Fifth Sunday of Lent- Laetare Sunday
March 14, 2026 Bulletin Column Father De Celles
Midpoint of Lent. Today is the 4th Sunday of Lent, which means we are halfway through our 40 days of the penitential season. It is called “Laetare Sunday,” “laetare” meaning “rejoice,” and reminds us to remember to lift our gaze to see that beyond the Cross is the Resurrection; in the midst of our sorrow for our lives of sin we also rejoice in the forgiveness and new life won by the Paschal Mystery. The Rose Vestments symbolize this: the dark purple of repentance and sorrow mingled with the light of forgiveness and joy.
But it’s also a reminder that half of Lent is head of us, and to rededicate or increase our efforts to keep Lent holy. To those who haven’t chosen a penance yet, do it now! To those who are struggling to keep their penances, if your penance is too hard, it’s okay to change your penance to something that is challenging but manageable in your situation. To those who just haven’t been trying, no excuses—pick up your cross and follow Jesus! And to those who have found their penances manageable and doable, then perhaps you can add some more penances, or intensify the ones you are currently doing.
More on the Sacrament of Penance. In order to be forgiven our sins in the Sacrament of Penance three things are required of every sinner/penitent: 1) contrition, 2) confession of our sins, and 3) satisfaction. Most of us understand confessing our sins, but maybe not so much contrition and satisfaction.
Contrition. As the Catechism teaches [1452-1460], Contrition:
“…is “sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again…When it arises from a love by which God is loved above all else, contrition is called “perfect”… Such contrition remits venial sins; it also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible.” Note, since it is practically impossible to be certain if we have such “perfect contrition,” so we should not presume it, and are still required to receive the Sacrament of Penance before receiving Holy Communion if we are aware of an unconfessed mortal sin.
“Most of the time contrition is usually not “perfect,“ so it is called “imperfect” (or “attrition”).” Imperfect contrition is born not from pure love of God “above all else” but “of the consideration of sin’s ugliness or the fear of eternal damnation and the other penalties threatening the sinner…. Such a stirring of conscience can initiate an interior process which, under the prompting of grace, will be brought to completion by sacramental absolution. By itself however, imperfect contrition cannot obtain the forgiveness of grave sins, but it disposes one to obtain forgiveness in the sacrament of Penance.”
Satisfaction. “Satisfaction” refers to the real effort to make up for our sins, and comes in two ways: “reparation” and “expiation” Let’s look a little closer at this. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches [1452-1460]:
“Many sins wrong our neighbor. One must do what is possible in order to repair the harm (e.g., return stolen goods, restore the reputation of someone slandered, pay compensation for injuries). Simple justice requires as much.” This is called ‘making reparation.’
“But sin also injures and weakens the sinner himself, as well as his relationships with God and neighbor. Absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused. Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for the sin: he must ‘make satisfaction for’ or ‘expiate’ his sins. This satisfaction is also called ‘penance.’”
When a priest gives a “penance” in confession, many people wonder how when something as small and simple as “saying three Hail Marys” can serve as an adequate penance/satisfaction. But remember, we could never do enough penance to pay for all our sins—only Jesus can do this, and does so, on the Cross. The penance after confession is an important personal effort at trying to make amends. Moreover a simple and clear penance, such as some short prayers, makes a good practical penance because: 1) if done devoutly they can be an important first step forward toward God, 2) they are more likely to be done immediately, so that the penance won’t be forgotten and the penitent can immediately renew the life of grace, and 3) they avoid the confusion of more ambiguous or ambitious penances, so the penitent won’t be wondering, “did I do enough?” “did I do too much?” “did I do it right?”
Lenten Schedule. Make sure you take full advantage of all the special events in the parish during Lent, especially the opportunities for prayer and receiving the sacraments, detailed on our parish Lenten Schedule, available through the link on the pop-up menu on our website. In particular, I invite you to attend Mass this Thursday, March 19, the Feast of St. Joseph. In addition to the regular morning Masses we have an evening Mass at a special time, 6:00PM.
After that evening Mass for St. Joseph, I invite you to join me this Thursday at 7pm in the Parish Hall as I continue my Lenten Series entitled, “The Mass Explained.” This week my topic is: “The Rituals, Prayers and Symbols, Part Two.” I hope to see you there.
Bishops’ Legal Advice to Supreme Court. Last week the attorneys for the American Bishops (USCCB) filed and “amicus curiae” brief with the Supreme Court of the United States as it prepares to consider the legality of the President’s Executive excluding certain persons from birthright U.S. citizenship, including the children of most illegal immigrants. Of course the Bishops oppose this EO.
The brief claims, among other arguments, that, “Birthright citizenship is consistent with the Church’s fundamental teaching regarding every human person’s inherent dignity” and “The executive order is immoral.”
It has been severely criticized from all directions. As a Catholic, it’s hard to understand how the order is “immoral,” or not “consistent with….human dignity.” And as an American it seems SCOTUS is not considering the morality of the EO, but rather trying to clarify clarification the technical meaning of the words of the 14th Amendment that limit the automatic citizenship to “All persons born …in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof,” specifically the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.”
This amendment was passed after the Civil War to recognize the citizenship of former slaves. But many say it has been abused, especially by illegal immigrant parents. Regardless of what we might like the law to say, the question before the SCOTUS is not what it “ought to mean” but what it does mean, legally.
On matters of absolute or clearly defined Church moral norms, like abortion or religious freedom, it is the Bishops’ duty to actively share the Catholic perspective. But when it is a matter of interpreting the meaning of a U.S. law, they should recognize their limitations. And when it comes to imposing their personal prudential moral judgments in matters not clearly governed by defined or common Church teaching, they should always tread very carefully.
Oremus pro invicem, Fr. De Celles