Laetare, Jerusalem! Rejoice, Jerusalem! So starts the Introit for Sunday’s Mass. This marks the halfway point during Lent, and so we are given a bit of a respite from Lent’s austerities. We still sing a Tract instead of the banished Alleluia. We again sing Mass XVII (with Credo I), but the priest is not wearing the typical shade of violet! What is that color? It is rose (never to be called pink), and it is supposed to be a lighter shade of violet. So, still violet, but distinctively different, so as to set this Sunday aside as a day of rejoicing in the heart of the penitential season. Flowers, which are banned from the altar during Lent, are permitted on this day. And the organ, which is likewise banned during Lent, is permitted on this day.
The feast of the Annunciation, which is a first-class feast, was on the previous Friday. Given that Laetare Sunday is likewise a first-class feast, it cannot be displaced and so it is not permitted to solemnize the feast of the Annunciation.
After singing Stella Coeli Extirpavit at the Offertory, we honored Our Lady in her Annunciation by singing the simple Gregorian Ave Maria.
This Sunday is also known as Mothering Sunday. This is owing to the Epistle, in which we are called sons of Mother Jerusalem and of the Free Woman. In Christian Europe, on this day, the faithful would visit the Mother Church in their diocese, that is, the Cathedral. And this was Mother’s Day. It still is in several countries.
After honoring Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament by singing Ave Verum Corpus, we honored Our Lady in her motherhood by singing Salve Mater.
To conclude the Mass, again in honor of the Annunciation, we sang the complete Angelus at the recessional.