. Easter is coming, and just as the Cross leads to the Resurrection, the struggles we endure during Lent lead to the great joy of victory. At this midway point in Lent, if you have failed in some way or perhaps in many, all it means is that you are human! What matters now is that you don’t give up.

Fr Paul Gillham, IC